Making Sense of Your Closet For Fall

It’s that time of year again. A new school year has begun and a new season has arrived, along with a change in the weather. That means, of course, that it’s time to change what’s in your closet. Out with the old, in with the new.

Organizing your clothes every season is a good way to avoid over-crowding. Start by pulling everything out of your closet…yep everything. Now sort each item into 3 piles, keep, throw away, and donate.

If you’ve worn an item so long that it’s threadbare, you really shouldn’t try to donate it to goodwill. As much as you love it, it’s time to graduate it to the trash or recycle bin. Sometimes worn clothes can be transferred to your work-in-the-yard clothes, but other times they just need to go away.

The clothes you’ve hardly worn tell a different story all together. Perhaps you loved these clothes when you tried them on at the store, or you couldn’t pass them up when you saw them on sale. But you haven’t worn them—which means the really aren’t you. They don’t speak to you. You really don’t see yourself wearing them. If you did, you would have worn them more by now. It’s time to donate these items to the second-hand store so someone else can truly wear them out.

Now that you’ve decided which clothes you aren’t going to bother with keeping, it’s time to sort the ones you still wear. If the item is strictly a summertime article, then fold it up and store it in your summer clothes bin for next year. If it’s something you can wear year-round, like jeans, fold it and set it aside. Don’t place anything back into your closet until you’re completely done.

Once your summer clothes bin is filled, put a lid on it and take it back to the basement or attic, wherever you keep your overflow clothing. Now open your autumn clothes bin and rediscover your new wardrobe.

Chances are, you’ll find items in this bin that you no longer want to wear. If so, place them in the donation pile. If you were able to keep your autumn clothes clean in their box all year, go ahead and start loading your closet now. If not, send them to the laundry room for a quick wash cycle first.

Now it gets fun. As you reload your shelves and clothes rods, ask yourself if there’s anything that would make your closet more functional. Would hanging organizers help you make better sense of your shoes? Would it help to hang your purses and bags on the back of the door? If you divided your clothes by color, sleeve length, or degree of formality, would it be easier to find what you’re looking for? Would an attractive, sturdy basket help keep the smaller things contained? Make a list of all your ideas and head to the store. Or see what you can find on our family of sites.

Once you’ve got your clothes back into your closet and organized, you’ll see areas where you’re lacking. Maybe you need more dress shirts, shoes, sweaters or slacks—and that only means one thing. Time to shop for new clothes.