How to Purge a Clothes Closet

So you searched your closet for a favorite sweater, only to find mismatched legwarmers, a concert T-shirt from 1978 and a pair of pants two sizes too small. This can only mean one thing: it's time to purge your clothes closet. By following a few simple steps, you can decrease clutter and stress--and find that favorite sweater in no time.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Consider how much space you have. If you have more than one clothes closet, you can organize your closets based on season. If you have just one clothes closet, you should do some savvy purging.

2. Evaluate each article of clothing. If it's something you wear only once per season--or something you haven't worn in ages--it's only contributing to your clutter and should not be in the closet.

3. Divide clothes into categories. Decide on the clothes you want to keep in your closet, which clothes you want to keep in boxes or under-bed bins, and which clothes you can part with entirely.

4. Organize your closet in a logical, aesthetically pleasing way. Group pants with other pants, blouses with other blouses and so on. When your closet looks nice, you'll be inclined to keep it that way--and that means there's less clutter down the road.

5. Fold the clothes that you no longer wish to keep, stack them neatly in a box or bag and donate them to a charity organization such as Goodwill.

Tips & Warnings

• Make money off of your closet-purging by placing your old clothes in consignment shops. Some articles of clothing--particularly vintage items--can fetch a nice price.
• Don't donate torn, worn-out, stained or otherwise damaged clothing to charity. This sort of "giving" is an insult to the people who need your help.