Fall is officially here. And, if you’re like us, you probably still haven’t gotten around to the somewhat mundane – but necessary – chore of swapping out summer clothes for fall and cleaning out your closet for a fresh start to the season. No shame here!
It can be a time-consuming task, but the fun part about cleaning and organizing your clothes, accessories, and shoes is that you’ll reap the rewards of your work every time you get dressed for the next several months. Plus, taking care of your clothes – and donating ones you don’t need while they’re still in good enough shape to be reworn – are important steps in the creation of a more eco-friendly wardrobe.
So, to get you pumped and ready to tackle the work, we collected some fall closet cleaning hacks and storage tips you may not have considered. Scroll down for our top advice on how to best prep and streamline your closet space for fall – and winter beyond that!
Empty Out Your Closet & Your Drawers
This first step is probably going to be the hardest. Take a deep breath…and then take out everything that you wear and put it in a central space (preferably on and around your bed or somewhere else clean).
That may seem completely overwhelming or impossible depending on how many items you have. If necessary, you can do this in stages – such as one closet at a time, or even one drawer at a time. But if possible, it would be best if you can start with a totally clean slate by emptying out all of your dressers and closets.
While you’re pulling your items out, you can give yourself a head start by tossing anything obviously broken or damaged beyond the point of repair into a trash bag. This includes storage items, like hangers, bags, and bins. If your dry cleaner recycles metal clothes hangers, set those aside with your dry cleaning items for drop off.
Also set aside anything missing a part or piece – like a shoe without its pair, a bag without its strap, and items of that nature. If the missing piece doesn’t show up during this excavation, consider it toast and move on.
Last but not least, take out anything that you’ve been storing with your clothes, shoes, and accessories that doesn’t belong there. Make the effort to figure out somewhere else to put it. Try to keep your spaces dedicated specifically to your personal items to reduce stress, chaos, and disorganization. If you simply don’t have enough room in your living area to achieve that, now might be a good time to seriously consider a self-storage unit.
Need more room for clothes? Find Storage Near You.
Clean & Buy Organizational Supplies
Next on the list is to clean your closets, dressers and anywhere else you’re storing your clothes. If you haven’t truly emptied these areas since you moved in, you might be in for a surprise at how dusty they are. Don’t fret. There’s truly nothing easier to clean than a blank space – and once you’ve got them spic and span, you’ll be much pickier about the items you put back in them.
- Dust and clean all closet surfaces, floors, mirrors, racks, baseboards and walls.
- Address any lighting concerns in your closet by switching fixtures or adding additional wattage.
- Dust and clean all dressers, including the insides of drawers. Line drawers and polish wood if needed.
- Replace or improve drawer hardware.
After you’ve got your existing closets and storage spaces cleaned, take a good hard look at the spaces and objects you ask to hold your items within these spaces. Do they fit your things? Are they comfortable to use? Would you be better served by additional storage or organizational supplies?
It can be humbling to realize how much better our lives can be made through some relatively simple adjustments. When it comes to closets, some of our favorite simple additions and improvements include:
- Tie and belt racks (can be used to store scarves and jewelry as well)
- Magic hangers for lighter items; wood or padded hangers for bulker items
- Hooks wherever has good clearance for scarves, bandanas, purses, robes, camisoles, hoodies, etc.
- Hampers to fill with seldom needed accessory items (like cocktail purses or shawls) and store out of the way on high shelves.
- Breathable baskets for summer sandals or rainboots.
However you store your things, make sure you use labels! Nothing crushes good organization faster than a poorly labeled system.
Make Some Hard Choices About Your Clothes
Now that your spaces are clean, it’s time to return to all the stuff you pulled out and threw on your bed. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten it.
Which brings us to the keep pile! These are the items that fit you, that flatter you, and that you simply must keep in your life. These are your winners. Your true blues. Your ride or dies.
Get your boxes and bags ready. You’re going to want to make several piles: donate, sell, throw away, repair, keep and launder/dry clean.
This is where the hard choices come in. As we all know, clothes and personal items hold emotional significance to us all. Some people also keep clothes that don’t fit as a motivator to lose weight. If that’s the case for you, consider donating that item and freeing up the closet space – and mental space – to focus on what’s happening in the here and now. It can be very liberating to only have clothes and personal items that fit the body and lifestyle you have currently, rather than any past or future version of yourself.
As for the piles, remember to only donate items that you would give to a friend. Many of the larger thrift store chains take clothing items that are in poor shape for recycling, but be sure to check before donating stained or torn clothing.
If you believe you can get money for some of your items, and have the time to list them and ship them – or meet someone locally – that might be a quick way to make a few extra bucks. There are also local consignors for speciality items, like furs or wedding dresses, that may offer a better value than online resellers.
The throw away, launder/dry clean, and repair piles are all pretty self-explanatory. Anything that is broken or missing its counterpart is usually good to toss. Anything that needs to be cleaned should be cleaned. And anything that can be repaired pretty easily (and cheaply) by a tailor or cobbler is good to keep – if you can commit to bringing it to be fixed within a week. If you can’t, add it to the toss pile.
Which brings us to the keep pile! These are the items that fit you, that flatter you, and that you simply must keep in your life. These are your winners. Your true blues. Your ride or dies.
Can’t part with those vintage finds or extra sweaters? Find Storage Near You.
Next, group all like items together. Put your jeans with jeans, jackets with jackets, boots with boots, etc. Fold sweaters on open shelving or in hampers in your closet rather than hanging them, as the hangers can stretch them out. It will also help you stay organized – and perhaps see some gaps in your wardrobe – if you sort your items by color.
In the fall, accessories often take center stage. Make sure your hats, scarves and oversized shades are orderly and available to you when picking out your ensemble in the morning. The same goes for your outdoor accessories. However, colder weather gear (such as waterproof coats, mittens, scarves, hats, etc.) must have its own dedicated storage area where it can dry out without getting the rest of your clothes wet.
By taking care to sort your items by type and color (not to mention season) today, your tomorrows are guaranteed to be so much more pleasant. Forget ripping open drawers in search of that elusive top or wasting ten minutes trying to find your other black heel only to discover that the heel is broken when you do find it. Those days are past. The new days of clothes that fit, look good and are in good shape are here.
