Top 5 Things to DONATE from your closet

Make your life easier and condense what you have. Can you imagine what it would feel like to have a closet full of pieces you can grab, wear and leave the house feeling like you look good? I find many people not happy with their clothing anymore and doing that morning ritual of trying everything on in their closet, only to find themselves wearing the same pieces they really like again. I want to focus on the bigger picture: what you need to donate and take out of your closet.

As you prepare to do a deep dive into eliminating things, I want to remind you that you’ll feel lighter and clearer about what you have to work with by the end. It can feel daunting to think of everything you might have to let go of that you spent money on, but these pieces are holding you back. You are working harder to make these fit you when they don’t fit your body or life anymore.

You must begin in your closet to step into a new place. My business is The Closet Edit because your closet is the key to helping you move forward. That’s why when you feel like you have nothing to wear and shop without going through your closet, you don’t know what direction to take, what to look for, or what to avoid. You learn a lot by looking at what you have.

If you want to learn more about my 3 Step process of Editing your Closet, How to Shop, and Putting Together 20 outfits in your closet, get on the waitlist for my Style Refresh Program. It’s an online workshop that extends into five weeks, where you learn how to go through this process on your own. It’s the exact steps I go through with every client I work with, and I make it available to you too.

If the clothing…

1. Doesn’t Fit your body

Everything at the forefront of your closet should fit well! Why bother even having pieces that you can’t wear? It makes getting dressed frustrating and well disappointing. The best thing you can do for yourself, and your sanity, is donate anything from your closet that doesn’t fit well. You should be able to quickly sweep through your closet to take these out because you probably already know which pieces are a no-go. 

There is an exception to this! If you fluctuate in weight, keep items to one side of your closet or store them away. You still don’t want easy access if they aren’t right for you. Even then, you can still get rid of pieces BEFORE storing them. Donate them from your closet if they don’t look good anymore, style-wise or condition-wise. When you lose weight, wearing these won’t feel good anymore.

2. It looks like it’s had a ‘good life’

What items look like they’ve ‘had a good life’? These pieces are starting to pill, fade, have little holes, and overall look wore out. Donate these from your closet. Replace them with something fresh and new. The top items this happens to are sweaters and tees. For men, button-downs, with time, also start to fade or yellow. Keep an eye out a few times a year and take these pieces out. If it was an item you enjoyed wearing, take note of it and keep it in mind next time you shop. You want pieces that you love and wear again and again.

3. Doesn’t fit Your Lifestyle Anymore

When you retire, get married, have kids, or get into a new decade of your life, you look back and clothing from your closet that doesn’t fit the activities or life you once lived. There’s no reason to make these work in your closet anymore. If you don’t go ‘clubbing’ anymore and still have the tiny shiny dresses in your closet, take them out! When you go out with your friends for wine or a girl’s night out, you want to feel like the woman you are today, not the younger version of you from long ago. The dress won’t fit your life or the atmosphere now. For men, if you had shirts that your ex bought you that you never wore, take them out. There’s no need for reminders of when you were together, especially if you never liked those pieces in the first place.

4. Feels like an old version of you

You are evolving as time goes by. If your style used to be super colorful and print-oriented, and you love the simplicity of neutrals and solids, it’s time to change things. Adjust your clothing to you what you are attracted to. You NEVER have to like or keep pieces forever, even if you spent a lot of money on them. If you want to invest in better quality, you’ve changed careers. If you want to step up your game, or you’re looking for new love and realize what you wear doesn’t represent the attractive sexy you, CHANGE IT. Take out what feels like an old version of you to make room for you today.

5. You feel you have to ‘make it work ‘

Some things in life are worth working hard for, but clothing isn’t one of them. Clothing should feel good to wear and be something you can quickly grab from your closet and go. It should fit how you want to look and feel. There’s no reason to hold onto the skirt or jacket you could never figure out. It isn’t worth keeping when you have to work to buy pieces around it to make it fit. The only exception would be for special events. That has a purpose in your life if you frequent galas or need to dress up. You have to build looks around it because it’s not an everyday piece of your life or work.

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tannya bernadette

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