10 Simple Steps to Declutter Your Clothing Using the KonMari Method

You’ve read the book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, you downloaded the free printable decluttering checklist, you set aside a time to completely declutter, and now you are READY to tackle the first step: clothing, shoes, handbags, and accessories. In fact, decluttering your clothing may just change your life– you’ll feel better in your clothes by wearing only what you love, and visually it’s so appealing that you will immediately want to tackle the rest of your home. Are you ready? LET’S GET TO IT AND DECLUTTER YOUR CLOTHING!

But first, the proof is in the pudding: I was quoted in the Jan./Feb. issue of Dr. Oz’s The Good Life magazine on this very topic. I truly did get rid of 75% of my clothing and it was totally painless PLUS gave us some great perks, like not only saving money moving forward but earning enough for a few family trips and outings. So take heart, you CAN change your life with this method!

How to Declutter Your Clothing Using the KonMari Method

1. Take It All Out

First and foremost, take everything out of your closet and throw it in a pile on your bed or bedroom floor.  Yup, everything. Take a moment to look at all that space. How does it feel? Think of your closet as precious, and honor your space by only putting things back that will bring you joy!

2. Gather the Rest of Your Clothing

Go around your home and gather all your other clothing, including the following:

• out-of-season clothing
• coats/outerwear
• clothing in drawers
• underwear, socks, bras
• costumes
• uniforms
• scarves
• pajamas, activewear, loungewear

(note: I did this separately for EACH family member. Breaking it down that way made it much easier to handle the huge amount of clothing plus think about sizes, outgrown clothing, what they needed, etc.)

The free printable KonMari checklist will help you with this, download it here!

3. Go through the Pile

It is huge! It is bringing you DOWN! How much of that do you actually wear?! Hold up each piece. Do you currently wear and love it? Ask yourself, does it bring you joy? While doing this, any piece of clothing where I thought ‘yes, I love it!’ went back into the closet. Anything that I hesitated about or was unsure went into a pile. The obvious no’s went into a bag to either consign or donate. Truly aim to get rid of half your clothes. I mean it! Capsule wardrobes are in– keeping basic pieces that work well with each other is the trend, as opposed to wearing something once and never again.

TIP: Don’t hold onto something because you once loved it or it used to fit your lifestyle. Work in the here and now- what do you love NOW? What works for you NOW?

Be brutal with your socks, underwear, and bras. They do have a shelf life, you know. You’re not doing yourself any favors by keeping ones that are stretched out and frumpy. Use this as an excuse to treat yourself to ones that make you look (and feel) amazing!

The ‘BEFORE’ of my husband’s sock collection. Wait until you see the ‘after’ in the next post about how to organize your newly decluttered clothing!

4. Try Everything on in Your “Maybe” Pile

What’s your very first thought when you see yourself in the mirror?

TIP: Instead of asking ‘how does this make me LOOK?’ it’s easier to ask yourself ‘how does this make me FEEL?’

Here’s my ‘maybe’ pile. I tried each item on and evaluated it critically; about half got discarded.

5. Finalize Your Clothing Choices

Your favorites should be back in your closet and your ‘nopes’ ready to go out the door. OF THE CLOTHES YOU ARE KEEPING, STORE ALL YOUR CLOTHING TOGETHER– don’t store off-season clothing in another area! You may need an outer layer in the summer or a fun tank in the winter for going out. Hiding your off-season clothing puts it out of mind and makes it easier to hoard. Trust me, you will love having your entire wardrobe in one spot. Don’t get too caught up in organizing it yet, we just want to declutter your clothing and accessories.

Here’s a hot tip: go back into your closet and see if anything jumps out as odd to you. Anything not match the others? Often, this is a piece that you don’t really love but kept out of obligation. If that’s the case, get rid of it!

TIP: As you put items back, take OFF the old wire hangers and replace them with slimline hangers which both look better and are better for your clothes. Here’s my favorite type of hangers for our bedroom closets, and my favorite wooden hangers for the coat closet. Recycle the old ones at your local drycleaners. You’re going to love how great your closets feel when refreshed this way!

6. Go through Your Handbags

Now do this with your handbags, totes, & clutches. Remember, what do you REALLY love? Which ones bring you JOY? Keep those. Discard the rest.

TIP:  Get rid of handbags you no longer use. Make a little money by selling them (local Yard Sale groups on Facebook, consignment stores, online resale shops like Mercari or Poshmark) and put that towards one you really love.

7. Walking Away from Shoe Clutter

Are you ready? Now it’s time to tackle your shoes. Be brutal. As you hold up each pair, ask yourself:

• Do you still wear them?
• Do they fit? Do they feel good?
• Do they work with your (newly decluttered) wardrobe?
• Are they in great condition?
• Are they in style?

Here’s part of my ‘BEFORE’ shoe pile (my sneakers and other boots were behind me when I took a pic). That pair of boots in front is torn up beyond repair. The rips and stains don’t bring me joy AT ALL! The red pair popping up in the back has never been worn in the 5 years I’ve had them because they pinch my toes. So why do I still have them? And… Coloriffics? Okay, those are my wedding shoes so they’re sentimental but I need to put serious thought into whether I want to keep them.

8. The Joy of Jewels (That You Actually Wear)

This one is tough, because pieces are often sentimental or you think, ‘I might wear this one day’. It took me 3 tries to finally get down to the nitty gritty with my jewelry. I decided to keep only the jewelry I actually wear right now and a few sentimental pieces. Goodbye, necklaces from when I was teaching! Adios, ring from an ex-boyfriend! Buy-bye my 5 statement necklaces from 2009 that are way behind the times! Hello, gorgeous favorites.

9. Discard Your Unwanted Clothing and Accessories

Do not pass go. Do not collect $200 (okay, you can collect $200 if you consign them!) Get those discards out the door! Here’s how I handled mine:

• Upscale clothing, accessories & handbags: consigned at Clothes Mentor (made over $125!)
• Regular clothing, accessories & handbags: sold at a yard sale and made a fortune— people love name brands!
• Kids clothing: handed down to friends or sold at a local kids’ consignment sale
• Bras: donated at my local Soma store (they collect used bras and refurbish them for women in need)
• Everything else: donated! (I actually donated most of my clothing, it’s so much easier than trying to sell it!)

10. Enjoy the fruit of your labor

Take a step back. You did it! How does it feel? Does a mostly empty closet make you feel happy? We’re going to work on organizing everything next week, but for now, enjoy your accomplishment and just wait until it’s all organized next week!

Like this post and wondering where to start? Read ALL the posts in the KonMari series:

1. Why This Little Book will Change Your Life (Plus a KonMari Method Cheat Sheet)

2. Free Printable KonMari Decluttering Checklist

3. How to Declutter your Clothing & Closets Once and For All (you are here)