Let’s be real, you have too many clothes. We all do. There is always room to follow the “less is more” guidelines when it comes to clothes. I’m sure you’ve heard the statement “we wear 20% of the clothes we own 80% of the time.” What does that mean? It means that 80% of your wardrobe is just taking up space! Today I’m sharing How To Reduce (and Organize) Your Wardrobe but before we dive into your closet head first and start throwing hangers everywhere, we need to strategically plan and prepare to mentally accept letting items go.
My method to organize my clothes is by creating a wardrobe capsule. I’ve been using a wardrobe capsule over the past several years and not only do I feel more confident since I’m wearing pieces that I love but I’ve drastically reduced my wardrobe.
I followed the advice of Un-Fancy and Project 333 and experimenting with both strategies helped our family eliminate items that were taking up space in our closets. A few years ago, I set a goal to eliminate enough of our clothes that we could get rid of the second dresser in our master bedroom and planned to share a dresser with the hubby.
In only a few short weeks after setting that goal, we were able to sell the second dresser and we have been sharing 1 dresser (3 drawers each) with no complaints in the past few years! The dresser that we sold was practically brand new so we lost some money in that aspect but now there is more space in our master bedroom, less laundry piling up, and less clutter!
I highly recommend creating a wardrobe capsule. You can find my favorite wardrobe basics below (for females). Of course, depending on the climate where you live (hot/cold/4-seasons) you may have more or less items in your capsule.
Un-Fancy suggests 37 pieces, Project 333 is 33 pieces during a 3-month period. I’ve found mine to be around 50 pieces each season as a working mom (suits required) and then less (around 40 pieces) as a stay-at-home mom.
Wardrobe basics
Start with some wardrobe basics and stop shopping the sales racks. I only go shopping (in a 2-week period) every 3 months for the next season’s capsule. This means I might pay full price for an item but in doing so, I get an item that I know I will love. I start planning weeks ahead by shopping online.
Start thinking about what items you want/need for the next season. I start a “wish list” with items that I want/need when I think of them and then revisit that list when I’m allowed to shop. Then I look for the best option… something that is going to last (high quality fabrics/brands) and that I will love wearing.
Weight fluctuation and the problem with minimizing your closet
I’ve had weight fluctuation so I know how frustrating it can be to constantly be adding larger or smaller items to your wardrobe but not reducing for fear of the weight loss/gain recurring. My weight fluctuation experience has only been during pregnancy though, which meant that I held onto maternity clothes and transitioned into larger non-maternity clothes while hoping I will fit back into those college jeans one day.
But that day never came. So, I got rid of all the pre-pregnancy clothes and focused on maintaining a weight that I was comfortable with while keeping the clothes that complimented my (current) figure.
Everyone’s weight and figure fluctuates to some degree. If you’ve had extreme weight loss or gain, consider getting rid of “the past” and focus on keeping basic neutral pieces that you love and make you feel good about yourself.
Still have an issue letting go of a few items?
I feel your pain. I held onto my senior prom dress until I was in my 30’s. Why? Hell if I know. Maybe I thought I would fit into again one day or my daughter would wear it. I paid $300 for it (which was a lot for a kid in high school working a part-time job) so it had some meaning to me. But this quote helped, “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to things” – Albert Einstein. That prom dress was not making me any happier by keeping it around.
If you are still struggling to let things go, I recommend checking out The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. It is an amazing read and will have you de-cluttering in no time!
Putting you together
When you downsize your wardrobe, you may feel like your outfit possibilities will downsize as well. That doesn’t have to be the case if you buy neutrals (white, beige, gray, black, olives, blue) and classics. Before I purchase a new item for my wardrobe, I make sure it will go with a few things already in my closet then once I have my capsule together, I start creating outfits.
One way I like to put outfits together is by laying them on the bed together (a flat lay) and take pictures like I did in this post. Post the pictures in your closet as a reminder. You can also download style apps like Polyvore, Stylicious, Stylebook, My Dressing, and Closet+. Another method I’ve tried is a spreadsheet where I list categories of my clothes, tabs for each season, and a list of possible outfit combinations. Think of your favorite clothing items. Your favorites are probably the ones that are your “go-to” items. These favorites will be the foundation for your wardrobe capsule!
My Favorite Basics:
Dresses/Tops:
- Striped Dress – Here or Here (striped or polka dot dresses in neutral colors go with everything)
- Black Maxi Dress – Here or Here
- Striped Shirt – Here or Here
- White Shell – Here
- Relaxed gray Tee – Here or Here (dress this up with a statement necklace or pretty scarf)
- Graphic Tee – Here
- Chambray Button Down – Here (goes with everything-I wear to work with blazers for a Business Professional look)
- White Button Down – Here (goes with anything and can dress up or down)
- Crewneck Sweater or Sweatshirt – Here
Bottoms:
- High-Rise Skinny Jeans in Dark Wash – Here (it must be a mom thing, but I love my high rise jeans!)
- Boyfriend Jeans – Here
- Black Joggers – Here (dress these up with heels or keep casual with sneakers)
- Black Skirt – Here
Outerwear:
Shoes:
Accessories:
- Reversible Faux Leather Tote and Wristlet – Here (I use this daily even though it’s the only non-named brand handbag that I own!)
- Patterned Over-Sized Scarf in neutral colors – Here or Here (wear as a cover-up, infinity scarf, shrug, etc)
- Statement Necklace – Here or Here
Supplies Needed to Organize Your Wardrobe:
- Bookcases or Wardrobe (if you don’t have a dedicated closet)
- Wooden Hangers, Thin Velvet Hangers
- Jewelry Hanger
- Scarf Hanger
- Drawer Dividers/Organizers
- Bins, Clear Shoe Bins, Baskets
- Printable Labels
Find more suggestions to organize your entire home here.
Reducing your wardrobe has a huge impact on simplifying your life. If you own less clothes, there is less laundry and less time spent in the morning deciding what to wear. If you feel like you have nothing to wear, minimize your closet down to 10 essential/favorite items and challenge yourself to wear a month’s worth of outfits using only those 10 items. I guarantee if you end up wearing the same thing every day, no one will even notice!
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How to Organize Your Home Fast
Get ready to have your mind blown. This method to organize house clutter quickly is not a new method or secret hack. Do you think the organizing pros have been keeping this secret method with how to declutter your home fast all to themselves? I think my mother used this “secret” strategy to quickly organize the house with 6 kids in the 1980’s… it’s definitely not a new way to clean a house fast… but it’s so easy that anyone with a laundry basket can do it.
My friends and family always asked me how to declutter fast because our house looks like a model home (not to brag). So I shared my secret with how to declutter a house fast with my friends and family and then they started doing this trick to quickly organize house declutter.
I bet you are dying to know how I organize my house fast with a family of 4 and a dog…
–>>Go here to learn my secret to Declutter Your Home Fast!
How to Organize Your Personal Life (Free Printable Bullet Journal Pages)
I had no clue what a bullet journal was until I did some research and found a bullet journal description to be a combined day planner/journal/diary/sketchbook/to-do list. But what I found most interesting when I started designing my bullet journal pages was that I could make each page anything I wanted it to be.
You see, there are A LOT of different planners and journals out there. Like a blogging planner, business planner, mom planner, meal planner or a gratitude journal, meditation journal, travel journal… and the list goes on and on!
I’m making it super easy for you to try bullet journalling for FREE and if you love it, then maybe you keep printing the free printable bullet journal pages or maybe you invest in a really cool journal and start posting pics of your beautiful pages on Instagram 🙂 If you could just mention that my free printables were your inspiration, that would be great 😉
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6 Questions to Help You Organize Your Life and Get Rid of Clutter
Getting rid of the things you’ve collected during your life can be an emotional and physically draining process. Make the process easier by asking yourself 6 Questions to Help You Organize Your Life and Get Rid of Clutter.
Learn how to Organize Your Life and Get Rid of Clutter with these 6 simple questions and #getorganized for good!
If you don’t know how to declutter and simplify your home, this post with a simple 6 question checklist for decluttering your home can help. These questions can help you with organizing your life and getting rid of clutter. Getting rid of sentimental clutter is the hardest part for most individuals and these questions can help declutter your home fast. In fact, many of my readers have used this tool to learn how to clean and declutter their home in 30 days.
–>>Go here to see the full list with the 6 Questions to ask to get rid of clutter.
How to Get Rid of Unnecessary Possessions and Live the Life You Want
Stuff overload. Negative energy in your home and surroundings. Sound familiar? Are your materialistic items taking over your life? Do you want to know how to get rid of unnecessary possessions and live the life you want? I want that too… I mean, I really want to share how you can get the life you want by only keeping yourself surrounded with what matters most.
I know there are people (like you) that need REAL help getting their lives back and are stuck spinning their wheels because of the (bad) advice they find online. I’m sure you’ve seen the organizing “hacks” I’m talking about that don’t really help you eliminate things, but suggest that you need to add more things in your life in order to organize your current things.
If you organize things a certain way, that will reduce the clutter in your life, right? Wrong.
The only way to organize clutter is to get rid of it. Period.
–>>Read more about How to Get Rid of Unnecessary Possessions and Live the Life You Want here.
10 Items You Need to Organize Your Home Like a Pro
The best way to organize clutter is to get rid of the clutter right? I agree that it doesn’t make sense to spend money buying more stuff in order to get organized, but there are certain organizing items that can help create a functional, simplified home.
I’m a firm believer that it’s best to re-purpose many items around your home FIRST before investing in more stuff. Take a look around your home to see if you have similar items that you can use in place of these items (shoe boxes, plastic food containers, etc).
If you don’t find anything in your home that will help you create the organizing systems that you need, spending a few dollars on these useful organizing supplies will be worth the investment in the long run!
–>>Go Here to see the FULL list of 10 Items You Need To Organize Your Home Like a Pro!
Printable Labels to Organize Every Room in Your Home
You can organize the heck out of your home but truth is, Your Home is not completely organized until you add labels!
I’ve done the hard work for you and made every label for every space in your home.
If there is a label that you don’t see available below (for common household items), please let me know in the comments and I will add it!
–>>Go Here to Print These Labels to Organize Your Home now!
Printable Home Organizing Cheat Sheets
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- 6 Questions To Ask Yourself When Decluttering Cheat Sheet
- 7 Steps To Get Your Family Organized Cheat Sheet
- 15 Steps To Get Rid Of Paper Clutter Cheat Sheet
- Simplify Your Digital Life Checklist
- Declutter Your Home Fast (The Laundry Basket Method) Cheat Sheet
- Weekly (Detailed) Meal Planning Form (also in the meal planning bundle here*)
- Weekly (Simple) Meal Planning Form (also in the meal planning bundle here*)
- Sorting Signs (ONE of each): Trash, Recycle, Shred, Sentimental
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32 Home Management Printables that REALLY Work!
No one should have to feel overwhelmed by homemaking because it costs too much or they can’t get the help they need.
When it comes to homemaking, do you ever struggle with everything on your to-do list? The cleaning, the cooking, the laundry, the organizing, the home projects… shall I keep going?
You are not alone.
Maybe you can relate to these statements:
- “I can never find the time to clean and organize”
- “I’m tired of feeding my family take-out for dinner”
- “I have no idea why we are always broke!”
- “I’m not sure how to start so I just keeping reading stuff & doing nothing”
- “I struggle with doing “all the stuff” to create a perfect home”
I’ve said all of these before by the way.
Almost all homemakers struggle with these points – whether you work outside the home or not, whether you have 0 kids or 12. Since I was struggling in these areas (and thought you might be as well), I created some encouraging and useful resources to overcome the most common homemaking struggles.
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Free Organizing Resources…
–>>Want more tips to de-clutter your life? Check out Your Home Made Simple in 30 days.
Not sure if you’re ready to commit 30 days? Try my FREE 3- day course to organize your kitchen here!
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Get a full list of top organizing resources HERE.
Want to organize your closet like a pro? Try my printable wardrobe labels available HERE!
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