You know when you can’t physically fit another piece of clothing in your closet or your drawers just will not close? That was me and I couldn’t stand it any longer, so I decided instead of just sticking to spring cleaning, I would do a fall closet clean out and get ready for the colder months by doing a big sweep of things that just weren’t serving me anymore. I haven’t cleaned out my closet since last winter and it was long overdue. I knew some tips from doing yearly closet clean outs with my mom over the years, but I also decided to read a few different blogs to get me inspired to take on this huge task. Doing this really did get me motivated and I wanted to share the process that I took this time and some tips I learned and used to possibly motivate + inspire you to do a fall closet clean out of your own! There really is no better feeling than getting organized! It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I’m so happy with the results! Now when I open my closet, it brings me peace knowing everything has a place, is so much cleaner, and more organized! I can see everything, which makes getting ready so much easier! There are still a few organization things I want to do to make it even more functional, but this was a great start! If you want to see the entire process + the before & after, you can check out my YouTube video here!

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Schedule a day for your closet clean out — Writing something down or blocking out a day to do something helps keep you accountable for doing it. It’s also a big task, so making sure you give yourself the day to do it is so helpful.
Start in sections — This makes things so much easier and the task a lot less daunting! I love starting with accessories like hats and bags, then I move on to shoes, and then I go through my closet in sections and my drawers one at a time.
Make piles — I like to make a pile of things I’m going to keep, things I’m going to donate, and things I’m going to sell on Poshmark! Starting off this way helps keep the process more organized and then everything is already sorted out when you’re done. As soon as you finish a section, put the keep pile back in the closet or drawer. When I put everything back in the closet, I like to organize it in sections based on color and clothing type. When I put everything back in the drawer, I like to roll it. Drawers are the first thing to get messy. This time, I ordered organization dividers. I’ll go more into detail on this below.
Put on your favorite podcast or music — I love listening to something when I’m cleaning or organizing. It takes your mind off the task and makes it more enjoyable if this isn’t something you’re super excited to do. It also makes you feel like you’re either hanging out with friends or learning something at the same time (depending on what type of podcast listener you are).
Use the 6 month rule — If I haven’t worn something in 6 months and I don’t think I’ll wear it within the next 6 months, I donate it or sell it on Poshmark. This allows for you to have only your staple/essential pieces in your closet, so you can easily find them. It makes putting together an outfit a lot quicker when there’s less things in your closet to dig through that you might not even want to wear anymore. I’m really working on creating a capsule wardrobe for this reason, but I also love having a few trendy pieces in my closet as well, so going with the 6-month rule helps to get rid of those items that are either out of style or just don’t serve me anymore. I really took time to get rid of Spring/Summer pieces I knew I wouldn’t wear next year. If it’s a good transitional piece that I could still bring into fall, I kept it. These were mostly basics like neutral tops that can be used for layering pieces. I also read that for Spring/Summer pieces you aren’t currently wearing, but don’t want to get rid of, you could get storage bins to store them. This makes space for your Fall/Winter clothes to be front and center without having to sort through things that aren’t good for the current season.
Invest in good hangers — I seriously had so many plastic, mismatched hangers, it made my closet look cluttered and chaotic. Plastic hangers take up more space, so I decided to donate mine and order more of my velvet + metal hangers. They take up less space and provide a much more cohesive look throughout your closet. Also, keep all your hangers facing the same direction.
Sort your clothes by category — I do this in my closet and my drawers (blazers, long sleeve tops, short sleeve tops, tank tops, crop tops, outerwear, pants, trousers, etc.). Sort things the way that makes the most sense to you. I even like to take it a step further and organize each of those categories by color. This makes getting ready so much easier and just makes your closet look nicer. For my drawers, I like to have one for sweaters, sweat sets, pajamas, workout clothes, underwear, socks, shorts, and jeans. I always hung my sweaters up, but I recently read that it’s better to have those rolled up in a drawer, so they don’t stretch out.
Invest in organization bins, storage bins, and shelves — I mentioned this above, but these really do elevate a closet, especially when you don’t have any custom, built-ins. These are even great when you do have built-ins to maximize space or display things in an aesthetic way! I like having shelves for my shoes because you can make the most of that space and see each pair easier. I used storage dividers for my hats and bags on the top shelf of my closet to keep things in sections and allow the bags to stand upright. This will also keep everything from losing its original shape. Getting storage dividers for my drawers has been a game changer! I can never go back to just throwing all my underwear, bras, socks, and bikinis in a drawer ever again.

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Here’s a little quote I found from The Every Girl Blog when I was reading things to get me inspired and I loved this! I definitely want to try it out!

I hope these tips helped you, inspired you, or motivated you to do a closet clean out for the fall and winter season! Here are the links to everything I used/now have in my closet + drawers!

Thank you so much for visiting my little space on the internet! Xx

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