Have you ever thought about a closet edit? Here are 7 things to get rid of in your closet and organizers that are great pieces to add.
Yesterday, a whirlwind rushed through the house at 6:37 pm.
A whirlwind with blonde curls and blue eyes and a car full of college apartment.
I saw a chair go by the window.
Then an ottoman.
Then a guitar sailed right by and up the stairs.
And in fun news?
We are just getting started.
We still have the rest of two college apartments that are coming home.
They are both starting new jobs with new apartments, but there’s a WHOLE LOT of sorting and moving and reworking and organizing and a WHOLE LOT of stuff we need to get rid of.
Because this wonderful blue and white room at the top of the stairs—the one that you helped me choose a rug for?
Now?
It looks like this.
Sigh.
And this is just the beginning.
The whirlwind only brought one load.
So to help with deciding what’s staying here in their bedrooms and what’s moving on and what’s being donated?
I thought it would be a good time to discuss how I get rid of things in my closet.
Here are all my best tips for keeping the clutter down in a closet space.
Seven things to get rid of in your closet
(total aside: we are discussing clothes here, but twins—-these principles apply to guitar cases, snail pictures and trashbags full of dishtowels, too.)
1. Anything that doesn’t fit
Y’all.
I always hold on to clothes in the closet that I think are going to fit again one day.
Am I the only one?
It’s like I’m a contestant on Survivor who just got a new fishing tarp and can’t let it go.
I am cheap. I am thrifty.
And hoped that one day all those clothes would fit me again.
But here’s the truth. When I looked closely at the hope-they-would-fit-me-one-day clothes—THEY WEREN’T EVEN THAT CUTE.
I’ll make one exception to this rule on things to get rid of in your closet. If you paid a LOT of money for something and it fit once upon a time and you looked super cute in it and have photographic evidence of your cuteness to prove it?
Keep it as motivation to fit into it again.
2. Anything that’s damaged
Or stained.
Or ripped.
Or torn. You are telling yourself you’re going to fix it one day. You probably, in all likelihood are not.
All those damaged clothes are doing is taking up space that could be used for cuter, non-damaged clothes.
3. Anything that you haven’t worn in over a year
Here’s the thing about clothes that haven’t moved.
They get stale.
They get hanger creases.
They go out of style.
There is some reason why you haven’t reached for that outfit item in your wardrobe.
Maybe when you try it on you don’t look cute? Maybe it’s too short and you forget about it until you try it on. Whatever the reason, you don’t feel your best in it. And you my friend are too cute to keep clothes around that don’t make you feel your best.
4. Anything that has a tag that hasn’t been worn in a year
This is kind of a version of number three.
But it’s harder. WAAAAY harder.
You bought it.
You paid good money for that thing this is still wearing its tag.
You think you can’t let go of it now. After all—you haven’t even worn it. In super sad news, you have to let it go.
There’s some reason why you haven’t worn it. There’s something about it that doesn’t make you feel cute. There’s some reason why it’s still wearing its tag after a year. Take a deep breath and donate it.
It’s time for someone else to remove that tag.
5. Something you wore that has a special memory
This is a hard one for things to get rid of in your closet.
I get it.
I understand.
I have a dress in my closet that I wore to my father’s funeral. I couldn’t wear it ever again after that (even though I loved that dress). So it just sat there with all of its memories collecting dust. For 10 years.
And every time I looked at it, it made me a little sad.
One day, I decided I needed to let it go. IT WAS SO HARD.
But here’s the thing, I have so many amazing memories of my father and I want to remember all of the life that he lived and the joy that he shared and the gifts that he gave to so many. And those things aren’t found in that dress.
(edited to add: If you can’t let it go, just pack it up out of your closet into a box in the attic and see how you feel after six months. Sometimes we need to be gentle with ourselves.)
6. Something that someone gave you
This is kind of a special category for things to get rid of in your closet. I’ve had people give me clothes before and I was so happy and thankful that they took a moment to think of me and I would thank them effusively for the gift.
But most of the time?
The clothes didn’t really fit. And I kept them because I felt guilty and I was worried if I donated them, the person might see them at the local thrift store and get their feelings hurt.
Sometimes you just have to let those clothes (and the guilt) go and release them from your closet.
(total aside: I did drive them to a thrift store out of town just to be safe.)
7. Anything that’s not in style anymore
Sometimes we keep things in our closet that aren’t in style anymore, hoping that the style will come back around.
Sometimes it doesn’t.
And sometimes it does. TWENTY YEARS LATER.
Y’all.
You could have rented out that space in your closet that entire time and bought yourself 10 new pair of stirrup pants the second time around. And stirrup pants from 1994 never ever ever look like they came from 2025.
Let the stirrup pants. And the prairie skirts. And the concho belts go. T
They have a life to lead. And it’s not in your closet anymore.
And now?
After you edited all that stuff out, are you wondering how to organize what’s left?
Here are five things I think every closet should have
// hanger hooks //
1. Space-saving hanger hooks
The best way to stretch space in your closet?
These little hooks that allow you to double up the clothes hangers.
You just hook one over the edge of the hanger. T
hen you hang two hangers together. They are kind of genius.
Here’s a before and after in the closet so you can see the difference.
I sorted out some of the dresses and hung some of the other dresses together with these hooks.
Keep in mind that when I donated some of the dresses, it freed up about 1/4 of the space you see here, but the rest of it is from these space hangers.
Also–I only added the hangers to about 1/2 of the dresses. There would be even more space if I had added it to all of them. Look at ALL THAT SPACE.
You can see the hanger hooks here. I also found this great space-saving option (with a 10% off coupon) here.
// velvet hangers //
2. Velvet hangers
Here’s another space saver.
If you’ve ever used velvet hangers like these before, you are nodding.
They are a game-changer. They are so narrow that you can hang more clothes in a closet and maximize space.
But my best velvet hanger advice? They are not all created the same.
I ordered some and they weren’t sturdy enough and broke easily (especially under the weight of a heavy coat). You also want hangers that have a pants hanger at the bottom so you can hang up an outfit or pants in addition to tops.
These are my favorite ones I’ve used. They come in a set of 50 and they are SO STURDY.
I also found these hangers that hold leggings (with a 10% off coupon) if you are short on drawer space.
// expandable drawer organizers //
3. Expandable drawer organizers
My challenge with this space is that I have these large drawers in my closet.
And large drawers? They have a tendency to get jumbled.
So I found these expandable drawer organizers on Amazon. They come in a set of four in different colors (I ordered them in white), and they stretch between the sides of the drawer and snap into place.
They really do stay in place, and they create compartments for socks and pajamas, and other items.
You can see them here.
I also found these taller acrylic dividers here.
// these stackable plastic containers //
4. Shoe storage containers
I also love these shoe storage containers and have them in another closet for scarves and socks and miscellaneous stuff.
They have doors that open and there’s so much affordable storage.
You can see them here.
I also found these belt organizers for the closet, too.
// sweater organizers //
5. Sweater organizers
I love these amazing sweater/top organizers.
They are kind of game-changers.
I used to hang up my sweaters, but they get so stretched out, so I was looking for a solution to add the sweaters to the shelves in an organized way. I use this sweater folder to fold the sweaters and then I organize them according to color.
I can see them all at a glance now and it made so much more space in the closet for other hanging clothes.
Say a prayer for this little room.
Just between us?
I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
I’m so happy the chicks are coming home.
Truly.
I just need them to make to straigthen up the nest.
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