I want you to get your time back for the things that really matter, not standing in front of a closet full of clothes and decisions. I want you to be able to get dressed quickly in the morning, easily finding something to wear that you feel good about!
Keep reading for my quick and easy closet decluttering tips!
Saving Your Daily Energy
Let’s eliminate the draining task of deciding what to wear each morning. In this post, we’ll explore seven decluttering tips tailored for to help busy moms to create a decision-free closet.
One of the most valuable decisions we can make as a mom is to reduce the number of decisions we have to make on fairly insignificant things.
With more time, we can save your attention and energy for the big decisions. Let’s start with our closet!
Keep in Mind Your Body’s Season for Your Closet:
Here is a progress of my closet. When I first wrote this post in 2023 I was probably pregnant and didn’t know it, but it had been 3 years since I had a baby. I wore lots of jeans and wasn’t breastfeeding anymore.
Closet in 2023: 3 years after having a baby, I had using this method for about a year or so.
Closet in 2026:
One month after having a baby (more dresses and nursing friendly options from Neuflora) and I have worked on having a slightly more cohesive wardrobe.
But I am very much STILL using this method, because it works! I keep a minimal closet and can easily get dressed daily! And I am excited for you to experience this closet transformation too!
7 Closet Decluttering Tips:
- Clear off the bed, so we can have a clean working space.
- Take all the clothes out of your closet.
- Ask yourself: Do I like this piece of clothing? Does it look good on me? Do I feel good in this?
- If YES, fold the item and place in a neat pile on the bed.
- If NO, throw in a pile on the floor (we will tackle that pile later)
- Sort the folded clothes on the bed.
- Handle the pile on the floor.
The Closet Decluttering Steps:
1. Clear Off the Bed So You Have a Clean Working Space
The first step to creating a decluttered closet is creating a clean working space.
My favorite way to do this is on a nice made bed. This gives plenty of room to organize your clothes. It is also a good idea to clear some space around the bed for the clothes that are no a clear YES.
2. Take All Your Clothes Out of the Closet
Pull all of the clothes out of the closet and take them off the hangers. Only take out your everyday or weekend clothes.
I like to leave out all the workout clothes, Pjs, paint clothes, and super fancy outfits.
Our goal is to get dressed as quickly as possible in the morning.
While you will find me in lounge clothes some days, those are NOT my best days.
My best days come when I put on “regular” clothes and feel like a functioning human.
So if you are not putting on regular clothes, maybe give this organization method a shot. Having a couple of comfortable outfits that make you feel good hanging in your closet will increase your likelihood of getting dressed in the morning.
3. Ask Yourself:
- Do I Like This Piece of Clothing?
- Does It Look Good on Me?
- Do I Feel Good in This?
4. If it’s a YES, Fold the Item, and Place in a Neat Pile on Your Bed.
Once you’ve said YES, go ahead and stack like items together by category, so you can come back and see if you have 20 graphic tees or 15 pairs of the same pants.
*FUN TIP: I like to take a picture of all of your piles from above. Looking at my stacks I try to notice:
What colors do I see?
Do any piles seem too big?
Sometimes we notice more from a picture. We can look back at this picture when we go shopping to remind yourselves of what we already have and to help us choose colors that coordinate with our current wardrobe.
5. If it’s a NO, Throw in a Pile on the Floor (We Will Tackle that Pile Later)
Having a “no” pile gets us one step closer to a decluttered closet.
We don’t need to make any decision about what to do with those clothes just yet; we are simply taking them out of the decision process.
One reason people shut down when they are decluttering is because there are simply too many decisions. So let’s pull all of our energy in one direction and tackle the clothes on the bed first.
6. Sort the Folded Clothes on Your Bed
Now that we have all of our clothes beautifully laid out on the bed, it is time to sort and cull down our inventory.
If we have 325 choices for creating an outfit, the weight of that decision making process is going to be similar to going out to eat and having 325 menu item choices; we are going to feel overwhelmed.
We need fewer options to make good decisions.
Culling the Clothes You Like:
An easy way to sort and cull out what is on the bed is to look for duplicates, stained items, ratty, or extra worn items, and items that just aren’t flattering.
Consider adding these pieces to the pile on the floor.
Secondly, ask yourself if there is anything you included simply because you spent a lot of money on the item.
We have all made shopping mistakes, but we don’t want to open our closet and see a piece that screams failure or invokes shame because we got sold by good marketing or made an impulsive decision.
If we don’t like it or aren’t going to wear it, consider just setting ourselves free from it and putting that piece on the floor.
If we still have an abundance of items, one idea is to try eliminating busy patterns because they are more challenging to mix and match with.
Keeping the ones we really love will help us get dressed so much easier in the morning.
Other items to consider moving out of our closet are ones that are hard to keep from being wrinkled or take a lot of extra upkeep (hello, dry clean only).
7. Handle the Pile on Your Floor
Before we tackle that pile on the floor, put your “keep” or YES items back on the hanger and back into the closet. I am a really big fan of these hangers.
While they are a bit of an investment, they are no-slip, aesthetically pleasing, and are a huge space-saver in your closet. Consider donating the rest of your plastic hangers and just going all in with these. I promise you won’t regret it!
Once all our YES clothes are in the closet, smooth out the bed for a fresh palette, and move the pile of clothes from the floor back onto the bed.
Sorting the Clothes that Do Not Stay in Our Closet
Grab small bags or boxes for each category that we are going to sort these clothes into.
Here are the categories:
- Trash:
- I know throwing away your clothes may feel painful, but if you wouldn’t buy it at a thrift store, or if it’s covered in stains or holes, it’s time to toss it. Unless of course you sew and want to repurpose the cloth.
- Donate:
- Donating is a great way to give your clothes new life. Consider donating to places that support causes you believe in. This makes it easier to part with that $100 jacket you don’t love anymore. At least the money is going to a good cause!
- Sell or Give to a Friend or Sister:
- Sometimes selling clothes can feel like a waste of time, but if you have really nice clothes that are in great shape, you will have a small return on your investment. You can also let your sister or friends search through your clothes; even though you may be done with the item, someone else may love it!
- Save for Later:
- Putting aside a few items in storage is a great option for outfits from a different season in your life, such as pregnancy, breastfeeding or post-pregnancy. If you love the items and plan to wear them later, save them in a “later bin”.
- Not Sure:
- You can also use the later bin for items you are undecided on. All the decisions of decluttering can become overwhelming, so saving it for another time with fresh eyes really helps. I like to check in with these later items every season when I am switching my kids clothes out. Fresh eyes makes it way easier to make a call on keeping the item or letting it go.
- Emotional Items or Bad Buys
- Remind yourself: you are not your things, but if you can’t let it go just yet…put the item in the later bin.
“Later Bin”:
Having a later bin is key to eliminating clothes that shouldn’t be a part of our daily decision making. Put the later bin in an area that’s easily accessible but not in your room. A basement or guest closet would be a great spot for this bin. Make sure it is labeled with “[Your Name]’s Later Bin.”
Video of Decluttering Closet Tips:
Tell Me Your Top Decluttering Tips Below:
I would love to hear your top decluttering tips and the questions you ask yourself when you are deciding whether to keep your clothes or any other item in your home. Tell me in the comments section below.
Please share this post with another friend that you know would love to start decluttering, so she can get ready quickly and get her time and energy back. Sharing is caring!
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