Are you tired of decluttering your wardrobe just to find yourself right back where you started? If so, you’re not alone. Being stuck in the vicious cycle of decluttering again and again is common. If you want to end the cycle once and for all, you’ll need to know exactly why your wardrobe declutter failed in the first place.
It took me years of trial and error to finally pinpoint what I was doing wrong when decluttering my wardrobe. Now, you get to learn from my mistakes.
In this post, I’ll go through 12 common wardrobe decluttering mistakes to avoid!
But first, let’s backtrack a bit. What exactly is a wardrobe declutter anyway?
What is a Wardrobe Declutter?
A wardrobe declutter is the process in which you donate or throw away unwanted clothing.
You may declutter in pursuit of a minimalist wardrobe (in which case you would want to declutter everything but the essentials) or to simply get rid of clothes you aren’t wearing anymore.
In both cases the goal is to maintain the size of your closet after you’ve decluttered, (aka: not accumulate more stuff!)
12 Reasons Why Your Wardrobe Declutter Failed
If you do find yourself accumulating more clothing after you’ve decluttered your wardrobe, you most likely made one of the following decluttering mistakes.
Let’s get into them.
1. You Didn’t Ask Yourself the Right Questions
One of the biggest mistakes people make when decluttering is not asking themselves the right questions.
The infamous decluttering question, ‘does it spark joy?’ was introduced to many of us through Marie Kondo’s KonMari Method.
Although asking yourself this question will help you understand your emotional response to an article of clothing, it won’t help you determine whether it’s practical or not. Simply loving a piece isn’t a good enough reason to hold onto it.
So, next time you declutter your wardrobe, ask yourself the following questions instead.
7 Questions to Ask When Decluttering Clothes
- Is it in good condition?
- Does it make me feel good?
- Is it practical?
- Is it comfortable?
- Does it fit?
- Do I actually wear it?
- Is it timeless?
If you answered yes to the following questions, you should hold onto that article of clothing. You’ll miss it when it’s gone!
2. You Didn’t Change Your Shopping Habits
The purpose of a wardrobe declutter isn’t to simply get rid of your clothes. It’s equally important to resist the urge to accumulate more clothing afterwords.
If you decluttered your wardrobe and are now faced with a cluttered wardrobe once again, it’s possible that you didn’t change your shopping habits.
As inspired as you may be to start decluttering, it’s important to change your habits first. You’ll need to change your habits so that after you get rid of your clothes, you don’t find yourself right back where you started.
Here are a few quick tips to help you stop impulse shopping!
5 ways to stop impulse shopping
- Don’t scroll through social media before bed
- Avoid shopping online
- Set realistic saving goals
- Avoid shopping the sale section
- Find free ways to reward yourself
If shopping impulsively is getting in the way of your goals, here are 22 more tips that will help you stop shopping impulsively!
3. You Didn’t Change Your Collecting Habits
For a successful wardrobe declutter, changing your collecting habits is just as important as changing your shopping habits.
Sometimes, accumulating more stuff isn’t a matter of shopping impulsively.
We live in a society with a strong gift giving culture. That means that regardless of how mindful you are of shopping less, you may still accumulate more stuff. The best way to manage this is to follow the one in one out rule.
The one in one out rule means that for every article of clothing you bring into your closet, you need to get rid of an article of clothing too. If you aren’t willing to get rid of something you already own to hold onto the gift you received, get rid of it!
4. You Decluttered Too Quickly
As tempting as it may be to get rid of everything during your first declutter, it’s not a good idea. The last thing you want to do is get rid of something that you actually need and have to repurchase it.
Instead of getting rid of your clothing impulsively, find a spot in your home that you can store the pieces you’ve decided to part with for at least a few weeks. Try your best not to reach for those items. Most likely you’ll forget all about them. However, if you find yourself reaching for any of the pieces you set aside, you’ll be happy you didn’t get rid of them.
5. You Didn’t Consider Your Lifestyle
Another potential reason why your wardrobe declutter failed is because you didn’t consider your lifestyle when deciding what to hold onto and what to get rid of.
When decluttering you wardrobe, consider your hobbies and what you do for work.
If you work remotely, owning black slacks and a blazer isn’t necessary. However, if you have an office job, you’ll definitely want to hold onto some.
If the work you do is messy, make sure to have a few pieces that you don’t mind getting dirty.
If you’re an active person, you’ll want to own more workout clothes than someone who isn’t.
Declutter your wardrobe with your lifestyle in mind.
6. You Didn’t Let Go of Sentimental (But Impractical) Pieces
If your high school prom dress, wedding dress or college graduation gown is still hanging in your closet, you’ll need to learn to let go of sentimental items if you want to successfully declutter your wardrobe.
You’ll need to recognize that what makes an item sentimental isn’t the item itself. It’s the memories associated with it. You won’t lose the memory by getting rid of the item.
If it helps, take a photo of the item before letting it go.
7. You Decluttered Too Much
It’s easy to get carried away when you start decluttering your wardrobe. Letting go of your clothes will feel so freeing and it may be tempting to get rid of everything right then and there.
Resist the urge to over-declutter. Once you get rid of something, you can never have it back.
With that being said, if you’re on the fence about one of your pieces, hold onto it. If a few weeks pass since you decluttered and you still haven’t worn that item, go ahead and get rid of it.
8. You Didn’t Declutter Enough
On the flip side, it’s possible your wardrobe declutter failed because you didn’t declutter enough.
Letting go of your clothes can be hard. Especially if you’re worried about post declutter regret.
That’s why I recommend separating your clothes into three different categories when decluttering.
Separate your clothing into a keep, maybe and donate pile. Hold onto the ‘maybe’ items for a few weeks before getting rid of them. That way you can be certain that you won’t regret letting go of those pieces.
9. You Were Chasing an Aesthetic
As satisfying as it may be for your clothes to fit into a cohesive style, it’s not worth letting go of pieces that you love. When decluttering your wardrobe, don’t get caught up in trying to achieve a certain aesthetic. Instead, look at each piece individually. If your most worn item doesn’t fit into the aesthetic you are trying to achieve, hold onto it anyway.
For instance, many minimalists choose to stick to a ‘minimalist’ aesthetic when it comes to their fashion choices (aka: white t-shirts and black jeans).
If a minimalist aesthetic is what you’re going for, don’t get rid of perfectly good items just because they don’t fit this aesthetic. Instead, wear your old items until they wear out. Only then should you swap them out for pieces you love more.
10. You Held on to Low Quality Clothing
Holding onto low quality clothing is another big decluttering mistake. Choosing to hold onto something that isn’t made to last just means that you’ll end up having to replace down the road.
To avoid replacing clothing as often, keep quality in mind when choosing whether or not to hold onto something. If you own two similar pieces but one is considerably better quality than the other, hold onto the better quality item.
Below are some simple ways to distinguish whether an item is good quality or not!
- Know your fabrics. Generally speaking, natural fibers such as cotton, silk, wool and linen will last longer than synthetic fabrics. But keep in mind that if you regularly put your clothes in the dryer, these materials are not the best. Natural fibers shrink quicker than synthetic fabrics like viscose and polyester.
- Pay attention to the seams. Make sure that the stitches and seams of the garment are straight and neat. If the clothing has loose threads or uneven seams, it’s a dead giveaway that it is probably not the best quality.
- Notice the buttons and zippers: If a piece of clothing has plastic buttons or zippers, it’s probably not the best quality. Look for garments that have wood or metal buttons and zippers instead.
11. You Didn’t Get Rid of Duplicates
If you’re anything like me, when you find a piece that you love, you end up buying it in every color. You also only end up wearing one of those pieces and it’s usually the one that’s in your favorite color.
Although owning multiples of the same thing sounds like a good idea. It’s not. You’ll inevitably be drawn to one of the pieces over the others and the duplicates won’t get worn.
During your declutter, get rid of any duplicate items that you don’t find yourself wearing.
12. You Didn’t Consider Variety
Variety is the spice of life. It’s also key to having a well rounded wardrobe.
When decluttering, make sure to include a wide range of styles. That way, you don’t get bored of the clothes you have.
After you’ve declutter your wardrobe, you don’t want to find yourself back at the shops because the clothes you decided to keep weren’t fun or inspiring.
In Conclusion
Do you find yourself decluttering again and again? Does it feel impossible to maintain the size of your wardrobe no matter how much you get rid of? If so, you’re not alone. Plenty of people struggle with decluttering their wardrobes. I was one of them until I stopped making these 12 wardrobe decluttering mistakes!
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