Spring Clean Your Closet

Spring Clean your Closet: What to Keep and What to Toss 

By Kenia Prophet

The veil of winter has lifted and Spring is upon us. Before you indulge in shopping for the season’s fashion “must haves”, it will serve you well to take some time to purge and organize. Yes, purge! It’s an essential part of maintaining order. Not sure where to start? Here are a few Spring cleaning tips to help you get in your closet and decide what’s staying and what has to go.

Pass it On 

As we grow and mature, our style evolves, or at least it should. It’s okay to outgrow certain styles and pass them on. If your body has changed and your holding on to clothes that are too small or too big, it may be time to ship them off to Goodwill . “Pay it forward” and give items that no longer serve you, but are in good condition, to someone that can use and enjoy them now.

Times Up

We’ve all been guilty of holding onto lifeless items for longer than we should. For example, those pants with the janky zipper, that blouse with the missing buttons or those embarrassingly worn socks. We tell ourselves we’ll get it fixed. We find creative ways to camouflage the damage or we just keep it for the sake of keeping it. After a year (that’s generous), if a tattered item hasn’t been repaired, it’s taking up space and it’s time to go. Don’t give away damaged goods, simply trash them.  

Switcheroo 

Some of the transitional pieces from your winter wardrobe can still make a big impact for spring, so you’ll want to keep them close. The cardigan that you wore to keep warm can still be used to make a strapless spring dress suitable for work. Those ankle boots will make for a chic look when paired with distressed jeans and a t-shirt. Simply relocate multi-use, cold weather keepers to a designated place in your closet so that they are still accessible for spring.

Bye for Now

Heavy sweaters and wool pants can definitely be put away. If you have space in the basement or a spare closet, that’s a perfect place to put items that won’t be thought of for months. Give those winter wearables a well deserved break and tuck them away for later. 

Once you’ve decided what’s going to the dumpster, what’s getting passed on and what’s staying, you’re almost done. Now it’s time to organize! 1. Buy the proper storage units, shelves, and/or hangers to maximize space and neatness. 2. Commit to an organization system, whether it’s coordinating by color, usage or clothing type and stick to it. 3. Lastly, get help if organizing isn’t your strong suit. It’s worth the investment.

Now that you have a couple of empty hangers you have the perfect excuse to go shopping. Spring cleaning is a win/win!