Several weeks ago, I was working with a client on decluttering her home. At one of our decluttering sessions, she stood in front of her huge walk-in closet and said, “I have nothing to wear! Nothing fits, it’s out of style, or out of season.”

A Fresh Perspective

I stood beside her, looking into the exact same closet, and asked if she would like to make order out of the chaos so that she could discover that she actually had plenty to wear. She was curious and agreed to the challenge.

Together, we removed every single piece of clothing from her closet and placed it in huge piles on the bed, on the loveseat, and on the floor. As we were doing that, she made comments like:

  • “I forgot I ever had this.”
  • “I used to wear that and loved it.”
  • “I can’t believe I ever bought that!”

It was a cathartic process for her to touch each piece of clothing and comment. As she commented, we created categories:

  • Love it (keep)
  • Can’t stand it (donate)
  • I’m not sure (wait)

Organizing the ‘Love It’ Pile

We sorted the “Love it” pile into categories: dresses, slacks, shirts, etc., and placed them back into the closet by color and category. As we did that, she made a few other comments:

  • “I’m looking forward to wearing that again.”
  • “I could have used that last month for a party rather than going out and buying something new.”

Dealing with the ‘Can’t Stand It’ Pile

We put the bags and boxes together, and before she could second-guess herself, we put them in her trunk to bring to the donation site. When we got back into the house, she said she felt so much lighter and empowered by the process and by taking action.

She admitted that she had been overwhelmed by her cluttered closet, telling herself she had nothing to wear, which led her to buy new things almost every week. She felt guilty about the amount of money she had been spending when she now realized there were things in her closet that she looked forward to wearing.

Tackling the ‘I’m Not Sure’ Pile

Our third pile, “I’m not sure,” took some time because I had her try everything on. Some she quickly decided that she liked and would wear; others she didn’t like, didn’t want, and would not wear. It was evident that she was making decisions—yay or nay. She was making progress.

Just like the two former piles, the keeps went back into her closet by category and by color. The can’t-stand items went into the donate bags.

The Final Step

What was left was a small pile of “can’t decide.” She put them by category and color in one small section of her closet and agreed that she would monitor that area for 30 days. At that point, she would decide to keep or donate.

I’m telling you this story because many of my followers on social media complain about their closet clutter and having nothing to wear. If you can relate to this, and if you are overwhelmed by the chaos that lurks in your closet, I strongly recommend you try this method—and don’t do it alone.

Ask a friend, sister, or someone to help, and as you are decluttering your closet, listen to what you’re saying to yourself. Likely, in the end, like my client, you will say, “I can hardly wait to wear those again!”

And don’t forget to enjoy a good laugh that you once said you have nothing to wear!

Share Your Experience

Please email me and tell me how it goes!

Have you ever felt like you have nothing to wear despite a closet full of clothes? What did you do about it? What are some of your favorite tips or tricks for decluttering your closet? Have you ever rediscovered a forgotten favorite piece of clothing while decluttering?

Share your story!

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