Declutter Your Wardrobe + Accessories For Spring
Attention!!! I am NOT going to tell you to toss or donate the bulk of your wardrobe and start fresh for Spring! Nope! Instead we’re going to declutter your wardrobe and accessories for Spring from a lighter, more resourceful approach. Together we’ll walk through how to quickly edit your wardrobe and dress so it’s more effortless, some easy steps to make better sense of the closet space/drawers you have to store everything more efficiently, and become more resourceful with the clothing you already have. Are you in?! Good. Let’s get started.
I’ve discovered over the years that getting dressed is the easiest for me + my brain when my closet + drawers are organized by color. Take some time to figure out what organizational style works best for you so getting dressed feels as effortless as possible.
1. Clarify how you like to get dressed.
Probably not the first question you thought I was going to ask you! For example, I love getting dressed by color. 95% of the days throughout the year, color drives my initial choices of how I get dressed, followed by what the weather/activities for the day are steering. This might look a little different for you. Take some time to think through how you like to get dressed and what feels most intuitive for you. Is it pure function? Is it based on patterns you like to wear? Do you prefer to have a uniform of sorts (you love wide-legged trousers and a fun blouse for work most days)? It’s OK to have a combo of these on different days of the week or 2-3 primary ways you enjoy getting dressed. Get in tune with this so you can better organize your closet space to support what works best for you (see future steps).
Bonus Tips:
If you’re not quite sure about how to do this, I suggest you observe how you get dressed for the next week. What make getting dressed feel easy? What makes it feel challenging or frustrating? What order do you like to get dressed in with each garment? What color or colors do you gravitate towards? Did you always pull out extra layers to pair with basics? How do you dress differently on certain days or times of day? These are just a few different ways you can document how you naturally get dressed to help steer how you’ll edit and organize your closet/drawers in the next steps.
2. Do a light, strategic edit.
In this Spring wardrobe and accessories decluttering round, I only want you to focus on these 3 things:
Remove Spring/Summer items you haven’t worn in the last few years - including items you’ve fallen out of love with or have been avoiding for a while, don’t fit well or are uncomfortable
Remove items that don’t align with how you want to dress in your real day to day life (ie. the observations you uncovered in the step 1)
Remove accessories, outerwear, shoes, etc. that haven’t seen the light of day in years - if you do uncover something you forgot about that you love, let’s move it somewhere prominent so it can be enjoyed (see step 3)
Bonus Tips:
After you do this light edit, make sure to prepare items that can be resold or worn again for donations. Wash, clean, fold and organize items by type to help whoever receives your items get them in the right hands quickly. Donate items in recyclable paper bags, boxes or reusable bags to reduce waste during the process. Items beyond repair or can’t be resold can be sent for textile recycling. Check out more resources here.
3. Move things around to dress for the new season.
One of the bonus benefits of doing a wardrobe decluttering is a greater awareness of exactly what you own. Having this mental clarity is incredibly powerful! It helps you become more creative with what you already own and keeps you from running out to buy new pieces. Keep these next tips in mind while reorganizing your closet/drawers for this new season.
Group hanging items by how you like to get dressed (example by color, by garment type, by pattern, by occasion/activity, or a combo of any of these - use your insights from step 1)
Move things in a spot that you want to wear in a prominent place, like on a highly visible wall hook, in the front of the group of blouses, on the top or in the front of a folded stack - think about how a store would merchandise their goods for maximum beauty and visibility when highlighting these items
Clothing you’re keeping that’s for a different season/weather can move out of the prime real estate spots of your drawers and closet space (think back of drawers, up high, tucked away, in a container under the bed, in the back of the closet)
When folding shirts/pants/shorts/etc. group by colors that you enjoy most in that season and move other seasonal favorite colors (like for fall for example) towards the back if you don’t plan to wear them anytime soon
Bonus Tips:
Pay attention to items in your wardrobe you can wear through several seasons. These pieces should be easy to see and access at all times. They deserve prime real estate in your closet and drawers since they create the foundation of a versatile, flexible wardrobe.
Dressing for Spring is all about transitioning between cooler + warmer temperatures, often within the same day. I love pairing a classic black pair of joggers with a blouse or top that feels like Spring. I’ll layer it with a sweater, a scarf or hat to stay warm as needed. Above: One of my favorite lavender thifted tops I purchased from Third Sister Thrift.
4. Get creative + resourceful with what you have.
Instead of running out to buy new pieces this Spring, I want to challenge you to utilize the clothing and accessories you already have. Here’s my top tips for extending your wardrobe and reinventing what you have so it feels fresh and new (for free)!
Dress in layers - while the weather is likely still shifting from cooler temps to warmer, you can take a typical Fall/Winter top and add a “Spring friendly” cardigan, blazer or scarf to change the entire look while still staying warm (I love dresses or skirts layered with sweaters/sweatshirts to stay warm while there’s still a chill outside)
Utilize accessories - scarves, jewelry, hats, headbands, shoes, nail/lip color can all take a Winter look and completely transform it to feeling lighter and fresher for warmer weather
Shop your favorite stores for ideas - without buy anything, peruse the aisles or online collections for what’s new for spring and see what aligns with what you already have in your closet; I also like to check out the seasonal thrifted ideas from thredUP that are usually at the top of their homepage