You know that feeling when you just finished with all of the laundry? It’s washed, folded, and put away! At Fresh Start Organizing, we hear you; when does that happen?!? We understand how great that victory feels, and how infrequently it happens. The process of washing and drying is easy. It’s the folding and putting away that is put off. Why is this? No one wants wrinkled clothes, or clothes that your cute furry friend decided is an excellent bed. It leaves you feeling defeated.
To start, a clothing purge may be needed. Many do this, especially at the time of year when the seasons change. It can be mentally and physically exhausting. Removing clothes from storage and putting clothes into storage for six months is draining! Or maybe you have some pieces that you just loved on the hanger, maybe for the right occasion...or the one most women have, the idolized skinny jeans. While it’s nice to have some items for special occasions, goals, or simply because you love it, it’s also nice being able to easily put away that clean laundry.
This year when swapping out for the season, try this process:
Pull out all clothes and sort based on category. Lay out all of the categories on the bed so you can see how many clothes you have. We often don’t realize how much we have!
Go through each category and be sure to pick up each piece of clothing. Ask yourself: “Have I worn this?” “How did it look/feel when I wore it?” “How did this piece of clothing make me feel?” If something doesn’t look right, feel right, or make you feel good, then put it to the side.
Once you have your keep piles, make sure you haven’t short changed yourself - you’ll need to have enough outfits between laundry days!
Put away the clothes that you want to keep and determine if the clothes that are no longer in your closet should be consigned, donated, or thrown away. There are many wonderful stores in the area that take consignments so you can earn some money, or perhaps you’d prefer to donate to a thrift store. Just make sure the clothes are free of holes and stains.
Deliver or discard those clothes that no longer serve a purpose for you.
Pro-Tip: When you take clothing off a hanger, put empty hangers onto one side of your closet so you can easily access them to hang up your clothes. You can also take hangers with you when doing laundry and hang up shirts and dresses as you pull them out of the dryer.