How to Be Ruthless When Decluttering Clothes

The drawers won’t shut properly. The hangers are so cramped together that your clothes are heavily creased. Opening the wardrobe causes a surge of anxiety. Is this your nightmarish reality? I know that it’s certainly been mine over long stretches of time.

Finding the motivation to declutter clothes and entering the right decluttering mindset can be a challenge. For this reason, I’ve compiled a guide with my best tips for how to be ruthless when decluttering clothes. So, let’s get ready to have a productive clearout!

Know What’s in Your Wardrobe

Chances are you’re not entirely sure. Rather than pulling every item out at once as you attempt the decluttering wardrobe task, I recommend picking out just five to ten pieces to sort through at any one time. This way, you should hopefully avoid becoming overwhelmed and consequently aborting the mission.

Make sure that the pieces are the same garment type; for example, group together ten t-shirts. By doing this, you’ll be able to clearly compare each t-shirt and see which ones can be let go.

Try on Every Single Item

Has your body shape changed? Does the piece fit your style any longer? Were you previously deluding yourself, and the item doesn’t look as good as you once thought? We’ve all been there. Try on every piece and evaluate once again.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’d kept a little worn item in my wardrobe for years because I possessed a subconscious thought process that it looked good on me. When I finally got around to trying on these pieces again, I was shocked that they had managed to slip through the clear-out net so many times. A classic case of what was I thinking?

Use Sentimentality to Your Advantage

You’re desperate to find the motivation to declutter clothes, but many of us get stuck reminiscing about a piece’s past. We decide that we cannot possibly get rid of something with such strong personal memories attached. What if this was the reason that you should remove this item from your collection, however?

More often than not, you don’t really wear this piece any longer – it belongs in its own time capsule. Perhaps looking at the piece evokes strong emotions, some of which are positive but some bittersweet. Do you really want to experience this sense of emotional heaviness every time you open your wardrobe? You probably have a photograph somewhere in which you are wearing the item – cherish this instead. To truly master how to be ruthless when decluttering clothes, sentimentality has to be balanced with logic.

Get Someone Else’s Opinion

Getting a second and objective opinion is so valuable. Another person won’t, or rarely will, carry any emotional connection to your clothing pieces and should be able to give helpful feedback. Just make sure that you advise them that your goal is to have a ruthless decluttering session and that straight honesty is appreciated.

Is the Item Poor Quality or a Duplicate?

Various pieces in our wardrobes were either sale purchases or last-minute buys. Chances are you already had one or more similar items sitting and gathering dust in your collection. Assess and decide which is the lesser quality piece, examining fabric, cut and stitching. Does the piece look tired? This is so important to consider when learning how to be ruthless when decluttering clothes.

Do You Really Have Space?

If the item has survived all other stages, sometimes you need to get blunt with yourself. If we bought and kept everything we desired, our homes would not be functional. Can you afford to save this item, spatially speaking? This can be tricky. Envisage a slimmed-down, clutter-free, efficient wardrobe to help get you into the declutter mindset and make tough but necessary decisions.

Visualise the Cash

If you’re planning on selling your clothes second-hand, picture the hard cold cash. Even inexpensive items can fetch a surprising amount or help achieve a more impressive sale total. Over the last couple of years, I’ve been on a mission to downsize my wardrobe massively. I set up an eBay account and listed all unwanted pieces of reasonable quality and in good condition. My sales total is now just shy of £800; this extra income has been convenient. Additional capital has the power to benefit your life; an over-cluttered wardrobe can’t.

Final Thoughts on How to Be Ruthless When Decluttering Clothes

Getting the energy and motivation to declutter clothes can be an uphill battle, especially when you’re pressed for time and not in the right mood. In my experience, the secret to mastering how to declutter clothing is to regularly assess everything you own. Don’t let mountains of unworn clothes or pieces you’re unsure about grow higher and higher. Procrastination is tempting, but it only harms us in the long term.

Get help from another person if you’ve become stuck – you can even turn a decluttering session into a social occasion by putting on the music and fetching the wine. Turn the chore of having a clear-out into a fun, positive thing that moves your life in the right direction. Sometimes, a decluttering mindset is everything.

If you’ve found How to Be Ruthless When Decluttering Clothes helpful, you may also like How to Let Go of the Past