Clean Your Closet Before You Move Those Clothes You Haven't Worn in a Year

Whether you’re contemplating a lifestyle change (starting college, finishing college and starting a new job, transferring to UC Davis and getting ready to move) or just thinking about rotating your fall clothes back into your wardrobe, it may be time to thin the clothes herd a little. But where and how to start this painful process?

Lifehacker.com suggests asking yourself a few questions about which clothes you:

• Feel most comfortable in?
• Usually reach for?
• Pack for vacation?
• Get complimented on most?

When picking your work clothes, just look to your boss.

Perhaps you like a mix of styles, which is great too. Focusing on one main style, however, while reserving the others for when the mood suits you might be another strategy.

To get a cohesive look for yourself, you might consider shopping mainly at one clothing store (the Gap, for example) or specific brands.

Or, you could ask yourself Lifehack.org‘s simple question:

“If I were shopping right this second, would I buy this?” If the answer’s no, out it goes.

If you take a crucial step now, you can save yourself a little sturm and drang the next time you decide to clean out your closet. Turn all of your hangers backward. You read that correctly. Turn them backward, just this one time. As you wear something, re-hang it forward-facing. In a year you will know immediately what you haven’t touched over the last 12 months and will be able to cull things much more easily.

Then you just need to decide where to donate your leftovers. If they’re in great shape, you can consign them to Right & Relevant. If they’ve been well loved, there are the Goodwill donation stations, STEAC, and SPCA thrift store, among others. For more donation information visit the Davis Wiki site. Happy donating!