4 Wardrobe Decluttering Mistakes: What Not to Do?

All of us love the idea of an organized and clutter-free wardrobe. Decluttering your wardrobe once in a while is important so that you can appreciate the clothes that make you look and feel better every day. While buying something new, it is good to get rid of those already stashed in the closet. A 2020 survey stated that women’s wardrobes hold up to $2,500 useless clothing.

Undoubtedly, decluttering is overwhelming and requires a lot of time and effort. Over the years, I’ve figured out many decluttering mistakes while simplifying and embracing minimalism in my wardrobe. Let’s have a look at 4 common wardrobe decluttering mistakes:

Mistake #1 Starting Without a Plan

“A Failure to Plan is a Plan to Fail” — Benjamin Franklin

It cannot be less accurate for a wardrobe decluttering activity. When you start without having the end in mind, you will be left with chaos and a slightly-organized-but-still-cluttered wardrobe as earlier. Begin with a clear purpose in mind and dedicate the entire schedule with no distractions. Then take three boxes; KEEP, DONATE, and THROW AWAY and go with the flow.

Mistake #2 Confusing Decluttering with Organizing

Clean and neatly stacked clutter is still cluttered. While you indeed organize your wardrobe while decluttering, do not confuse the two. First, separate the items to discard and then rearrange the ones left in the closet. Otherwise, the same clutter will add mess and stress to your life. What is the point of keeping something that is not adding value to your life but still taking up the space?

Mistake #3 Failure to Dispose of Clutter Quickly

Don’t get bogged down by unfinished business. Clutter is nothing more than a postponed decision. People go through the hectic wardrobe decluttering process but keep that junk pile up in the corner, which ends again in the closet. Here, you miss out on the most satisfying part of the whole activity — the result. So, make sure to get rid of clutter immediately before you second-guess your decisions.

Mistake #4 Getting Caught Up in the Emotions

This is one of the biggest decluttering roadblocks. We have an emotional connection with everything piled up in the closet. Some of the many reasons are:

• Reliving the moments that take you down memory lane.
• You have never worn it, but you hope to wear it someday.
• It doesn’t fit anymore, and you are hoping to lose weight.
• You wear it to death, and now it’s past its best.

A study found that 51% of women own between 1 out of 10 clothing items that have never been worn since purchase. Just ask yourself, if I were shopping right now, would I buy this? If the answer is no, then let it go.

Bottom Line

Decluttering is difficult for many reasons. You may have high expectations of the decluttering process, emotional attachments with the clothes, or you don’t know what you are up to. There is no hard and fast rule for achieving total perfection in a wardrobe. You can try different methods based on your lifestyle, weather, shopping habits, etc.

As mentioned above, these are the four common decluttering mistakes I’ve made and still struggle with occasionally. Learn from my decluttering mistakes and enjoy the perks of a minimalist home faster and sooner!