Disclaimer: This one’s going to be a long one, so grab a glass of wine and dive in.

Well, here I am again, trying to sit down to write this blog post. I’ve literally come up with at least fifteen other “must do” chores every time I look at my computer because this is my way of procrastinating and avoiding. I’ve realized that I do that in many other areas of my life as well. Whenever I am going on vacation and packing is looming over my head, I decide with an urgency that my makeup drawer needs cleaning out or it’s time to reorganize my costume jewelry. Anything to NOT HAVE to pack!!! I’ve analyzed this and am now aware that these are all excuses for something I’m either not looking forward to doing, or in this case, something I’m not feeling completely confident doing. I think for many people this applies to their closets. I personally look at my closet as somewhat of a shrine and everything in it as my “collection”. In reality, fashion should be a enjoyable part of your life and not a stress factor (we already have a ton of actual justifiable stress). I’ve spent years adding, eliminating, assessing and organizing my closet and have loved every minute of it. But that is me right??? This may not actually apply to you. Maybe you walk into your closet with dread thinking “what the hell am I going to wear today?” or “I’ve put on five (10, 15, 20??) pounds and nothing fits me right anymore”. Perhaps you have clothing in multiple sizes from your different weights and, even if you don’t, you likely have a ton of pieces that you haven’t worn in a very long time. What if, every time you walked into your closet you KNEW that you would find something great to put on? What if, it didn’t take you a lot of time to find the right thing to wear BECAUSE you really love 80 percent of what is hanging/folded in there??? Now you are probably thinking a) YEAH right and b) why 80 percent?? So put the negative doubts aside and continue reading. And to answer why only 80 percent? Well, I think this is totally achievable and reasonable and in reality you will still need those comfortable but perhaps not lovable throw on clothes to go walk your dog or when you are running out to the store at 10 pm because your child has just informed you they need (fill in the blank) for a school project tomorrow morning. So let’s set the goal at 80 percent.

The Big Picture

What if this was possible? You are getting ready to go to a birthday dinner for a girlfriend. You don’t spend you day wondering what in God’s name am I wearing tonight. You don’t spend 45 minutes frantically trying on ten different outfits and then throw your arms up in disgust and wind up putting on the same black jeans and black top you have worn to 20 other nights out. Why? Because you have already edited out your closet, thrown away the really old crap, donated the pieces you don’t wear and now everything fits you and makes you happy. Now, I’m not saying there is some magic quick fix for this. I’m just saying that once you set aside some time (yes you have time even if you think you don’t) and delve into this project, you will be so happy with the results and amount of time you actual SAVE while getting dressed that you will continue to keep up with this system (which, by the way, it is so much easier to stay on top of your closet once you get it in order).

So where do you start?

Friends are Key

Grab some big ass garbage bags (you know the ones you use for yard clean up), contact a bestie that you trust will be fully honest with you (Think…yes, your ass does look fat in that and no you will never wear that fanny pack again). Promise her some Rose and good girl bonding moments or lunch at her favorite restaurant in exchange for her time and advice. Set a a date where you can spend a few undisturbed hours in your closet together. Side note: if you live in the tri-state area, I do offer these services as well.

To Ditch or to Save

Once you have your bags, and your bestie, its time to tackle the closet. First things first, literally pull every item out of your closet one by one. I find it easiest to do this with a portable wardrobe rack (you can find these on Amazon for under $50.00). This can be a little time consuming and gets emotional (just because you wore it on the day you found out you were pregnant doesn’t mean it still needs to be a part of your wardrobe). Make three piles. Let’s call them A, B, and C.

A - definitely needs to go. B - probably needs to go but your still attached to it for some reason and C - you love it and its a keeper. This might take time because I definitely suggest trying stuff on. This is where friend comes in to help you decipher if its truly worthy. How do you feel when you put it on? How does it fit? Do you have a place to wear it? Lets say its a dress and you like it and it fits you nicely but you have 15 other dresses you would choose over this one. DITCH IT! Because truth be told you won’t wear it again. Say you pull out something that you haven’t worn in three years. Is that because you haven’t had the right event/place to wear it or is it because you have an attachment to it? Get down and dirty with yourself and be honest. If you haven’t worn it in that long you probably never will. Lastly, does it still have a price tag on it? Did you buy it because you loved it but have no clue what to wear it with (stay tuned for my shopping tips blog). Maybe you have all good intentions of finding something perfect to wear with it but never did? Do you think you will now? Not likely. Give it a hug and place it in Bag A.

Now what?

Once you have completed this task, separate all the clothing from pile A into either donation, giveaway to sister/friend/whoever or if you are feeling up to it you can sell on one of many sites (Poshmark, Thredup, The RealReal) or bring them to a consignment shop. Keep in mind the items must be in good sellable condition. Now bag them up. Pile B I want you to bag up as well. Don’t panic, I’m not asking you to ditch them yet, just put them out of sight for a while. I’m going to pretty much guarantee that once you remove them from your closet, you won’t think about them again, which means you won’t be rummaging through the bag to find it. But hey, if you do then you just now realized that you love it right?? And now it can be a part of your elite 80 percent. The items in pile C can be hung up or folded neatly (I recommend getting nice matching hangers because this also adds to loving your closet and is very aesthetically appealing to the eye). Did I mention I loathe dry cleaner hangers???

It’s all about the System

Now let’s organize your clothing in a way that makes sense to you. For me, I like to color coordinate my clothing. Rather then separating it by design (sweater, blouse, etc.) I prefer to be able to go directly to whatever color I am looking to wear. Let’s say I grab a pair of dark denim jeans and I want to pair it with something red, its easiest to do that when it is sectioned that way. I DO, however, have a separate section for hanging pants, dresses and jumpsuits. The rest is sorted out by color, and then within the color section sorted from sleeveless, short sleeve, long sleeve, sweater. You get the picture (and if you don’t I will provide one).

You’ve Got This

By now you are probably sweating and panicking thinking this all sounds like a ton of work and even if you do manage to do this, how are you ever going to keep up with it? I have clients I have done this for and I promise you that when I follow up with them even a year later they are still so happy with the system and have not found it to be difficult to maintain. One key here is to hang up your laundry/dry cleaning etc. as soon as you can and not let it get backed up. Once it becomes part of your routine (like putting the dishes in the dishwasher) you won’t even think twice about it.

At this point, you should have only clothing that you truly love in your closet (again minus the few throws-ons I mentioned above). Maybe you are only left with 20 things, or maybe its a lot more. Thats ok. Because the reality is you weren’t wearing the rest of the stuff anyway. It was in there….yes. But you were not wearing it so it was just taking up extra space for the new fabulous items you have now freed up space to purchase. And guess what….when you go to get dressed, you won’t need to sipher through all those clothes to get to what you love and what looks amazing on you. Yahhhh!!!!!

The Fun Part

You have now reached the final assessment phase. What are you left with is what you need. Maybe your blouse section is complete but you ditched a lot of your dresses and pants. Maybe you don’t have a great blazer or a crisp white staple blouse. Don’t panic. Make a list of what you are missing and you can slowly (or quickly if you have some extra cash lying around) start filling in. I suggest taking your time. From now on, only buy what you love, what you need, and what fits into your lifestyle.

There you have it. 80/20. A simple system, yet most people aren’t doing it. You can confidently go into your closet to get dressed and know that you have an 80 percent chance of pulling out something you love and will actually wear without the clutter! Wooo-hoooo, girlfriends. Happy Cleaning!!

Much Love,