Although there are some items of clothes that can be worn year-round, others are strictly seasonal. Regardless of the size of your closet, keeping your entire wardrobe in your closet can get frustrating. Not only do you need to search through all of your options, but some of your favorite pieces might get lost in the shuffle. Whether you’re looking to update your wardrobe, get rid of clothes that no longer fit your style, or save room in your closet, it’s important to take a strategic approach. For help, consider the following ways to rotate your wardrobe and streamline closet access.
Going Through Your Clothes
Although this may seem obvious, the first thing you’ll need to do is go through all of your clothes. This includes summer, winter, fall, and spring articles. If you have an unused room, it may be beneficial to use it to help you take inventory and get a better idea of the bigger picture. For those who don’t have as much space to work with, lay things out on the bed. You can always move clothes back into the closet if it takes longer than expected. With that being said, here are a few tips to help you sort through your closet.
Create Categories
First, try to sort your clothes by category. You can separate items by season, but you’ll also want to take things a little further. There are four core categories to include: love it, will wear it soon, would wear it if it fit better, won’t wear it.
Take the time to sort every article of clothing into one of those four categories and try to be practical. If you haven’t worn something in years and always tell yourself you might wear it someday (then never do), you probably won’t.
Get rid of anything that’s in the won’t wear category. Put all of the items that you would wear if it fit better into another room. If you’re working on losing weight and want to see if they’ll fit later, keep them in a self-storage unit. However, if the fit is wrong for your body type, regardless of size, consider abandoning it.
Try the Hanger Method
Take all of the clothes from the love it and will wear it soon category and put them back on hangers. Then, when you put the hangers into your closet, reverse them so the hook is facing the opposite way. Every time you wear something, put it back into your closet with the hook facing the correct way. After a few months, see how many hangers are still turned around and consider re-evaluating those clothes.
Think About How Clothes Make You Feel
Another option is to try on all of your clothes that you’re hesitant about. You can try them on in your room or make it a habit to wear a new outfit each day and assess how you feel while wearing it. Does it make you feel confident? Empowered? If an outfit doesn’t make you feel your best, get rid of it.
Get Rid of Unwanted Clothes
When sorting clothes into their categories, take a look at the state they’re in. Clothes that have holes, broken seams, or a dull appearance should probably be thrown out. You can always replace staple pieces with newer items, but there’s no reason to hang on to clothes that are falling apart.
Clothes that you want to get rid of that are still in good condition can either be donated or sold. There are plenty of opportunities to sell clothing, some of which include marketplaces online, Craigslist, or clothing-specific apps. Making money off your old clothes is a great way to save money and buy new statement pieces for the season.
Create Seasonal Wardrobes
After you’ve gone through everything, go back and try to create seasonal capsule wardrobes. This will include keeping a few staple items that can easily be mixed and matched with one another for different looks. Only put the clothes that you can wear during this season back into your closet. You can store the rest elsewhere in your home or in a self-storage unit for easy access.
Seasonal wardrobes allow you to rotate your closet throughout the year. This is a great way to help you save space, streamline your mornings, and avoid losing your favorite items of clothing. Do the same with your shoes and outwear to enjoy the biggest benefits.
How to Store Your Off-Season Clothes
Getting rid of clothes can be difficult. For some reason, we get attached to certain items even if we haven’t worn them for years. If you don’t feel comfortable getting rid of things completely, that’s fine. You can easily store them in a self-storage unit and re-evaluate your decisions later on. To keep them in good condition, make sure to take the proper precautions before storing.
Thoroughly Clean Everything
Before you start packing your clothes up to go into storage, take the time to properly clean each item. This could mean doing a few loads of laundry, or it heading to the dry cleaner. Make sure that you care for your clothing based on the instructions on the tag and the type of material to keep them looking their best for longest. Make sure that all items are completely dry before you start packing, especially those that need to be hung to dry.
Choose the Right Containers
The next step in storing your clothes is to choose the right type of container. Although you may think that simply folding clothes up and putting them in cardboard storage boxes will suffice, this is actually not recommended. Cardboard can have trace amounts of chemicals that may transfer to clothing over time. This can cause discoloration and aging of your clothes. The same applies to wood.
Instead, consider packing clothes into plastic, breathable boxes. They shouldn’t be airtight, as this can cause trapped moisture to buildup and mold. Plus, some types of fabrics need to breathe. Making sure things are breathable will ensure that your clothes are kept in good condition for as long as you need to store them. There are also clothes-specific storage options that allows you to hang your items so they can maintain their shape. If you take this route, choose high-quality velvet hangers that will keep clothes in place without added stress or strain.
Utilize Climate Controlled Storage
Fluctuating temperatures and humidity levels can also damage clothes over time. Choosing climate controlled self-storage units can help you avoid these issues. Climate-controlled units will stabilize both the temperature and humidity, thus protecting your clothes from unnecessary damage.
Streamlining your closet has a lot of benefits. It can help reduce decision fatigue, make your clothes more accessible, and keep things in good condition. For off-site clothing storage, The Lock Up Self Storage can help. We have several options for self-storage units ranging from small to large, so you can accommodate all of your personal belongings. As an added bonus, all of our units are climate-controlled so your clothes will stay in good condition for as long as you need to store them. The Lock Up also prioritizes security with perimeter alarms, gated access, individual access codes, and CCTV. We have flexible leasing options that can be upgraded as time passes. To find a storage unit for your décor, contact one of the representatives at The Lock Up Self Storage by calling 1-866-327-LOCK or find a unit online today!
