Closet Clearing, 101

Five Fine Things to remember for constant closet rotation

Feb 25, 2026

This month I am doing a personal challenge of no online shopping. Last year I did it in January, but this year I chose February because it’s the shortest month of the year! Just kidding, I kind of just started the year on a roll with returns and new shopping and I wanted to do it for a clean month. For me, the challenge is less about buying new things, but about observing how much time I spend scrolling, shopping, browsing, buying, returning, etc. So, this month I’ve been more focused on what I already have and, as always, clearing out and optimizing my closet.

I love my closet space. While not huge, it’s organized just how I like it and the perfect size for what I think my wardrobe should be. If it were bigger I could fill it more but I like that I kind of try to keep my clothing and shoes to the space I have. I do have storage for my out of season clothes separate from my closet which allows me to trade out 2x a year and just keep more seasonally appropriate things in my closet, which of course frees up space.

I didn’t perfectly fold and organize for this picture, just wanted to show you what a realistic morning in my closet looks like!

A few things to mention that I find make my process for ongoing closet clearing succesful are here:

A process for giving away/ selling: I always have two bags at the ready (I keep mine out of my closet, in our basement): a giveaway bag and The RealReal bag. Though they are selective about the things they take, I still find The RealReal is the best way to get rid of clothes I think have some value but just don’t make sense in my closet. Before I started selling on The RealReal, I was finding I would hold onto clothes because I spent good money on them but was never wearing them, and they were taking up unnecessary physical and mental space. I really do find that a closet with less helps me do more, and try to keep up with what my mom would tell us as kids - one thing in, one thing out! And thought I have some qualms with The RealReal (like that I once got an insulting $7.30 for a beautiful like-new IRO leather jacket), it’s so easy to text my girl, tell her I’ve accumulated a full bag’s worth of stuff, have her come directly to me, and whisk it all away (sadly I assume this is only available in limited locations, but if you’re in NYC know you never have to schlep your stuff to a store!). I’ve amassed a very good credit over the years and love buying Channel, Loro Piano, etc. for $0/free/no money at all because of the things I’ve sold. Everything else that is not worthy of the RealReal, or doesn’t make the cut when they come to pick up, goes into a donation bag. Years ago I would try and take some of these things to a place where I could get some money for the nicer things that were not good enough for The RealReal but felt too nice to give away, but I realized it’s not worth my time, I get very little in payment, and I feel much better just donating!
Keep a physical list in your closet for what you need. I also keep this list on my phone, but keeping a mini little spiral notebook in my closet drawer to jot down things I wish I had while getting dressed is really helpful. My current list includes more feminine brown loafers, nicer sweatpants, a tan suede belt, and more formal high waisted jeans, among other things.
Keep a separate tropical wardrobe box: To me, there are three main categories of clothing: Summer, Winter, and Tropical. Okay I guess Formal would be a fourth. The tropical wardrobe I have is strictly for the tropics - the colors, cuts, and sheerness of the items mean they don’t overlap with my summer season clothes. For years I have kept a separate Vacation Clothes Box - just a clear plastic storage box - where this wardrobe lives. Anytime before I head out on a tropical trip, I pull that box out and fill in the gaps with pieces from my regular wardrobe. I love that these clothes aren’t taking up space in my closet regularly. I also love that I really love this wardrobe and feel totally good about re-wearing these tropical pieces on many vacations for years to come!
Know what you like and don’t: In the process of a more major closet clean out, I discovered a few things that I now know just do not work for me. These relate just to me personally but I’ll share them here to give you a sense of what you might know or learn about yourself: I hate anything peach, tan, or caramel colored on me and should never buy it. I very often find black suede looks cheap (I heard GET STYLED: by lauren sharkey say it in this video and can’t unsee it since). I want to love pencil skirts, button up shirts, and blazers, but I can rarely wear them and feel like myself. Any shoe that ties at the ankle just doesn’t work for me. A wide elastic waistband is no and never works on me.
Know what kind of dresser you are and optimize for that: For me, I am a bottoms-first (pants) dresser. I actually can’t imagine choosing any other item to wear first. But, I know some people choose their look based on the top, or based on the shoes they’ll wear. For me, I am a big pants person (rarely wear skirts or dresses) and so my pants are placed at the most easy to see, most accessible place in my closet. Also, I recently put all my pants on their own hanger rather than sharing two pairs per hanger which I thought I needed to do for space saving but in fact did not and it’s made such a huge difference in my enjoyment of my closet! Another thing I did, since I love sweaters and most days pick pants and then a sweater, is I organized my sweaters by weight. I find that to be more helpful than by color or style, since usually I’m picking what to wear based on the weather and how warm I want to be. The lesson here: organize your closet to align with the way you get dressed.

Also, here are some things I use and love in my closet for organization and optimal functioning: These boot inserts that sit flush along the wall when you’re not using them. These slim hangers for most things, and these padded hangers for anything delicate. These shoe boxes with clear windows that I really love and use for all my heels and nicer shoes (currently 25% off). And this shoe rack for my day-to-day shoes. A great step stool goes a long way for use as a ladder or a place to lay out an outfit or some clothes you haven’t put away and I’ve had and loved this stool for years (currently 20% off). And my absolute favorite thing in my closet is this “bellman’s hook” - it’s retractable and really worth installing even if you’re in a rental! You can read about my new steamer that I’m loving, here.