Missed Spring Cleaning?

Great Reasons To Clean Up In the Summer

Are your clothes overwhelming your closet? You want to get rid of some, but you find it hard to part with clothes that have sentimental value, are really comfortable or you haven’t even worn. This is the guide for you!

Everyone’s heard of “Spring Cleaning;” going through your wardrobe and picking out what you don’t want, separating your clothes into keep, donate, mend and trash. This process helps you feel fresh and new for the upcoming year. But, what about a Summer Clean Out? Here’s three reasons why a Summer Clean Out is more refreshing than Spring Cleaning:

1.) More Time

Don’t focus on cleaning out your closet during Spring Break when you only have a week and could be spending that time at the beach. With summer, you have a ton of time so your closet clean out doesn’t become overwhelming. You can spread out your cleaning over a few days, a week or even a month.

2.) Makes for a Better Back-to-School Shopping List

If you go through your clothes and pick out what you need and don’t need right before the next school year, it’ll be easier to compile a list for the upcoming semester.

3.) You’ve Been Through Winter and Spring Seasons

You’ve already been through the cold and warm months and know what you haven’t pulled out of your closet during the change of seasons. Knowing what you have and haven’t warn will make it simpler to sort out and purge.

Getting Started

Here are some helpful tips to enjoy the process of cleaning out your closet for a hassle and clutter free break!

• Before starting your closet clean out, put on a playlist of fun, upbeat music. Motivate yourself and get pumped.
• Invite some friends to join you or organize a closet swap!
• Have some delicious snacks to give you energy to make it through the process.

The first thing to do when cleaning out a large wardrobe is to separate it into warm, and cold seasons. It’s okay to pack away the cold weather items and look at them another time if it’s too much to handle at once. Packing away the winter clothes you want to keep will feel like shopping when you take them out again in the fall. Storing your seasonal clothes also helps keep your wardrobe streamlined and your closet neat.

Divide and Conquer: Yes, No, Maybe

Now split the warm weather items into categories: shoes, accessories, jewelry, skirts, dresses, shirts, jackets and pants.

Deal with one category at a time. Take as much time as you need. Want to knock it all off in one day? Go ahead. Want to do one or two categories a day? Take your time. Just get it done.

To tackle each category, here’s what you need to do: Try. It. On. A tedious, but possibly fun task. Think of it as shopping your closet or playing dress-up to make the task less daunting.

The clothes you like will fit well and make you feel good. The clothes you don’t like will do the opposite. What about the maybes? The following clothes fall into this list: clothes you wear but have tears, stains, etc., clothes you know you don’t wear but have sentimental value and clothes you like but haven’t warn in while.

The defected clothes should be discarded unless it’s something that can be mended or made into something else. For example old jeans can be made into a skirt or a denim purse. Old tees can be made into crop tops, muscle tees, embellished or printed. Attempt to wash out stains or patch up holes but if you can’t do anything to the garment, it’s time to hack.

The sentimental clothes? Donate them. It may be harsh, but if you haven’t worn them in six months you won’t wear them again. You’ll always have your memories and the clothes in question are taking up space.

The last category is admittedly the hardest. Like many girls, you’ve probably dreamed of having a large closet but have come to realize you don’t wear many of your clothes. The maybe clothes are hard to throw out. Although you don’t wear them anymore, you think you might wear them again one day. Once again, if you haven’t worn it in a long time, you probably won’t wear them again. But, there are a few things to consider with this pile if you’re not ready to give them away:

• Create outfits with them and find new ways to style these clothes to give them new life.
• Invite friends over for advice and ask them what they honestly think. They might inspire new ways to wear these old clothes.
• Be honest with yourself as well; do these clothes make you feel good, do they go with the clothes you wear the most, do they fit in with your current personal style?

Hang them up in the most prominent spot of your closet and see if you reach for them later. By the end of the summer if you haven’t rocked them comfortably, give them to a friend or a donation center.

Simply Simplify

Besides having a cleaner closet, as a Christian it’s important for you to not be obsessed with owning a lot of stuff. Unfortunately, we live in a material world where buying new all the time equates with happiness. God says that material items only bring temporary happiness and long lasting dissatisfaction. “And he said to them, ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions’.” (Luke 12:15 ) Remembering this truth can help you make better choices in your wardrobe.

Having a minimal wardrobe consisting of the essentials that truly represent your character will help you better develop your personal style. By being sure of your style, you can focus what truly matters – discovering who God created you to be and finding where He is preparing to take you in the future.