Hello all! So I have been working and thinking about this blog post for quite a while now because it is an issue that I regularly deal with and I am sure you do too…dealing with the fact that I am a clothes hoarder, cleaning out my closet, and making my closet more sustainable in general. Although I am sure we all hoard different things and have different size closets, if you have a bunch of stuff in your closet that you never wear, it is hoarding no matter how big your closet is!

So first thing’s first, getting to the root of the problem, which all starts when you are in the store. I frequently have those moments where I absolutely fall in love with a piece that is completely unpractical for my lifestyle and doesn’t go with anything else I own. Sure, sometimes I cave and go ahead and buy it. But my mantra the past couple of years when shopping has been to image myself wearing the item to work or class or out with some friends. Would it work with things I already have? Can I picture an outfit with this? Take this jumpsuit for example. I absolutely adore it and it looks fabulous on me. But, I have no where to wear it and I would have to buy sticky boobs, which I don’t particularly enjoy. Moral of the story, I didn’t end up buying it because it would just sit in the back of my closet forever.

Another great time to help deal with clothes hoarding is when they are actually hanging in your closet. I have a system where every time I wear something, I turn the hanger backwards. Then, if at the end of the season, I haven’t worn a piece, I have a serious conversation with myself about whether or not it is worth it to keep. I also clean out my closet after every season before I put my clothes in storage. To help with this system, make sure your closet is sorted. Don’t worry about sorting it how everyone else does, do what is best for you. I sort by type of item (shirt, sweater, dress, skirt, etc) and then by how recently I wore things. This helps me rotate my pieces regularly, but also helps me recognize when I have pieces that I don’t like wearing or that are difficult to match with other pieces I have. Another great way to sort is by type of item and then by color. Just remember, seeing your clothes makes it way easier to design outfits around pieces and pick out the pieces you want to get rid of.

Speaking of getting rid of clothes, don’t just throw them away. I always either donate or sell my clothes. You can easily donate to a goodwill if the pieces aren’t too worn out or you can donate to a charity looking for fabric in general. Then the pieces don’t go to waste. You also can easily sell pieces online or at a consignment store. With this option, you also can get a little bonus to maybe buy some new pieces! Check out my pieces that I am selling on my ebay store and feel free to message me with questions about this! Also, if you are super artistic, you could always up-cycle your clothes. Love the material but hate the skirt, re-make it as something else! More about how to do that here.

The final piece of this puzzle is thinking about the actual clothing you are wearing. These days, most of our clothing is made from synthetic material made in unethical working environments. Especially for basics and pieces you know you are going to have fore years, it is so easy to buy more organically-made fair trade clothes. The pieces will last longer and it benefits the clothing community as a whole. One of my favorite places to go for such basics is Pact. Their pieces are classics and great for building a capsule wardrobe or even just adding some more pieces. Clothing is such an important part of our lives and taking an interest in the sustainability of our wardrobes whether that is through the material or through how we organize our closets is so important! Until next time…