Clearing your closet in 30 days

I woke up on Sunday and decided I was going to take the next 30 days to wear everything in my closet, down to every last sock. I did this about five years ago and the results were wonderful. As I live on the edge of the tropics October/ November is the perfect time to do this type of a challenge. Temperatures range from the 50s to the mid 90s so clothes for our seasons (which range from Hot to Hotter) can be worn during these thirty days.

What I do is simple:

Hanging clothes: push all to one side and once I have worn an item I move it to the other side. Alternatively if my closet is really full I flip around all the hangers to point in the “wrong” direction. Once I wear the item and rehang, I hang it in the normal direction facing the wall.

Folded Clothes

I have a dresser with three drawers. I put the contents of the bottom drawer in a clear plastic bag and use the empty drawer to put all of the clothes which are a “keep”.

Jewelry

I make myself wear all of my jewelry, real and costume. Put an empty container on one side of dresser to put pieces which have been worn.

I do not worry about “what ifs” regarding say black tie clothing, or ski clothes just yet. My goal is to get through most items in my closet.

I am allowed to wear items more than once.

Wearing it means not just trying it on but wearing it outside, to walk the dog, or to make a quick run to Publix. I tend to change my clothes like three times a day so between not having that many clothes and changing outfits often, I am pretty sure I can get through this. Wearing it in public is important. Just the other day I put on a work outfit (tunic and pants) which I thought was OK. But after a day of walking past my clients mirrors, I thought this is going in the “out” pile when I get home!

When I did this a few years ago the results were surprising. The early weeks, I looked like me. By week four the pressure was on to wear all of the items in the back of the closet. One morning at Duncan Donuts, the gal who always helped me said, “wow, you look so nice!”. I glanced down and I was wearing a white T shirt with four long strands of gold toned necklaces draped around my neck.

This exercise is meant to be fun! Good luck.