If you’re like me, your closet is in dire need of a clean-out. You’ve got stuff in there you’ve been saving since the eighth grade, and it needs to go.
These are the benefits from cleaning out your closet:
1. Make space for the things that count
Take everything out of the closet. Give it a thorough cleaning. Sort through all the clothes and remove the ones that don’t fit or that look tatty.
For items besides clothing, make sure you have storage containers – especially for the smaller items. Keep the necessary and the sentimental; sort the rest into two piles – one for the charity bin and another for the dustbin.
Think about whether you want to keep that watercolour painting you did in the 8th grade or that pair of jeans that fit you about three sizes ago.
2. Save money in the long run
How many times have you bought another pair of jeans because you’ve lost your other pair? Do an inventory of what is already in your closet, so that next time you go out you won’t need to splurge on another pair.
Is thirty T-Shirts enough for your wardrobe, or didn’t you realise that’s how many you have?
3. It feels so much cleaner
You have to clean around and behind the stuff you have in the closet. Doing that, without taking everything out first, makes for an incomplete task.
It will feel (and look) so much cleaner when it is neat and tidy – and not cluttered.
4. Saves time
Knowing where everything is gives you some of your time back, which you would have spent searching for that silk scarf.
If you have five minutes to get dressed and out of the door, it will be impossible to find things in all the clutter.
5. One person’s clutter is another person’s treasure.
By donating your unwanted items to a charity shop, you can improve someone else’s life. Just because you don’t want it, doesn’t mean someone else will not cherish it.
Or you might want to sell it, in which case the other person still gets a bargain.
6. Makes you feel less stressed
It is almost like clearing a veil from your mind. Never mind the satisfaction you will get by clearing out the closet, the results are incredible. You don’t have to look at that mess, you don’t have to search for the perfect matching outfit – you just feel more organised in your head.
7. Makes your clothes look better
A messy closet is one that generally has clothes stuffed in it; there is not enough space for mess; the clothes are crumpled and look a sight!
If you iron your outfits, an organised closet will have proper hangers for your jackets and shirts and dresses. It will also encourage you to fold your items neatly – and access them easily.
8. Improves your feng shui
In the feng shui philosophy, a clean house is a lucky house!
Even neat homes that are dirty have old energy trapped in the grime, dust, and dirty windows. That is stagnant energy, which can cause blockages and a feeling of being stuck in a rut.
Cleaning out your closet can kickstart a bigger project into cleaning your whole house.
9. Emotionally cleansing
You can feel proud in your accomplishment. Clutter does not sit well in your head, it makes you feel on edge, and prevents you from relaxing.
Research finds that clutter can increase your level of cortisol, which can cause high blood pressure, weight issues, mood swings and low energy.
Clutter can impact your relationships. Couples who live in cluttered environments struggle to read each other’s body language and to connect intimately.
10. Organises your life – make way for a new you!
Making a small change can lead to you making larger changes. By de-cluttering your closet you might find those matching clothes and you could reinvent your whole image.
Instead of looking homeless, your new (ironed) outfit could make you look like a million dollars. By looking good, you feel good.
Everything in life takes up space – whether it’s physical space, mental space, or even calendar space. Clearing out any one of these will give your more space, energy, and time.
David Owen Nunes
David is many faceted, fascinating, fastidious, fair, fabulous and the other F word. He works in the Pensions Industry, plays occasional golf, and dreams of being able to write full time.
