30-Day Organize-athon | Day 2: Clear Out Your Hanging Closet

30-Day Organize-athon 02

Welcome to the 30-Day Organize-athon!

In today’s 5 minutes we’re going to express-clear the hanging part of your closet.

Take a deep breath as you imagine inhaling a sense of clarity, freedom and order, and off we go!

Day 2: Clear Out Your Hanging Closet

Step 1: Grab a large garbage bag.

Step 2: Open up the hanging part of your closet and, quickly scanning your clothes from left to right, toss into the bag anything that:

  • Doesn’t fit
  • Feels scratchy or unpleasant against your skin
  • Is in a shape that doesn’t suit you
  • Is in a color that doesn’t suit you
  • Has a neckline or hem length that doesn’t suit you
  • Has negative memories or associations
  • Is tatty
  • Has been worn too many times
  • Is tragically out of fashion
  • Is not your style any more
  • Makes you feel uncomfortable or unhappy
  • Hasn’t been worn in the past 12 months.

Step 3: Do a second scan, left to right, for anything that needs repair, alteration or laundering. If you know you’ll never get around to the repair, alteration or dry cleaning, then pop these items straight into your first bag. Otherwise, put them aside for later attention.

Step 4: Put your bag by the door or take it straight out to the car. (Take it to the charity store or tip as soon as you can. Really good stuff should go to charity, but let junk go.)

And you’re done!

Got an Extra 5 Minutes?

  1. Notice what’s still in your closet – the styles, colors and shapes that suit you – and make a note to buy more if you need them.
  2. Notice what you’ve decided to ditch – the styles, colors and shapes that don’t work for you – and make a What Not To Wear list to avoid future fashion faux pas.
  3. Tidy your clothes and straighten your hangers.

Now aren’t you looking forward to getting dressed?

The 30-Day Organize-athon Mantra

Move fast. Don’t overthink. Let it go!

Start the 5-minute timer now.

Leave Your Comment Below…

Please leave a comment below to say you’ve completed today’s task.

See you back here tomorrow!

[Image by aussiegall]

415 thoughts on “30-Day Organize-athon | Day 2: Clear Out Your Hanging Closet

  1. Laura B says:

    I thought these were going to be 5 minute challenges. Yesterday and today took me more that 30 minutes. Maybe it’s because I have a hard time just getting rid of stuff.

  2. Darlene Joecks says:

    I keep pretty up on my closets…but I did get rid of some dressy clothes that I fit into 4 yrs ago… the 30+ wt has been off that long I think I am good to donate them…felt good!!

  3. Kelly says:

    oh my, that was a chore & a half. Done. & I am going one step further now & I am going to declutter my whole clothes collection, ie drawers as well.

    Plus you have inspired me to reorganise my cupboards/wardrobes totally – I am going to move a few wardrobes around to create a fresh look & give myself a bit more space. A can of worms has certainly been opened in this house & NOTHING is safe!!

  4. Susan Saunders says:

    Mission accomplished. Why were some of those clothes still in the back of the closet I ask you? I have another closet to do another day — mostly winter clothes (in Florida you don’t wear them so often) that are hopelessly out of date. I love the feeling of accomplishment.

  5. molly says:

    I’ve known I needed to do this for ages…..Why can I not do it without a push from someone I don’t even know? But keep pushing! I got rid of stuff today that went out of style back when Noah was leading pairs of animals back to dry land! Why was I keeping pants that made me look like I was wearing a clown suit? They were made of beautiful wool. But I got in there today and set them, and myself, free! It feels great!

  6. happymom79 says:

    wow…I actually did this with my closet last week, so I decided to tackle my 9 year old daughters closet insted. She now has double the room. I wasn’t able to get rid of most of the things though, because I have a younger daughter who grows into most of those clothing items. I also have a rummage sale coming up. between my two girls closets and mine, we’ve added 6 tubs to the sale!

  7. Hope says:

    Ok that was fun but , now i need to make a list of needs cause there isn’t much left. Do you have a list of every womens must haves? Ok now to hit kids closets too!

  8. Julie says:

    Done! One of my favorite activities every six months. I let go of a lot this time plus put several things away for next fall/winter.
    I did not do this for husband’s side of the closet. He’s in the midst of losing weight, so we’ll wait until he’s ready to shop for smaller clothes. Looking forward to that!

  9. Dani says:

    wow this was crazy, long and very hard……. but i did it i have lost almost 80 lbs since last April and boy was it hard to get rid of my larger comfort clothes but i did it……

Comments are closed.