Lockdown mode or not, we all have hectic lives. Let’s face it, things are piling up all around you and whilst the Gaggler may not have a solution for all your cluttering issues, we can help you with decluttering your closest. You are not alone if you find yourself hurling your clothes back into the closet or dropping them on the floor, or on our infamous ‘Corner Chair’. (Admit it, we all have that corner chair in one form or another. It’s the “I’ll figure it out later” chair.)
WATCH THE VIDEO: DECLUTTERING YOUR CLOSET
Here we have a step-by-step guide on just how to declutter, let’s get started….
STEP 1: Pile it all up
It’s best to take everything out of your closet that you want to declutter and pile it up high altogether on the bed to really see how much stuff that you own. You need to get the big picture, so get it all. If you are feeling up to it, apart from decluttering your clothes, you could also target your shoes and accessories. But we won’t judge if you want to leave the shoes and accessories for another day…
STEP 2: 1, 2, 3…Let’s sort
Now that you have a big pile and know what you are dealing with, it’s time to make three piles and start sorting into YES, NO, and MAYBE. Your YES pile will have clothes you still wear regularly.
The NO pile could be easy for some and difficult for others. The NO pile will include tops, bottoms, dresses, etc. that you have either not worn even once since you purchased. This would include what we call ‘Goal pieces’ that you bought thinking you would lose those last few inches. Now, we are all for setting goals. Goals are important. But if you set that goal last year and bought the dress and still haven’t achieved your goal then the question is, “Do you still need that dress?” Let’s not forget pieces that may have been trending 3 years ago, they go in the NO pile too. It’s important to mention here that there is a difference between Trendy and Classic pieces. It’s the trendy clothing that needs to be looked over for possible inclusion in the NO pile.
Last is our MAYBE pile – these could be those special pieces that may have deep sentimental value or pieces that just need a little adjustment to be put back into the YES pile. The NO and MAYBE piles are the toughest so we added Step 3 to just cover all bases.
STEP 3: Questions to ask yourself
If you are the type that has a hard time letting go, its ok…Yes, you can tell yourself that you can keep the clothing you just can’t part with for one more week on one condition. Are you ready? You have to wear them this week. If you wear it, and love it, keep it by all means. If you wear it and recall the reason why you never wore the piece in the first place, it’s time to let it go.
After taking out the obvious NO’s and wearing all the ‘not so sure’ pieces during your one-week extension, if you still find yourself with a residual pile of clothes that you have a hard time deciding if you should keep or not, then you need to ask yourself these 6 questions:
- Does it bring me joy?
- Have I used it in the last year?
- Do I have a lot of the same items?
- Will I use it again next year (e.g. seasonal item)?
- Would I buy it again?
- Do I feel good wearing it?
If your answer to the majority of these questions in NO, then the decision is clear. It’s a NO!
STEP 4: Let’s get creative
When decluttering your closet have some fun with it. You could use this time to indulge in your OCD-ness and decide to only use the same kind of hangers, especially skinny, tiny hangers that save space. You may also colour coordinate your clothes like the rainbow spectrum. If that doesn’t quite pique your fancy, you could organize your clothes into outfits for work, casual and going out. This makes selecting what to wear much easier as you know exactly which closet or section of your closet to focus on when getting dressed. Once this step is complete, create an extra pile of clothes that need to be repaired and take them to the tailor or if you are doing shoes, a shoemaker. A major part of the reason why you may have so many items in your closet that go unused or unworn is because they need to be refitted or repaired.
STEP 5: Find some love
Now it’s time to find some love…for your clothes. Donate, swap, sell or recycle.
- Any clothing you no longer have love for can be taken to Retold, a Dubai based business that help clothes get a second chance. At Retold, your items are reviewed and the ones selected are sold in their store or online.
- If you have luxury items, you can opt for Luxury Closet, another Dubai based online boutique that buys and sells new and pre-loved luxury handbags, clothes, watches and jewelry.
- The Dubai Flea markets are another good option to get rid of your unwanted clothes. These markets are held every few weeks in different locations all over the city. The flea market route is a little bit more involved as you would need to be present at the market to sell your items. The visitors who frequent these markets are looking for exceptional deals so this may not be the best venue to try to sell items at a high-ticket price.
- If you still have items left behind, take them to Dubai Charity and a new home will be found for them for sure.