Closet Cleanse
In this blog, I’m sharing some helpful ways to organize your clothes closets, showing you some before and after’s of our closet cleanse + redesign and reviewing how to turn your clothes into cash which is fun!
This is a portion out of the chapter of my new workbook, The Seasonal Scrub.
You’ll love it if you’re looking for a simple method of releasing the old and creating space for the new!
A place for everything and everything in its place.
It’s something that runs through my mind whenever I set out to find a better way of organizing things in my home.
A few years ago, every time I entered my closet, I would feel stressed. I couldn’t see my clothing properly and because I didn’t have a good system in place, I would find myself wearing the same 5 shirts every week because I just wanted to get in and get out lol.
When I think back to my twenties, I was working 60 hr weeks and would find myself often at the mall trying to drown my sorrows with a new outfit.
And now in my forties, nothing gives me a greater thrill than a minimalistic vibe + an organized system that continues to work well beyond when I put it in place. From my closets to the junk drawer … I have systems in place.
And in this blog, I want to share with you a bit of the process and some before + afters when I set out to find the better way for our clothes closets.
PREP. GUT. SORT. PLACE.
In my Seasonal Scrub workbook, I talk about the 4 step approach or organizing any area: You PREP, you GUT, you SORT, and then you PLACE.
As you go through the process of gutting + sorting, you’ll have some moments of overwhelm, perhaps some heavy emotions as you make decisions on what stays and what goes.
Clothing can be sentimental and sometimes we want to hold onto the past so tightly that we lose sight of who we are who we are becoming.
Go with it and see what you are able to release here (and earn some extra $$ in the process).
I’ve included a bonus video for you below which is part of the Closet Chapter of the Seasonal Scrub:
You’ll notice you feel energized by releasing items that don’t align with who you are today.
Once you’ve gone through the PGSP process, you might feel inspired to invest in a new closet system.
Last year, we redesigned our closets and mudroom using Ikea’s Pax system. Prior to that, we had the typical white wire racks that are installed in new homes.
It made such a huge difference in being able to properly organize items and create a somewhat boutique feel within our closet spaces.
If you’re looking to upgrade your closets, I found their design process pretty simple and they have digital planning tools you can use to build it out based on your dimensions and needs.
I've put the blueprints of our Pax design below … you can click the image to play around with this tool even if you just want to use it to plan out your space. I’ve also included one of the templates out of the Seasonal Scrub workbook, the design schematic which you can print and map out your new space:
our before + afters:
Here’s a closer look at the before + after of our master closet if you’re looking for some transformation inspiration:
CLOSET CONSIDERATIONS FOR OPERATION ORGANIZATION:
Here are 5 things to consider when creating a new system within your closets.
(I go into this in more detail in the Seasonal Scrub)
clothing rental
I love using the clothing rental platform Nuuly . You rent 6 x items a month and can purchase at a deep discount if you love it.
clothes —> cash
With the rule of never buying another hanger, here are some ideas for what to do with the clothes you’re no longer keeping in your closet …
Poshmark:
If you have clothes in great condition that you want to sell and from current brand names, you should also definitely look at selling on Poshmark. I want to expand more here on Poshmark as this is the platform I use to sell my clothing and I think you’ll love it. (You can check out my closet here)
Poshmark is really easy to set up and start selling on. It’s an app with a desktop version but everything can be done within the app.
And there’s a huge community of shoppers on there - around 40 million at last count. They do take 20% commish but that’s to be expected as you’d find with a consignment shop.
Shipping is simple as labels are created for you and they moderate all returns refunds. It’s more of a white glove service + platform than selling on ebay.
You can download the Poshmark app and see how easy it is to start buying/selling. When you’re setting up your profile, you can use code ‘holfit’ to start off with a $15 credit
(I give you step by step directions on how to sell in the Seasonal Scrub)
🛒 You can join my closet email list if you would like to be notified through email when I upload new items to my Poshmark.
Plato’s Closet:
Plato’s Closet is a great option if you have brands that people in their teens —> thirties would be into. There are about 500 locations across North America so there likely is one near you. You bring in your hamper of clothes to sell and they go through it and call you back in about an hour. They’ll give you cash on the spot for what they want to buy from you.
Once Upon a Child:
And then Once Upon a Child is owned under the same umbrella company as Plato’s Closet but is just for kids clothes.
Works the exact same way as above and is so helpful as kids grow out of clothes so quickly!
Shopping Party:
I’ve also gotten together with girlfriends in the past for a shopping party which was fun!
We all brought racks of clothing for sale, priced them out and invited friends to stop by for snacks + shopping.
I have a shop of all the items I’ve bought to organize items in our closets etc:
And I have a few ebooks that may interest you if you want to work on creating systems in your home:
Thanks for stopping by the blog - hope you found this content useful + inspiring!