The Sort Suggestions - a guide for cleaning out your closet & shopping for new trends
Hello & welcome to the Sort & Style blog!
Closet clean outs can be daunting and shopping for new clothes can be frustrating. If you’re anything like me you’ve had your share of buyers remorse, clothes taken to the goodwill with tags still attached, and mornings where your scrambling for something to wear.
It took me a few years, multiple moves & purges, and more than a few regretful fast-fashion purchases, but I now feel confident and efficient editing my closet and shopping for new pieces.
My goal is for you to walk away today knowing 5 tactics for cleaning out your closet AND adding to it. It will also give you a peek into my thought process when helping clients assess their wardrobes. I’m calling these “suggestions” and not rules because honestly everyone is different and every closet is different.
A perfect checklist of what you need in your closet might not exist, but the below guidelines make knowing what to keep, toss, and add much easier.
Remove Duplicative Styles
This is the cardinal rule of closet clean-outs. Every item in your closet must do something different than the one next to it. If something is taking up valuable real estate in your closet it needs to earn its keep. You don’t need 2 beige cardigans that are the same weight, you don’t need 3 pairs of light wash skinny jeans that are all the same length.
Everything extra is just taking up literal and mental space every time you browse your closet. The key is to also remember this while shopping for new styles too. If you only buy styles that do something new and different, then you are less likely to need to do a big purge.
You Must WEAR It
This one is obvious, but if it’s the end of winter and you haven’t touched that sweater in the back of your closet, it’s probably time to say goodbye. If you have sentimental pieces or seldomly worn pieces (like a gown for black tie event) that you want to hang onto, I would try to move them somewhere other than your normal closet so they aren’t taking up valuable everyday real estate.
Narrow Your Color Palette
I favor a very neutral color palette for a few reasons. 1) It’s easy to mix and match tops and bottoms so I never have to worry if something will mesh well with the rest of my closet, 2) Neutrals tend to look more expensive and won’t look outdated as quickly as a bold fashion color or print & 3) I love fun statement shoes & it’s easier to pair these with more neutral looks.
But, if neutrals aren’t your thing and you prefer to wear brighter colors there are still ways to narrow your palette a bit. Maybe you favor 2 or 3 bold colors so you could edit your closet down to just your favorites. Or you could keep mostly neutral shoes and accessories so they pair back to any color outfit.
In either scenario a narrower palette will make it easier to create outfits and make color choices while shopping a breeze.
Buy Trends at the Beginning of their Life Cycle
Trends tend to last a few seasons. If you see a new trend that you love, but it feels a little out there for you, it can be tempting to wait to see a ton of other people wearing it out and about before you commit.
But, if you wait too long there’s a chance you’ll finally end up buying it just at the end of its life cycle. You may only get a few wears out of it before you start feeling like it’s past its prime. Buying at the beginning of the trend’s life cycle ensures that you can get as much wear as possible out of each item and dramatically lowers your cost per wear.
You Have to LOVE It (No Matter How Much It Cost)
If you don’t LOVE IT, don’t buy it. This is key to not having clutter build up in the first place. Don’t buy something just because it’s cheap or on sale, and don’t feel obligated to keep something just because it was expensive.
That inexpensive piece of clothing you picked up without much thought is still taking up literal and figurative space in your life. You’ll have to figure out where store it, look at it every morning while your making decisions about what to wear, and eventually spend your precious time to getting rid of it.
And if you have something expensive hanging in your closet that you’re just not wearing there so many options now to sell it, donate it, etc. that it’s just not worth hanging onto.
The main thing to remember is cleaning out your closet is much faster and easier if you shop thoughtfully in the first place!
Save/Share this post for closet clean out motivation later down the road (or when you are itching to “add to cart”)!
& I’d love to help you clean out your closet personally! Contact me here for personalized services.