If you feel like you have nothing to wear or feel uninspired by your wardrobe lately, the first thing you need to do is clean out your closet. Believe me, you will feel so much lighter, styling outfits will become a whole lot easier, and you will be so much closer to your dream closet. My clients and I clean our closets often and it always feels so refreshing. I want all of you to feel the same! To help you revamp your wardrobe, based on many years of experience and hundreds of closets, I’m sharing a few of my favorite tips to try for yourself.
EMPTY YOUR ENTIRE CLOSET
It depends how big your closet is and how often you clean it, I suggest to dedicate 2-4 hours to it! Block out your schedule, pour yourself a glass of wine, turn on your favorite music, and let the journey for your dream closet begin! It’s a special form of self-care. Start by emptying the entire closet–I’m serious, just take it all out and dump it on the bed or floor.
PURGE UNNECESSARY PIECES
Start with creating 3 piles–one to keep, one to sell, and one to donate. It’s important to purge out anything that you haven’t worn in the last year, don’t love, or doesn’t fit. As Marie Kondo suggests, ask yourself does it spark joy?!
Northshore Exchange is a great place to consign as they donate 100% of the proceeds to charity. I also love hosting IG Live closet sales, usually for a cause! (There is one going on today, November 12th and donating the proceeds to Lynn Sage foundation for breast cancer research). Not only does re-selling help the environment, it’s a great way to earn back some of your investment and allows others to give new life to the clothes.
I can’t emphasize enough to get rid of everything the same day, out of sight out of mind! Allie at Galore Consignment will come over and pick stuff up from your house and get to work on selling it for you right away. She can also donate on your behalf. After it’s all cleared out, check your inventory and based on what is left and your closet, strategically plan your organization.
ORGANIZATION IS KEY
Organization is the key to saving time when getting ready and styling become effortless. First and most importantly, before your even start the closet cleanout, make sure you order these velvet hangers from Amazon! Your clothes won’t slip off and they are thin so you can fit the most clothes possible. Then, I highly suggest to organize all your clothes by category and then by color. It’s just really appealing to the eye! If you don’t have enough hanging space, check out the Marie Kondo folding system where you can see everything folded and really utilize that drawer and shelf space. As for jewelry, I suggest laying everything in velvet trays so it’s easy to see what you have. Now, everything has a home!
REINVENT WHAT YOU OWN
This one is my favorite, and my clients’ favorite too. Once you have a clean closet, you can see things in a whole new light and you’ll be surprised to discover tons of new outfits. I get a lot of inspiration from Pinterest, check out my boards (we just reached over 1.3 million) for some style ideas! Pin your favorites and re-create the looks with what you already own. Missing some key pieces? Now is the time to check in with the capsule wardrobe checklist.
START A LOOKBOOK
The last step is starting a lookbook! While experimenting with new outfits, make sure you capture selfies and start a lookbook folder on your phone, because its so easy to forget. When you’re in a pinch and need an outfit, this lookbook will save you time on emergency shopping and increase your confidence. You’ll thank me later!
I built these steps after cleaning out hundreds of closets over the last 10 years as a stylist, so I can assure you this will help you turn your dream closet into reality. If the idea is a little overwhelming for you, I would love to help you and work with you. Contact me here and we can work together, and click here to see how you can attend my next style masterclass for more tips! And don’t forget to tune into my live closet sale tonight at 5 pm…
Xoxo,
Tali
