It’s called spring cleaning for a reason! The transition period from winter to spring is the perfect time to take inventory of what you have, what you need, what you didn’t wear the previous season, and what you need to say goodbye this spring closet clean out.

Closet clean outs outs bring me so much joy because you’re entering a brand new season, the weather starts to warm up and you get to redefine your style goals and find your motivation for the upcoming months.

Spring Closet Clean Out Tips

Tip 1: Reflect on the Previous Season

For me, before I even start my spring wardrobe, I reflect on the previous fall and winter that just passed. It’s the perfect time to pull out any items that I didn’t wear instead of waiting until next year to get rid of the items. And no, don’t say to yourself, “well maybe I will wear it next year” because the truth is, if you didn’t wear it this year, you won’t be wearing it next year.

Store Away Off Season Items

Next step, is to store away any of the fall and winter items that will serve you no purpose in this upcoming spring and summer. I like to have as many all year round items as I possibly can. Storing away clothes for specific seasons seems like a waste to me. I know that sometimes it’s unavoidable because we all need a coat and there is no way to transition a coat into summer. However, the goal is to have majority of my wardrobe be jeans, nice t-shirts and jackets that I can wear all year long, no matter what season it is.

Ps: Don’t store away all of your booties, because some booties can look super cute paired with a summer dress.

After you get rid of your fall and winter clothes that will no longer be suitable for spring and summer, we will start unpacking our warm clothes that may or may not have been stored away.

Bring Out Your Spring and Summer Items

 

When you start bringing out your spring and summer clothing don’t just hang it all up with no thought to it. Instead, think about each item intentionally.

Here are some key questions to ask yourself:

1. “Is this item bringing me joy?”
2. “Does this item fit me?”
3. “Does this item flatter me?”
4. “Did I wear this item last year?”
5. “Are there multiple outfits I can wear with this item?”

These are a few of my favorite questions that I like to ask myself. You shouldn’t wear an item that doesn’t fit or flatter you, and even it does fit and flatter you, but it doesn’t bring you joy, you won’t choose to wear it.

Create Your Shopping List

After going through your items, get rid of any clothing that you already know is just going to be a waste of space. No need to have items hanging there just for the heck of it. Once you have kept the items you love, and made space for new items, determine what new items you need. And not just items you think would be fun, or cute items you see in the store, but instead figure out what pieces your wardrobe is lacking.

That way the next time you go into a store, you have a specific list of items that will add value to your wardrobe. This will help keep you on track, moving towards your wardrobe goals, and being financially smart at the same time.

7 Day Spring Closet Clean Out

A big closet clean out does not need to all happen in one day or one weekend! A lot of people do not do closet clean outs because they get overwhelmed by the thought of it before they even decide to do it. Devoting an entire Saturday or weekend to a closet clean out sounds dreadful especially if you work all week.

This past week, I brought my Instagram followers along on a 7 day spring closet clean out of my own. I gave everyone a sneak peak of how I like to do my closet detoxes, and what items I chose to get rid of and why, as well as my organization hacks. I do a closet clean out every single season, and I still ended up getting rid of quite a bit.

The reason spreading it out over seven days is better is because you only need to devote about 30 minutes each day to the process, which is totally do able!

My schedule looked something like this:

1. Bags (purses, travel bags, etc)
2. Shoes
3. Jeans & Bottoms
4. Tops & Dresses
5. Bathing suits, Undergarments
6. Workout Clothing
7. Everything else (under bed, random drawers, papers on desk, etc)

Long-term Plan

After working hard to make progress on your wardrobe, you need to create a plan how you are going to continue to build a wardrobe you love. Most of this has to do with when you are shopping! Try to stay away from extremely trendy items that you will just be detoxing next year. Instead buy items that will bring value to your wardrobe years to come.

If you are ready to detox your closet, but you want a professional style coach along side of you, then sign up for my closet consultation plus closet detox service. This service comes with a free package of 100 velvet hangers!

Ps. click through my website to see the new look! Thanks to the Cincinnati Web Design Company, Robben Media for the help.

The beginning of a new year is the perfect opportunity to take a step back and look at your wardrobe. Does your wardrobe define your lifestyle, your personality, does it make you feel confident and excited to get dressed in the morning? If not, you need to find a new personal style or stylist.

We have some work to do! And what better time to do it then the beginning of a new year? Finding key pieces and building up your wardrobe isn’t all that needs to be done. I have a process I suggest following if you want to end up with your dream wardrobe.

Just like following a diet plan, or committing to clean eating in the new year, it doesn’t begin with just going to the gym and grocery shopping. The first step is usually going through your refrigerator and pantry and disposing of all of the unhealthy food. Because having those foods in your pantry is just a temptation and ultimately setting yourself up for failure.

Closet Clean Out

This idea is similar to a new wardrobe makeover. You want to clean out your closet and make sure you get rid of any of those items that don’t give you confidence, don’t fit you right, or are no longer in style. People are used to holding onto clothing items for “just in case” moments.

I believe it’s okay to hang onto 5 items or less for “just in case” moments, like the once a year tacky Christmas sweater or a Halloween costume. However if there isn’t a time at least once a year where you will use this item, it makes no sense to hold onto it.

The key here is 5 items or less, you do not need to have an entire bin or portion of your closet for those just in case moments. This is called hoarding and I believe that it does more harm than good. You may be thinking, how is it harmful to hold onto unnecessary clothing items?

Clutter can have a direct impact on your mental health. Clutter causes increased levels of stress, lowers levels of productivity, and can even go as far as making your kids unhappy. I’m sure you’ve experienced this in your own life as well.

The moment you go from a messy bedroom to a clean bedroom, there is this an overwhelming sense of peace and contentment. You feel rewarded and like you accomplished something huge. This is the point!

Now this is something you can definitely accomplish on your own. If you have an idea of the things you need to cleanse, and you have the self discipline to do it, then go for it! I believe in you. If you’ve tried it before and it just doesn’t go as planned, then I suggest going with a personal stylist.

My closet clean out service, starts with going through the items and determining whether they need to stay or go. If just by looking at it, we can’t decide, then I will have you try them on to see how they look on you. After going through each item, we will create a keep, donate, and sell pile. I like to do this because I don’t believe in throwing away clothing.

A clothing item that means nothing to you, can mean so much to someone else. But, every item you longer want doesn’t need to be donated. If you’ve invested in some great designer pieces, it doesn’t make sense to just donate something that still may be worth money.

Another service I offer, is to sell your clothing for you. The money you get back for these clothing items can be used to purchase new items for your wardrobe.

“Over the years I naturally just keep adding and adding clothing to my wardrobe. However, when I went to pick out an outfit for the day, I never felt like I had anything to wear. I decided it was time to have Alli come over and clean out my closet. She organized the clothing items by what I should keep, sell, and get rid of. She then color coordinated the items I was keeping and categorized it by season. After the closet was completed, Alli then personally dropped off the items that I was donating as well as sold some other clothing on Poshmark so I could get money back to put toward my new wardrobe! I highly recommend the closet clean out service because it has made it so much easier to get dressed in the morning.” – Angie Taylor

Wardrobe Consultation

After we’ve cleaned out your wardrobe, I like to take inventory of your wardrobe. This essentially means, making a list of the items that you still need and taking into consideration the items that you have enough of. For example, after going through our checklist, if it shows that you have 15 great pairs of jeans, but only 2 jackets that you can wear on a daily basis, we will then know to keep an eye out for some casual jackets.

This step is important, to keep us focused on and on the right mission during our shopping trip. It makes no sense for us to be shopping for jeans when you already have a great collection. If you would like to conduct inventory of your own wardrobe, subscribe to my email newsletter (scroll down to the bottom of the page) and I will send you a FREE wardrobe checklist!

Personal Styling

The next step is my favorite part and what most people consider the fun part of having a personal stylist. The shopping trip! You’ve now purged your wardrobe of clothing that you should no longer be hanging on to and have made room for these new pieces that will bring you life, confidence and a new individual style!

Now some people truly enjoy shopping, but they always feel like they need to have their best friend with them. They aren’t confident in the items they pick out and are unsure of what really flatters them. This is where I would come in. I would essentially be your best friend for the day, and have an abundance of fashion knowledge that will keep you moving in the right direction.

The service that would be ideal for this circumstance is our personal shopping styling service. This entails spending a day or two shopping for all of the items or some of the items on your checklist depending on your personal budget. If you don’t have the time or don’t really enjoy spending your day shopping, I can also go out on this mission by myself!

After getting a sense of your style and creating a mood board for your new wardrobe, I can go out and do all the shopping for you. After spending the day shopping we would set up a follow up appointment where you can try on the clothing I picked out and we can start creating outfits!

This service is great if you need to just do a complete overhaul all at once. However, if you dont have the budget to splurge on a new wardrobe at the moment and would rather spread it out by month, I suggest using the Breeze Box service.

Personal Style Box

The personal style box, or Breeze box, is a monthly subscription box that is individualized just for you and delivered to your doorstep each month. This is a great way to ensure that you receive new, fresh and fashionable clothing items each month. If we’ve previously gone through your wardrobe checklist, I will use this to help accomplish a complete wardrobe. I will focus on sending you specific pieces you need more of.

The coolest part about this service is that it is completely specified to your lifestyle and budget. You give us your monthly budget and let me know if you have any specific events coming up. For example, do you have a vacation planned, a big work trip, or maybe it’s the start of spring and you need more spring items. These boxes will come with just what you need for those life events coming up.

If you don’t like the items, all you have to do is return them! It’s that easy.

“Once I graduated college and started working, I realized I never really had time to shop nor did I enjoy it. I love getting Breeze Boxes every month because Alli customizes them so I have exactly what I need for all of my events and vacations! Alli has been the reason for endless compliments!” – Grace Myers

Final Words

If cleaning out your closet, and rebuilding your wardrobe has always been on your to-do list or a dream of yours, this is the time to do it! Personal stylists have never been more affordable, so I encourage you to stop coming up with excuses and commit to changing your life for the better.

A clean closet, where you can easily find what you are looking for, is going to make your mornings so much more enjoyable. For once, you will be excited to find something to wear for the day. Having it organized, will also save you time and energy in the morning.

This is truly a one of a kind life change, that everyone deserves to have!

Contact me to schedule your closet clean out and personal shopping day today. Or gift this to a loved one who really needs it!