closet detox for the clothesaholic

Those who know me well know I am a hoarder.

A clothes hoarder that is.

I will hang on to clothes F O R E V E R R R.

Like seriously... 5 years, 8 years, 10 years (yeah 10. I'm so not kidding.)

My closet is a disaster--well, was a disaster until I went through a serious detox.

But before I explain how I did it, you must know first how I used to clean my closet-

how a clothes hoarder cleans a closet:

Crap. I ran out of hangers. I guess I can get rid of some clothes.

(me going from shirt to shirt...) keep, keep, keep, keep, put in the think about pile, keep, keep...etc.

Mmmkay. Let's look at this pile of 5 shirts.

Well, I know I have had this one since my junior year in high school, 

but it could come back in style. I better hold on to it.

I can totally give this one away. 

WAIT... actually, if I layer this with this one tank it would be really cute. 

So yeah, I'll keep it.

And, I think I'll just fold this other one...

I can wear it to dance, or camping, or something random to preserve 

this shirt I can't seem to let go of.

Ok so now 2 left... I'll ask sissy if she wants them.

That way I can borrow them if I ever decide I want them back. 

Better safe than sorry!

Is this not ridiculous? I don't understand it! Really. How can I be so attached to CLOTHES.

Yet somehow. I AM.

Thus.... the closet detox:

+step one+

GET OVER IT! 

I finally had to tell myself...let it go. Sing a little frozen tune and don't hold on to these clothes anymore! Be honest with yourself. Are you really going to wear that shirt. Not maybe, not probably, not you-totally-could-wear-it-now-that-you-remember-you-had-it. Just yes or no. If the answer is a solid yes. Keep it! There is nothing wrong with keeping a shirt for ten years if you really love it. (At least in my eyes.) If the answer is no, give your little lovely a kiss and get RID of it. 

Now for me at this point, I had a good size pile of clothes. 

I put them in a basket in my garage but not before I took back a couple of things. 

*cough* hoarder *cough*

Being so attached still led me to... 

+step two+

WEAR THEM

Many of you have probably heard of the closet cleaning technique where you turn all your hangers one way and if you wear them within a year or something you hang them up the other way and any "unturned" hangers after a year (or something) you get rid of. If this works for you, I tell you right now, go for it! But this method does NOT work for me. I'm talking serious detox people. I am trying to go cold turkey here-cut the cord-and just get rid of my clothes that I don't wear 

(that was seriously hard for me to type. tear.)

So I decided to get all the clothes I haven't worn for awhile... not my cute brand new shirts, but the shirts or pants that truly have not been worn for some time and wear an "old" outfit every day for a week or two or a month or however long it takes. If you don't feel cute, or comfortable, or happy about any article of clothing you are wearing that day, get rid of it. By doing this you are consciously thinking about how you move, feel, and look in the clothing you don't wear as much.

+step three+

SELL/DONATE/TRADE

WE really do live in a cool age where you can sell old clothing so easily. Recently, my favorite find is vinted.com (namely the app vinted). It is so easy to sell your old clothing on there. They think of everything so YOU don't have to. You can also buy or trade clothing with other "vinties". 

I love the app. For real.

But there are other apps too! Just check them out. 

Search "sell clothes" on the app store and a bunch come up. 

Or how about facebook? 

Do many of you know that usually in your area there is a "yard sale" type group?

Just search in the FB bar things like: 

"(Your city's name) Yard Sale"

"(City's name) Clothing Swap"

"(City's name) Closet"

etc.

Just make sure to follow the rules the admin has created for the group. :)

And of course there is ebay.

Hubby suggested to me to create a bundle of my clothing that are all the same size and label them "Women's Clothing Size Small" or whatever and start the bidding at a low, manageable price or do a ready to buy at a higher price. Just take a picture of all of the clothes together that would be in the bundle and then take individual shots of some of the best pieces from the bundle to show.

Of course, you can give away the clothing to family, friends, thrift shops, etc.

Well, there you have it.

I know it seems brutal. I can honestly tell you I never thought I would do this.

But I did! And it feels so good!

The only things left in my closet are cute, classy, stylish, and most importantly-ME.

I never have any more "bad outfit" days because my closet doesn't even hold that option for me.

Plus... the saving on space... nobody can complain about that. ;)

And am I down to 40 shirts? HECK NO!!

I still have a FULL closet. 

But now, it is manageable!

Happy Closet Cleaning!!

xo__lauryn ♥