One of the hardest things to do is get rid of clothes, believe me, I know. But Spring is the absolute best time to get rid of clothes. Right before summer, after you end your college semester, you open your closet and try to make all of your clothes from college fit back into your closet. Instead of making everything forcefully fit, it is better to give away the clothes that aren’t necessary anymore.
I would start by saying to take everything out of your closet and dressers. Although this may be annoying, it is the best way to Spring clean. You can wipe down the shelves, clean out the drawers and see how many clothes you are working with. This will also help after you have decided which articles you are keeping, donating and throwing out, so you can organize your closet in the way you want.
I always go by the yearly rule, if I haven’t worn it in a year, I am going to donate it. College really shows what clothes you wear and what clothes you don’t wear. You bring all of the clothes you like to school and leave the clothes you don’t normally wear at home. These shirts that you have had for three years but are saving “just in case you need it,” can be put in the donation pile. Another idea if you need to get rid of a lot of clothes is to try on all of the clothes you haven’t worn in a while. There are those ten shirts with the one pair of leggings you know you wear over and over and over again, so these items you won’t have to try on. But, if there are clothes that haven’t been worn in the past month or two, I would say to try them on and see how often you will truthfully be able to wear them.
Of course, there are some articles of clothing that you don’t wear but you can’t give away because it is meaningful: high school merch, concert apparel, etc. This is where I buy a container to put these clothes in. Only clothes that are truly meaningful go in here. In this box, I have my old uniforms and spirit day shirts. But not every old t-shirt needs to go into this box. This clothing box is important because it holds all of your memories while clearing out room for your closet.
Although it is frustrating, anything that is ripped or stained should get thrown out. Unless you plan on bringing it to the dry cleaners to get fixed, it should go in the garbage. With this being said, if there is an outfit that you have been meaning to bring to get fixed for two years, then it is time to part ways with it because it will never make it to the dry cleaners.
When it comes to organizing your closet, you may want to organize your clothes by season. You could buy a box to put your seasonal clothes in: if it’s summer, you keep your winter stuff in a box and switch it out when the weather starts to change. Or if you have enough room in your closet or dresser, you simply organize your clothes by season that way. Since summer is coming up, I would put all of my summery outfits closest to reach and my sweaters in the back of my closet.
Spring Cleaning isn’t the most enjoyable thing to do, especially when it comes to getting rid of your clothes. But you will thank yourself if you are able to create more room in your closet for new clothes or even just more space in general!