Cleaning Out Your Clothing For the New Year

As we embark on a new year it is time to start thinking about the fashion we want to bring into the new year and the fashion trends we can leave behind. This means going through your clothing to decide what to keep and what needs to go. In order to successfully do this, there are certain questions we need to ask ourselves. Have I worn this recently? Will I wear this soon? Can I think of at least 3 different ways to wear this piece? If the answer to any of these questions is no, it is time to get rid of the clothing. Here are some tips and tricks that I use when moving my clothing into the new year.

The idea of going through your clothes to find things to get rid of can seem stressful and scary. I am here to make this process easier and help guide you to make this as painless as possible. The first thing you need to do is go through and pull out all of the clothes you haven't worn in the past 6 months. Once you have all the pieces that haven't been worn lately, go through them and ask yourself why you haven't worn them. If it is because of the weather and you will wear it again soon, it can stay. If it is because you don't like it anymore, it can go. This year we haven't been wearing as many fashionable clothes, so if you haven't worn it but still love it, keep it. This process will help get rid of those fast fashion pieces you bought and will never wear again.

Now that all the clothes you don't like anymore are removed from your closet, it is time to think about all the pieces remaining. This is the time to try on everything to make sure it still fits and you still love how it looks. This is a new year so while you may have loved a certain pair of denim last year, if they don't fit or look good anymore its time to let them go. Sometimes articles of clothing end up stretching out or shrinking when you wash them, so when you put them on they look weird. Articles of clothing like this don't need to be kept. We want to look put together and stylish, so anything that doesn't fit right can stay in 2020.

The next step in assessing your 2021 wardrobe is to think about all the items of clothing you have left that you love and feel confident in. This is the most important step in assessing your clothing. For every piece, can you think of at least 3 different ways to style it? Versatility is key because it will allow you to get the most wear out of all your favorite pieces. This step does not include special occassion outfits because those are articles of clothing with a specific purpose. If you have many different ways to wear each piece, it makes it easier to get dressed, while allowing you to create various looks. This is the year you can rewear your clothing in new and exciting ways.

Finally, after going through all the clothing you have, it is time to assess what you need. After cleaning out clothing you no longer wear, pieces that don't fit, and one time use items, it is easier to figure out where the gaps in your wardrobe are. You may find that you don't actually have any versatile sweaters, or that none of your jeans fit in a way that makes you feel confident. Clearing out duds in your clothing create opportunity to find new items. Now that you know what your wardrobe is missing, it makes it so much easier to hunt for the gaps in your clothing. Go into this new year with purpose in your clothing, knowing exactly what you want in order to look as fabulous as you can in 2021!