As an image consultant for over 2 decades, I’ve seen many wardrobes. Some tiny, some huge, yet there are recurring themes of things that all clients have felt better about after letting go of these items.

Clearing out the clutter lets you see what you do have and gives a bit more space for your clothes and yourself to breathe.

If you can’t see garments, you’ll never wear them. So taking a little time to clear out the clutter will help you be more stylish this year as what you have in your wardrobe is something you can and do love to wear.

1. Bargain Buys You Never Wear

Yes, that great bargain you saw and couldn’t leave in the store, yet it doesn’t get worn, is something that is taking up space, both in your cupboard and in your head.  If you’re not wearing it regularly, if it’s something you bypass for other garments, there is usually something wrong with it, and it doesn’t deserve a place in your wardrobe.

If you can figure out why you bought it before you donate (or sell) it, this is always good; you have got some valuable education about your style that is worth the price of admission.

Why don’t you wear it?

• Is it the feel of the fabric?
• The colour doesn’t make you feel alive?
• It doesn’t fit?
• The shape or style just isn’t quite right?
• It’s not really your style (you admire the look on others but don’t feel comfortable in it)?
• It doesn’t go with anything else you own?
• It’s for a lifestyle that isn’t yours?
• It was the “designer” label on special that made you feel like you couldn’t pass it up, even though it really isn’t your style?

It’s often easy to justify a bargain (it doesn’t feel like you’re spending a lot), but all those bargains that you don’t wear add up to a lot over time and have taken away the possibility of buying something that was more expensive that you really love but you just didn’t have the budget for.

2. Gifts That You Feel Guilty About

Items gifted are the longest-kept yet least-worn (according to research) and often clutter up closet space.    Holding onto those gifts can create feelings of guilt and an obligation to pull it out and wear it when you’re seeing the gifter (even though you don’t love it, it’s not your style, etc.).  I had a floral dress my grandmother made me when I was 16 (suited to the style of a 6-year-old) that I was made to wear once a year when visiting her (she lived interstate, so I didn’t see her that often).  Wearing that dress felt like an obligation and brought me no joy.

Donate these items so that someone who does suit it and love it will get some wear from it.   This way you gain back space and the guilt of not wearing it when you see it each day as you open your wardrobe also goes.  Here are some ideas of what you can do with unwanted fashion gifts.

3. Garments that Mean “Work” to Maintain

If you continually bypass a garment because it requires some sort of additional “work” to wear, from handwashing or dry cleaning to ironing that you just don’t have the time or energy to do, then there is no point in keeping the item.  Knowing that you hate ironing means buying clothes that mean minimal care (look at the fibre content before you buy – if it can’t be thrown into the washing machine, it should stay on the shop shelves).  You may feel guilty for getting rid of it, but the reality is that you’re not wearing it anyway, so you may as well move it to a better home where it gets the love and attention it deserves.

4. Aspirational Items that Don’t Fit

We’re talking the too-small because you’re going to lose weight to fit into it (one day).  This can actually demotivate you as you feel bad each morning when you pull out the same old thing because of all those too-small clothes that are taking up valuable space – they just remind you of unmet goals and don’t actually provide you with the inspiration to make the changes you want.  Plus, they are going out of date hanging there.

You deserve to have a wardrobe of clothes you wear and that fit and make you feel good, not a closet of clothes that make you feel guilty and ashamed for enjoying that lovely dinner.

We’re also talking about clothes for a lifestyle you don’t currently have, the ballgown for the imagined ball you never go to.  The fancy suit for the corporate job you don’t have and don’t actually plan on getting.  The schmancy white silk frock that you never wear because you have a practical lifestyle and just don’t go anywhere to wear it.  These items should be sold or donated whilst they are fresh when someone else will still want them.  And don’t buy anything for an imaginary lifestyle that doesn’t fit with how you live your life.

5. Sentimental Items for the Person You Were

Maternity wear because it reminds you of your babies (even though they are now grown).  Pieces from phases of your life that are long gone.  Garments you picked up on travels, though they no longer fit or fit your current lifestyle (or personal style).  Your memories won’t disappear just because you don’t own the piece of clothing.  Maybe take a piece of that maternity dress fabric and turn it into a cushion cover for a pillow that you have on your bed, so you can still get that reminder, but without so much clutter.  Do you have photos from your travels? They are enough to remember the experience by.  Keeping one special concert tee is fine – but 20 of them is clutter if you’re not wearing them.

6. Event Wear You Never Wear

If you hardly ever go to special events that require an evening gown, is it worth keeping it?  If it’s hardly worn it may be easy to sell if it’s a current fashion, but keep it for decades and it’s lost all it’s value.  Think consignment stores and websites to help you move on your great quality event garments.

7. Freebies

The logo’d t-shirt from an event that you were part of, but you never wear. The garment your girlfriend or sister gave you when they were cleaning out their closet that you felt a little obliged to take, but don’t really want.  If you’re not wearing it, donate it to a better home.  Your friends and relatives don’t want to think that what they gave you is a burden.

8. Swimmers, Socks and Underwear

Each year, you may buy a new swimsuit, but don’t get rid of the old one that’s gotten stretched out of shape, the elastane breaking down from pool chemicals and sun damage.  You may have socks that have lost their pair or crawl down into your shoes that really need to be removed.  Underwear starts bagging out and becoming uncomfortable, but you keep washing rather than just throwing it away.  Seasonal wear and underwear are often overlooked when doing a wardrobe declutter.

9. Crappy Wire Hangers

All those dry cleaner hangers that are taking up space and ruining the shoulders of your clothes need to go.

Investing in quality hangers that are all the same acutally make it easier for you to see all your clothes as they hang at the same height.  Each time you take a garment off its hanger to wear, take the hanger out of your wardrobe, find a space to stack them so that when you need to hang a garment up again, you have easy access to the hangers, plus they are not taking up valuable space in your wardrobe, making it feel more cluttered.

Invest in Your Style Education

The more you know about your style, the colours that light you up, styles of clothes that harmonise with your body and give you confidence, the way to accessorise so that you add that finishing touch is an investment and will save you from making more mistakes that give you a guilty feeling.  Whether it’s learning to accessorise, how to put a stylish outfit together, understanding how to use colour intentionally to harness its subconscious psychological power, I’ve got educational masterclasses to help you take the next step on your personal style journey.  Check out my shop here.