For those who joined us in tackling closet clutter this weekend, how did it go? We wrapped up with fewer things crammed behind closed doors and more room for incoming baby gear (and the inevitable reshuffling that follows). We’ve got a lot to recap, starting with the master bedroom. We’ll share details about the other two closets later today.
As I mentioned on Friday, my closet had become messy, mostly from a growing stack of t-shirts (thank you, 10K races) and plain folding laziness.
I emptied everything out to see what I still needed and what had been long forgotten. Step one: clear the space so you can really assess it. Here’s my empty drawer area… well, except for the one drawer that actually contains my drawers. I figured you didn’t need to see that step.
Those t-shirt piles in the corner were only the beginning. I was surprised at how many shirts were hiding in there. It felt a bit like a clown car—so many shirts kept appearing. In comparison, Sherry’s shoe collection once rivaled this level of excess, though she’s now mostly in recovery and keeps other areas impressively minimal.
With everything emptied, I sorted into four piles:
- General-wear t-shirts (button-down work shirts stayed hung up, though I trimmed those down too)
- Workout/running shirts
- Work project/painting shirts (the same as above but with paint splatters)
- Shirts to donate
We learned long ago that you don’t need ten ratty paint shirts for home projects—one for warm weather and one for cool weather is usually enough. After sorting and paring down, I neatly folded the keepers and put shorts and pants back in place.
This left me with a much neater drawer setup and freed an entire shelf above the drawers for new baby items. I also ended up with a generous donation pile.
Sidenote: Surprise! There was a dog hiding back there the whole time.
We sorted reject items into these categories:
- Donate
- Trash (items too worn or soiled to donate)
- Return to friends & family (we found borrowed books and other items)
- Pay it forward (things better suited to someone we know rather than a donation bin)
I also cleaned the top shelf of my closet, which had accumulated an out-of-sight collection of extras—including more shirts (consistency, I guess).
Now it’s nearly empty, aside from a few shoeboxes and miscellaneous keepsakes. If I wanted to be fancy I could add matching bins or baskets to keep things tidy and leave a few empty for future items. Maybe that’ll happen next time we’re at the Swedish superstore.
So, to recap: my closet went from this…
…to this:
Sherry’s closet wasn’t a disaster, but she did purge clothes, jewelry, and shoes she hadn’t used in a while. Below is our final donation spread from just the bedroom—along with items to return or pass directly to friends and family. We kept the sleeping chihuahua, of course.
Since many people like to peek into others’ closets, here are a few after shots of Sherry’s side of the bed. For more, check our older closet post for additional views.
Sherry also cleared out our small bonus closet, which now houses a few of my suits, some dress pants, and her non-maternity clothes. Her bedside wardrobe contains the daily wear items. Notice the two empty top shelves—such a refreshing sight.
In the end, we felt accomplished. We freed up about four shelves and filled a large bag for donation, returned items to friends and family, and dropped off books at a neighborhood bookstore. The bedroom closet purge was complete.
We’ve got more closet cleaning coming later today, but we’d love to hear how your weekend of decluttering went. Did you pare down your wardrobe or rediscover pieces you’ll actually wear? Have tips for those who haven’t started yet? Share your favorite closet- or tidying-tricks. If you’ve got photos from your own closet-cleaning, post them on our Facebook page so we can all enjoy the before-and-afters.
Psst—Want a closer look at our closet organization? Check our older post about closet crashing and read the story of how we planned and installed the built-in wardrobes beside the bed for full details.