Who has a great system for getting rid of clothes and shoes that take up closet space?

Question

I want to get organized and I've taken 3 trips to the Goodwill...but my closet is still stuffed!

I want to have a neat space! I dream of having an Ikea model room, but my clutter is driving me nuts!

Answer 1

1] divide your closet into four sections, along the hanging rod.
Remove everything in the first section, and put clothes on bed; shoes on floor, and what's on shelves out on chair or desk.
2] keep only if:
it fits
you have worn it in last year
it is flattering style for figure
color looks good on you
you still like it
OTHERWISE, donate!
3] repeat with hats, scarves, gloves/mittens, all tops, sweaters, sweats, jackets, coats, pants, jeans, skirts, capris, bermudas, shorts, pajamas, nightowns, robes, and swimsuits.
Also, handbags, totes/backpacks, shoes, boots, and sandals.
[ do not donate used underwear or socks - only ones with tags still on! ]
If you have more than 10-14 of any item, say fitted tees, that is plenty [ and more than most people have! ]
The Goodwill, Salvation Army, and all the other thrift stores will love you!
* there are a lot of people out there with good taste, who can't afford to dress the way they like - they will be very happy to get nice clothing!
4] put shelf dividers on closet shelf - use first section for winter hats, scarves, gloves/mittens; second for stacks of sweaters or tees; third for 'filed' [ like books , skinny end out ]
handbags, and fourth for sun hat, visor, beach bag, sunglasses
5] use shoe racks in bottom of closet = do [ left to right ] winter shoes, school/everyday shoes, athletic shoes, and sandals/flip flops. Put shoes worn most frequently in front, and boots or dress shoes in back.
6] get dividers for dresser - drawer one could be bras, panties; two - socks/hose/tights, three - slips, pajamas; etc. See why you need dividers? Sections will enable you to see if your navy tights are there or in laundry, etc.
7] get a belt hanger or tie rack to hang up belts [ I do mine by color ] to finish an outfit.
8] underbed storage units are good for out of season clothes,
sport supplies, exercise equipment, etc.
9] put all cosmetics in a cosmetic box; or put eye stuff, lip stuff, etc. inl ittle containers in pretty colors [ small flowerpots, nested boxes, etc. ]
10] buy second smaller set of boxes/containers, jars for pens/pencils/markers/ compass/protractor/ tacks/paper clips
on desk.
Have fun, and thanks for donating!

Answer 2

what i do is i bought an extra hanger rack from IKEA, great things because you dont need all the winter clothes in your closet in summer and vice versa, hence, you can put that extra clothes rack in another spare room (assuming you have one), and leave the clothes for the season now. this stops them being crunhed up in a box somewhere. another good idea is space saver bags, they are vacum sealed bags that suck all the air out, so you use less space, these are awesome space savers.
with shoes, there are these really great boxes you can buy, i think its pinklilly the brand, they are on the net, so just google pink lilly and ull know what i mean (actually i did it for you, its the idea in the middle). they are easy to open and save HEAPS of space, and look neat stacked. if you dont have a lot of money, maybe keep the shoe boxes, so you can stack upways and not worry about leaving them all over the floor.
my friend has a blanket box she uses for her stuff, its at the end of the bed and its like a trunk, she puts her shoes and bags etc in that, so it gives more space in the closet. good luck.

Answer 3

First, try on all of your clothing. If it is too small, too big, faded, ripped, not flattering, etc... get rid of it! You only want to wear stuff that makes you look fabulous!

After you've done that, when you go to hang your clothes back up in the closet, put the hangers on backward (the hook part facing out instead of in). Whenever you wear something, replace it the normal way. Then come back in a couple of months and get rid of everything that still has a backwards hanger. Same with your shoes; put them in your closet backwards and whenever you wear them put them back facing front. This is a great way to figure out what you actually wear and what you're just holding on to.

Lastly, every time you buy a new piece of clothing, get rid of something else, that way you never get too cluttered again.

Good luck!

Answer 4

First you have to think about the easier way to get things from the dryer to the drawer, or closet. This way things don't wrinkle, and you can keep things in order easier. My opinion is that hanging is easiest. Divide her closet in half, tops and bottoms. Dresses, and multi-piece outfits, and jackets count as tops. Socks and underwear can go in their own cloth bag to be hung on a hanger in the closet. You can put items that fall off a hanger easily, like some tank tops, or pajamas in to the drawer.

Answer 5

If you don't wear something in a few months time, get rid of it. I know it is hard to do, but it will give you a neat closet and drawers.

In the future, don't buy something because it "looks" pretty. Stop and ask yourself "will I wear this more than once?". If the answer is no, don't buy it.

Answer 6

bins and lots of them. really think about what you NEED AND WEAR A LOT! Store seasonal items in your basement in the bins and then bring them up to your closet when it gets to be that time of year. throw out or give away clothes you have not worn in at least 4 months. Chances are you wont wear them again, at least that is how I am. Have you seen those space saving bags on tv? where you can use the vacuum and it will compress your items?

Answer 7

I'd suggest stocking half of your blouses / dresses / shoes / & skirts into a container and put it in the garage. That way, next year you can switch out your clothes and have whole new outfits and you're not losing money on what you bought in the first place...

Answer 8

If we buy 2 articles of clothing we get rid of two.You either give to someone or take to goodwill.Have you seen those bags at Bed bath n beyond for storage?you lay the clothes in bag and u suck all the air out it lays completely flat!!you can store so much more..but are you really going to wear it all?
I still say buy one thing get rid of one thing...

Answer 9

There are consignment shops that will take some of the clothes, I'm sure. And there's a local shop here called "The Clothes Line" that buys your name brand, in-good-shape clothes to re-sell. And we always find good quality stuff there when we are looking.

Answer 10

I have one of those organisers with pockets in hanging on the back of my sons' bedroom door for things like socks and underwear, this stuff would be taking up a few drawers otherwise.