5 Simple Questions To Purging Your Closet Like A Pro

The 5 Questions That Will Have You Purging Clothes Like A Pro

This stay-at-home order seems to bring out two types of people: those in full survival mode (me) and those cleaning and organizing their homes to Marie Kondo levels (so not me).

These organizing mavens appear to have one common task at the top of their list: clearing out clothes. This, my friends, is no easy task.

For those of you fortunate to have the time and energy to warrior it up in your closet, I salute you.

I also come bearing tips so that you get the most out of your de-cluttering exercise.

If you’ve already tackled your closet, read on. These tips may just warrant giving it another go.

First, Some Prep Work

It’s worth repeating: organizing your bedroom closet is a beast of a project. If you’re going to invest the time, make sure you’re doing it as ruthlessly and as efficiently as you can.

Step 1: Mentally prepare yourself that this could take awhile. Better yet, have a snack within reach for when the eventual hangries and organizing regret come into play. Don’t believe me? This pic of Kermit is all too real.

Step 2: Pull up your sleeves and remove all of your clothes – yes ALL – from your closets and drawers. I can’t explain why, but somehow the act of taking each item out of the closet makes it easier to let pieces go.

You will be left with an embarrassingly large pile of clothes. Don’t freak out.

It’s now time to face this pile head-on by asking yourself the hard-hitting questions.

Here are the 5 questions that I use in all clothes purging exercises to help me decide what to keep or toss.

The 5 Questions To Purging Clothes: Toss Or Donate

1. Do You Love It?

I’m taking a page from Marie Kondo here. If an item doesn’t make you feel like a badass when you put it on, it’s not worth keeping.

It doesn’t matter if it was a gift, if it was on sale, if you’ve had it for years, or if you spent a fortune on it. If you don’t love it, it’s time to let it go.

The only exception to this rule is question #2.

2. Do You Need It?

We all have those items that don’t fall into the “sparking joy” category but that we need to have. Maybe it’s a work uniform or painting clothes. Whatever it is, it’s all about keeping the bare minimum of these items.

Nobody needs four pairs of painting pants.

3. Would You Buy It Again (At Full Price)?

This is especially helpful for items that you got for a steal. Do you like this item so much that you’d buy it again if you saw it in the store at its full retail price? If you can truthfully say yes, it’s likely good to stay.

On the flip side, don’t hold on to something just because you spent a ridiculous amount for it or it was your first ‘splurge’ piece. If you’re not wearing it, you’re not getting your money worth.

Open up that closet space for something that you’ll actually use and love.

4. Would You Wear It Tomorrow If The Conditions Were Right?

One of the biggest closet killers are the mounds of “one day” clothes. You know, the:

“In case I change jobs and need an interview outfit”
“If we finally go on that tropical vacation next year”
“It’s great in the summer/winter/xyz weather”
“When I lose the weight” stuff

This could make up its own blog post, but here’s the gist: Use these same five questions for each of these buckets, just like you would for anything else.

If it falls into the love or need category, just be methodical on how many pieces you keep. For example, a handful of coordinating interview pieces is all you need when trying to nab that great job.

Tuck these “not currently being worn” pieces into a separate area of your closet or even in its own set of bins at the top of your closet. I have an old post that talks all about this.

5. Would You Fight To Keep It?

This is the question that always works wonders for my partner and I when we go through this exercise.

Do you love or need this item so much that you can passionately debate someone that it warrants continued use of your closet space? In most cases, you can probably win the argument for that one college sweatshirt, but those other four stained and tattered ones? Not so much.

The End Result

Purging clothes takes will. You need to look past the sentimental ties of who gave it to you, the memories created while wearing it, and the money you spent (or didn’t) for it.

Once you answer these questions for yourself truthfully, you’ll find yourself with a much calmer space.

You’ll know you did well if you can regularly pull out an outfit with ease. If you can’t? Don’t sweat it. Just repeat the process with an extra degree of ruthlessness.

You’ve got this.

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