Declutter clothes: “Where does it go from here?” + Make your next clear out easier

When you declutter clothes there is a vital question to ask: what to do with the clothes you don’t keep? So that is what we’re tackling today. Plus I’ll share my favorite way to make your next closet clear out infinitely easier. Decluttering your closet doesn’t have to be a nightmare of a weekend anymore. 

3 ways to declutter clothes

In general there are three options for the items you choose to remove from your closet. (Find more about these options and specific suggestions in this post.)

1. Put it in someone else’s closet

This includes donate, resell, swap, giveaway, etc. I generally say “donate” as a shorthand, but what I really mean is “rehome.” These are clothes that no longer have a home in your closet and now need a home in someone else’s.

2. Recycle it

The next option is recycling your clothes. This is for clothes that are no longer usable as clothing, but not trash. You can do this via a textile recycler. Or you can recycle clothes within your own home as rags, etc.

3. Trash it

The final option is to trash it. This is your last resort and should be reserved for absolutely lost causes. This is only for clothes that are not salvageable. Check with your local waste management for how to dispose of this, but you generally dispose of it like the thing making it unsalvageable. For example, if it’s covered in mold, dispose of it like mold, not like clothing.

​How to choose where to declutter your clothes

Those are your three options, but how do you choose where to declutter your clothes?

Most clothes I see decluttered are in good enough condition to rehome.

Some should be recycled (mostly irreparable rips, tears, and benign stains).

Very few items of clothing are unsalvageable to the point of being garbage.

But this also inevitably brings up questions about the very real problems as they relate to clothing donations and textile recycling.

So here’s how I’m currently thinking about that for individuals…

​An individual solution to the problem of clothing donations

There are significant systemic problems with the lifecycle of clothing. Until there are systemic solutions to these systemic problems, individual options are limited especially when you’re already at the point of decluttering your clothes. 

At the individual level: asking the question “where does it go from here?” belongs when you purchase or obtain a garment, not when you remove that garment from your closet.

When I work with people to procure additions to their closet this is one of the questions we consider. Or when I work with people and we go through my whole personal style methodology, procuring additions for your wardrobe is one of the last steps. By then we know exactly what you need, and can purchase the perfect additions.

Of course we think about how a piece of clothing works with the other clothes in your closet, and how it fits your body. We also consider the care requirements and lifestyle implications of a purchase (for example: if you have small children, keeping the dedicates to a minimum). And ask: what is the intended timeframe for keeping this item in your closet and what is the plan when you’re done?

This is how we break the cycle of endless clutter and overwhelm and purge on an individual level. We move the question: where does it go when I’m finished with it? To the beginning of our relationship with our clothing.

When we wait until the end of our relationship with a piece of clothing to ask: where does it go from here? We have limited choices because of infrastructural limitations when it comes to the lifecycle of textiles. (It’s similar to only being able to buy bras that are available for sale – if your size is not available to buy, your options are very limited.)

On an individual level, when we ask this question at the beginning of the relationship we can navigate those limitations with more kindness and grace.

When you make better choices in procuring your clothes, you have better decluttering options.

​Make your next closet declutter a task not a project

When we are in flow with our closets, confident in our style and our choices, we are clearing items out of our closets frequently enough that it is no longer an overwhelming project that we dread and put off.

Instead clearing out our closets becomes a simple task that fits seamlessly into our lifestyle.

When that happens we don’t need to find somewhere that will accept clothing donations by the bag full. Instead, we can decide where we want to rehome a handful of pieces – no overwhelm required.

But before we get to that vision we need to reset and get our closet up to speed with where we are now, and the first step to that is a closet clear out.

​If you’re ready to kickstart your closet reset, reach out.