How I Keep My Closet Manageable
How I Keep My Closet Manageable | Outfit Details
Top: Cents of Style // Jeans: rag & bone // Necklace: Kendra Scott // Necklace: Kendra Scott // Necklace: Made By Mary // Earrings: Kendra Scott
How I Keep My Closet Manageable | My Closet
It's funny, there are a number of people I see in person on a regular basis that tell me they wish they could see my closet. To be honest, it's not that exciting! When we moved into our small apartment in 2017, I really had to downsize my clothes. I went from having my own closet, to sharing one with The Husband. It was still a good sized closet. But it started a habit of keeping my closet on the smaller side and rotating out clothes I wasn't wearing and items I was holding on to for no reason at all.
When we moved into our larger place in December (same building, same floor), our closet got smaller! So over the last six months, I have developed a pretty good system that helps me keep my closet manageable and I wanted to share it with you.
I have a few simple rules that I will share with you that help me with deciding what to get rid of, keep and buy.
How I Keep My Closet Manageable | Deciding What To Get Rid Of
I have one simple rule for getting rid of items. If I haven't worn/used it in at least a year, 4 full seasons, I get rid of it. There isn't a point in keeping something in my closet that I'm not using. Even if I spent a little more money on it, like a bag or an expensive dress, I'd much rather free up the space in my closet for something that I will wear and use all of the time instead.
So what do I do with the items I get rid of, you ask. Well, there are three options. The first one is to sell them! I usually do this with higher ticket items and items are that are in really good condition. I'm definitely not going to get what I paid for it, but at least I can get some money back. And if I sell a bunch of items instead of just letting them sit unused in my closet, I can buy something else instead! I love to use Poshmark to sell my higher end items. They typically sell pretty fast. I also use Facebook Marketplace to sell items. You can read all about where I like to sell stuff online here.
The next option for getting rid of items is giving them to family/friends. Usually this is with items I'm not going to get much money for if I try to sell them. Paris will take stuff and I have a friend that is similar in clothing size and we wear the same size shoe that takes a lot of my stuff.
The last option is donation. I keep a bag on the floor of the closet for donation stuff. That way if I put something on and realize it's time to donate it, I can just put it in the bag. When the bag is full, I take it to be donated!
How I Keep My Closet Manageable | Deciding What to Keep
I have gotten really picky about the items I keep. I have really reduced the number of purses I have, that collection used to be much bigger. With a toddler, I use a diaper bag most of the time. So I have invested in diaper bags that I love, a few bigger work bags and then smaller Crossbody bags for when I don't have Jackie with me.
As for clothes, I try really hard to keep the items that I am wearing consistently and wash well. I cleared out a bunch of dresses about a month ago that were all dry clean only. With a very active toddler, I can't really wear dry clean only clothes without risking getting them dirty the first time I wear them. So I lean more towards machine washable clothes. This is one of the reasons why I LOVE the Rachel Parcell line at Nordstrom. Most of her dresses are machine washable and are meant for moms.
I am also very picky about shoes. I have long, narrow feet so it can be hard to find shoes that actually fit me. I'll be talking more on Friday on how/where to find those shoes. But once I find a pair of shoes I love, they stay in my closet until I have worn them out. And I usually buy more than one pair of the same shoes if I really love them. Like the glitter Keds.
How I Keep My Closet Manageable | Deciding What To Buy
I will be honest, I used to just buy anything I thought was cute. Which is why I had to pair down my closet. The more time we have spent in these apartments with tiny closets, the more intentional I have become about what I buy. Mostly because I don't want to have to get rid of it in a year.
I look for items that are going to work with lots of other pieces in my closet and are classic. I'm all about color so I am all over the rainbow I that but I try to make sure I can wear each item several ways before I buy it.
I also consider how many other items I have that are just like it. For instance, there are lots of really cute pj sets out there. And I'd love to have lots of them. But I have a bunch of pjs. And I only sleep in night dresses. Specially the Lates By Kate house dresses. So what would I do with another cute pj set from Target? Often these items will end up in my cart and then put back before I checkout. I've been pretty good about it so far!
Basically if it doesn't fit in my current space, I'm not going to buy it unless I'm getting rid of something else. So I really have to consider how much I want/need the item before I buy it. Doing this has made a huge different in not only my buying habits but my outlook in shopping in general.