How to Declutter Your Closet: The Quintessential Guide to a Wardrobe Audit

Why Decluttering is Necessary

Almost every time I visit my parent’s house, my mom immediately enlists my help with the same thing: rearranging her common spaces. In the months since I’ve seen her, she has inevitably picked up a new chair or piece of art or rug, and she wants to know how to make cohesive (for the umpteenth time) her new assortment of stuff. As usual, she hasn’t been very selective. A relative gave her a painting of boats in pastels; she couldn’t pass up a steal-of-a-deal area rug in a traditional Persian-like pattern in tan and black, even though she doesn’t typically like that more formal style. She STILL has the red painting on the wall that she's told me again and again that she hates. She forgot what she was aiming for and couldn’t say no. Her living room has somehow morphed back into a strange, style-devoid concoction since I was last home and helped her.

I love getting down to organization business.

It was again time for a re-editing, and letting go of some things. This is certainly true of wardrobes, and in all of personal styling, the wardrobe audit is one of the things I like to do best. The concept of paring down, finding the BEST fits, quality, and pieces that are appropriate for a mix of work and weekend—that's what I love to do at The Queen Midas Touch. You're about to see how I did an audit for Annie.

Charlie was integral to making Annie's wardrobe audit happen!

On Seasonal Decluttering

From clothing subscription boxes to rifling through donation boxes, or trunk sales to garage sales, it’s easy for most of us to acquire more. It all piles up. More than we realize. I’ve lived in major cities for a decade, so I’ve seen, in my own habits, and with hundreds of others, a startling fact. The amount of stuff (especially clothing) someone has, is almost always grows with the amount of space they have. Some people live in matchbox-sized studio apartments. Others in several-bedroom places, sometimes even with garages and storage space. It’s easy to outgrow, but it’s also possible to trim down. Avid collectors and hoarders (one in the same?) would exceed the space-to-stuff ratio wherever they are, but we’re not talking about them—we’re talking about you. There’s a reason that spring cleaning is on people's minds at least once a year. You can do this—today.

Auditing a Closet and Defining Your Style

Auditing your closet is one of those instances where less [items] is more. And if you really are missing something, “weeding out” will help you see what has been missing from the start. I recently helped out Annie audit her wardrobe, and we weeded out over SIX BAGS of wearables that didn’t fit her style, season of life, or body well anymore. Some of them even had the tags still on. Surely you don’t have any pieces like that lying around?!

The biggest remedy to curating your style is knowing yourself. What do you like? What do you feel best in? What do you get the most compliments on? Can you describe it in three words? Chances are that if you can, that you’ll have a whole lot less mental friction in any paring-down process.

Annie looks ELECTRIC in this all-over, bold floral print.

For Annie, she was able to self-define as “floral, funky, and flow-y.” We worked with that, finding the absolute best pieces on her. We found hidden gems in what she already had. I helped pinpoint a few pieces she could stand to add. In her case, a narrow, waist-defining belt and another fitted blouse or two.

Let’s talk about some ways people like to declutter their closets.

Common DIY Clothes Decluttering Philosophies

Buy One, Give One: For every item you gain, get rid of something else.
“Does this item spark joy?” (If not, release it.)
Seasonal Rotation: When it’s getting warm out, hide your colder-weather things. When it’s getting cold out, hide your warmer-weather things. This can create freshness upon rediscovering half of your things.

Common Personal Stylist Wardrobe Audit Frameworks

First, we can start with the easy stuff. Is it outdated, worn out, low quality (constructed poorly or made of cheap material)? Is it ill-fitting (and tailoring it doesn’t make sense) or damaged beyond repair? This might have already ruled out an armful of things.

Then, ask yourself these questions. If the answer is “no,” it’s time to donate, sell, or otherwise discard the piece.

Would I buy this again?
Have you worn it within the last year?
Does this fit my body type (or coloring or proportions), as well as personal style?

How to Actually Sort Out Your Wardrobe Audit

How I recommend to get down to business, is to first tidy up the room in which your closet is located. Do your best to straighten up anything already on the bed or floor—put it where you are used to putting it away. Even though you’re going to take it out again, it’s best to start with a clean slate. Now set aside two to three hours to get down to auditing.

Next, you’re ready to think piles. You’re going to want to make a few of them. It might surprise yourself which one is the tallest. Start with the easy stuff—staples you love that you know you look great in

"Golden Tickets"—Hurray for tried-and-true staples! You love these pieces and wear them all the time, and they fit your personal style (primarily for evening/weekends, but for work is a huge plus). I like to start with these because in many case you won’t need to try something on to check, and you can start right away by getting some wins and building this pile up first. These pieces should fit well, be solidly constructed, and make you feel and look great.
Nostalgia—These are pieces you love to death (sometimes literally), but they no longer fit you or your current style well. Maybe you have a favorite top from college that you wore for a solid decade. Maybe it’s a traveling pair of jeans that you and all your friends grew out of, but you’re stuck with them now. You can keep these, but stash them somewhere you keep other memorabilia or heirlooms, for example. If you can’t see yourself sparing room in a chest or special box, consider moving to pile #5.
Alterations—In many cases, a piece of clothing might not fit perfectly well. There is a reason that many people stick to the same brands that fit them well. The fit model (a real, live person with unique proportions) for those brands likely mirrors their own proportions. Sometimes it’s possible to keep an eye out for a catalogue model whose body is similar to yours. This can be difficult because most models still aren’t representative of the population. But if you do discover a gem like this, hold on to it. Buy more pieces from that brand, with that model wearing them. For example, my husband, Jake, has bought two suits from ASOS because he knows that when one, specific model on their website looks great in something, Jake looks sharp in it, too. Note: this fit model rule also works well for style icons. You just won’t typically be able to purchase the item off an icon’s back very easily. All that to say, it can be rare to find clothes you like, that are made well, and that fit your style in cuts that fit you perfectly. If it's worth it to you to make the pieces fit—do it! (hemming, making snugger, making less snug, etc.) If it’s not worth it to you, consider moving to another pile. On alterations-cheating: in some cases you might be able to style a piece so it fits you better instead of altering it. Here are some general ideas for more fitted shapes: -A dress can be belted at the waist to give more fitted shape -A structured vest can be worn over a looser dress shirt You can also distract eyes away from an area you don’t want noticed by wearing something more colorful/eye catching in a different spot on your body. Examples of this are -A loose-fitting top can be offset by a bowtie or necklace close to the face -A dress shirt with too-baggy arms can be corrected by wearing a long-sleeved jacket on top Again, if this is too much work, and you like these pieces and want them to fit well upon wearing, get them altered for real.
Revisitation (in 6 months)—Maybe you haven’t worn it in a year, but you swear you will. Maybe it’s not quite a staple, it’s not quite nostalgia, and you definitely don’t want to let it go yet. Put it in a pile that you plan to look at again in about half a year—maybe less if you are going to a second-pass wardrobe audit sooner rather than later (although one, thorough one should be enough for a long time). Set a reminder on your calendar to look at this pile. This is actually something I love to do for myself—I typically hide a whole IKEA bag of clothing from myself until I’m ready to shop my own wardrobe again, or I can’t find that oversized, green thermal top I was looking for. If you’re looking for something that goes in this pile within a week or two, that’s a great thing!
Donate/Sell/Trash Anything that makes it here, whether instantly, or after a bit of sorting and trying on, should make you happy. You’re cleansing your closet! Some things are so ragged that they should be tossed in the trash (or recycled if you can do that in your area!) The majority can be donated, and of course, from that lot, you can always try to re-sell the clothes either locally or online.

As you’re making the piles, it’s good to try things on if you’re not sure. Use a large mirror (full-length if possible) to check how it fits, once it’s on.

After you’ve tackled a closet, I recommend also doing drawers and shoe stashes. Follow the same process.

Once you're all done, make a mental checklist of what you have NONE of. Are you missing a blazer that you could wear all the time? Are all of your sandals totally worn out—do you need one handsome, versatile sturdy new pair? Mark down the list, being specific, and scout for these in any near-future shopping endeavors.

Other Closet-Clearing Pro Tips

Determine if you’re using your closet as well as you could be

Are any areas unreachable?
Is there a better way to organize the space?
If you have longer pieces (a maxi-dress or a jacket with coattails, perhaps) to hang, is there a tall-enough area to store them without them touching the floor?
Are there any unused organizational tools in your closet that take up storage real estate (for example, a tie-less tie rack)? Remove them, if you easily can.
Is there at least one, small shelf you can leave empty, for a visual breather? This sounds stupid, but it’s highly restful every time you look at it. This can be done with built-ins or shelving units (or bookcases, for that matter).

Folding can actually be fun if you can see the light at the end of the closet!

On Reorganizing after the Wardrobe Audit

Hang as much as you can—even pants and sweaters—in your closet. You want to be able to see at a glance what you’re working with
Group pieces by kind (button downs with button downs, short-sleeve dresses with short sleeve dresses, etc.)
Group by-kind pieces from light to dark. This will also easily point out if you have an abundance of one kind of thing, in which case, consider paring down that category.
Consider doing a “hanger rotation cleanse” after you’ve reorganized, to cull further. This means you would flip the hanger around after you’ve worn an item, and you would want to stay motivated to wear each thing in your closet once before going back to the first flipped-hanger item. If you’re still not wearing something after all that, ask yourself why. Does it fit your personal style?

Anything that isn’t socks/bras/underwear that has to live in a drawer ideally should be rolled so that you can see everything in the drawer at a glance. This will make those of you with shallow drawers quite happy. The rest of us should be able to make do with what we have.

A Decluttered Lifestyle

Even with the best of intentions and regular pruning, life tends to creep back in. Rolling all your shirts becomes a hard habit to keep, and all of the sudden, there’s a pile in your drawer that’s near to overflowing again.

If/when this happens, it’s worth revisiting these guidelines and starting again. At least in the case of your personal style, it doesn’t matter if it’s spring, global warming, hell freezing over, or another fine day. If you’re ready for another purge, bring it on.

Wait, wait, help me!

Though her living room might have a tendency to revert back to a sad furnishings hodgepodge, my mom knows deep down that she likes “Tuscan colors” and lighter wood pieces for her home. She’s just not as selective as she needs to be. It happens to all of us.

So, whether you're figuring all this out for the first time, the fiftieth time, (or been meaning to for forever), be in touch. I'm here to help conduct wardrobe audits and personal style discovery sessions, whether live and on-site in Cincinnati, Ohio, or digitally, if needed. Your wardrobe deserves a golden touch. Reach out and schedule a complementary consultation call.

A huge thanks Kathryn Frugé Photography (www.kathrynfruge.com) for the beautiful photos of this wardrobe audit!