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#Sparking Joy: Tips for Purging Your Closet & How to Host a Clothing Exchange

I am sharing some tips for how to purge and organize your closet, plus host a clothing exchange.

The life changing magic of tidying up a journey to sparking joy poster.

Good morning!

Ready to get organized this week?

You might remember from last Sunday that I have started an organizing journey along with some of my blogging friends.

We are following the Marie Kondo Method as outlined in her book “the life-changing magic of tidying up”.

Sparking Joy My Journey in Tidying Up books on the table.

I’ve been reading through this book and following along with Marie’s suggested methods for getting organized: once and for all.

I’m already really glad that I decided to take this challenge issued by my friend Kristi from Making it in the Mountains. I’m thrilled to be in cahoots with these bloggers on this #SparkingJoy journey:

A Journey to Sparking Joy:

Anderson & Grant
Making it in the Mountains
DIY Passion
Dwelling in Happiness
Zevy Joy
Cupcakes & Crinoline
Lost in the Found
The Happy Housie

After a ridiculously busy year of renovating our kitchen and two investment houses, things around our house are not as organized as I would like them.

You know how when you get busy, things like staying organized fall a little by the wayside?

Things start to accumulate, taking up space… making it more difficult to stay organized and tidy?

Well, that’s pretty much what happened around here. This purging challenge couldn’t have come at a better time.

Well, this week’s first task was to tackle our clothing.

School started back this past week so it was my first week back teaching. Perhaps I was a overly optimistic about how much I could accomplish during that busy first week back?!?

But I did make some great progress and plan on finishing up my clothing purge today. In fact, I’m planning to post my BEFORE and AFTER closet pictures on Instagram, if you are following along!

If you are ready to get started on tackling your own clothing purge, here is the process I followed:

Start by laying all your clothes of a specific type out together (I laid mine on the bed for ease). Focus on ONE category of clothing at a time: for example – shirts. I even focused within each category on a specific type of shirt: for example all long-sleeved shirts then t-shirts then tank tops etc. Make sure you collect your clothing from everywhere that it might be in the house (don’t forget about the laundry!).

Clothes on the bed.

Once you have all the clothing of a specific category laid out, go through each item picking them up one at a time and (here is the key): listen to your intuition and ask yourself if this item gives you joy.  If not: it’s out.

Holding an item of clothing.

I highly recommend reading Marie’s book for more explanation about this – but there is a great deal of truth in her suggestion. Ignore the guilt and obligation that often surrounds items and fuels our need to hold onto them. If the piece doesn’t give you joy, you simply thank it for what it has meant to you in your life and you hand it off.

Putting a purple shirt in a garbage bag for donation.

Now, go through the process with the rest of your categories of clothing. The whole family can get involved! Though I may have lightened up on the #sparkingjoy aspect when it came to our boy’s clothing:)

Now that you have gathered what may be bags and bags of surplus clothing, you will have so much LESS in your closet and drawers to contend with! Dressing in the morning will be so much easier because you LOVE what you have. And putting away clothes in your closet and drawers will be so much easier because they aren’t over-stuffed.

Now – I think the trick is to ask yourself whenever you go out shopping “does this give me joy” before you actually purchase a piece. Don’t bring in a bunch of mediocre things – just buy what you love!

But as I mentioned, after following this process you will likely have a lot of clothing to give away. Rather then immediately donating it; consider hosting a clothing exchange!

Clothing Exchange

I was first introduced to this concept by my thrifty-creative teacher friends when I started working at the current school where I work. They do these clothing exchanges a few times a year, and it helps everyone make sure they are regularly purging their closet as well as gives them the opportunity to get some beautiful new (possibly hardly-worn) clothing items to refresh their wardrobe with.

Here’s how it works:

  1.  Invite friends and family to go through the same process as you: purging your clothing and setting aside their nice pieces to offer up for the exchange.
  2. Set a date and time and invite these friends/family over for the clothing exchange. Tell them to wear under-clothing that they are comfortable wearing to change in front of others  (eg. a tank top and tight shorts or bathing suit etc.)
  3. Create different zones in your house for different categories of clothing: eg. pants and skirts in one room; tops in another room; dresses in another etc. etc. Label each room accordingly. Try to provide a full length mirror for each room.
  4. Once everyone has arrived, give everyone (or have them bring their own) wooden clothes pegs with their name or initials written on them in felt pen. Each person should have, perhaps, around 15-20 clothes pegs.
  5. Divide up into small groups depending on the number of people in attendance and the number of clothing category rooms.
  6. Each group is given a room to start in and given a set amount of time before a switch is done. While in that room, the group members go through each item and tries on those that interest them (remember: does it bring joy?!?). If so- you put your clothes peg on that item to indicate your interest in it. It doesn’t matter if an item has several clothes pegs at the end – I will explain that part soon.
  7. Once the groups have had time to circulate through all the rooms, gather all the clothing that is marked with at least one clothes peg. Have everyone sit together and hand out those items that have only ONE peg to the person who tagged that item.
  8. For clothing items that have more then one clothes peg- put the two or more pegs into a hat and draw for the winner.
  9. It’s fun to make a social event of it and have people bring snacks and drinks to share as well.
  10. Don’t forget there are lots of organizations that love to accept clean and well cared for clothing donations – have someone or a few people from the group volunteer to take all the “non-joy” clothing and donate it to one of these organization.

Think you might want to try it?

This is awesome! Pin it to remember it!

How to host a clothing exchange graphic.

Now check out what my fellow #Sparking Joy bloggers have been up to this week with their first assignment on the #Sparking Joy Challenge: tackling our clothing!


 

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I may link up at some of these fabulous places below, for more info check out housie partiesMonday Funday Inspiration MondayNifty Thrifty Tuesday, Project Inspire{d} , Inspire Me Tuesday, The Scoop, Hit Me With Your Best Shot,  Wow Me Wednesday, Whimsy Wednesday From Dream to Reality, The Inspiration Exchange, Wow Us Wednesday, Live Laugh Rowe Live Laugh Linky, Thursdays Are Your Days, Inspire Me Please, Catch as Catch CanFabulously Creative Friday, Party Junk,  Pinworthy Projects , Link Party Palooza,, Weekend Bloggy Reading, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Spotlight SaturdaySuburbs Mama , That DIY Party

 

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17 Comments

  1. I am trying to do this with my clothes. It is difficult to do. I have some clothes that do not fit me because I gained a few pound. I am currently loosing weight but not sure what to get rid of. I did toss a bag full of shirts today. Plan on tossing more out tomorrow.

    1. I totally understand this conundrum! I have a box of clothes that are too small for me but that I want to keep. I am planning to hold onto them for a little while longer and then if I don’t fit them by next spring (they are spring/summer) I will part with them. That’s my strategy:)

  2. Some great ideas I like to get all my clothes out and try them on once or twice a year usually twice a year at the start of warm weather and the start of cold weather and try it on and think do I still think this looks good on, what might have looked good last year may not look so good this year not because the item has changed but because what I like has changed, also some items of clothing will start to look worn and no longer bright and cheery so those clothes will either become house only clothes or get donated to some charity

  3. I absolutely loooove the idea of hosting a clothing exchange! It’s genius! I so wish I had done something like that. I had a ton of clothes I donated that were really nice, and I wish they could have gone to some people I know, too! I’ll be trying really hard to make sure I only buy clothing that makes me happy instead of mediocre things that I’m ho-hum about. It’ll be a challenge, as I love my sale racks! 😉

    1. Oh, I know all about mediocre and sales racks! I am determined not to buy anything more unless I actually absolutely LOVE it!

  4. I completely agree with the idea of asking whether or not items spark joy before you buy them. After all the work of decluttering I don’t think anyone wants to dig themselves into another cluttered hole. And as I was reading through your post, I had to ask why none of the rest of us showed a picture of HOLDING the clothing in our hands?!?! Here we talking about taking each piece of clothing into our hands, and you were the only one creative enough to actually show it!!!!

    1. Exactly – that’s the key, now, right?! Don’t bring in anything else unless you absolutely LOVE it. I think the holding of the clothes is such a key aspect to connecting to your intuition about how you feel about them. It’s like you just know, in your gut, whether they should stay or not! It’s tricky, trying not to rationalize keeping things though out of guilt or obligation:)

  5. Such great ideas! I love the idea of a clothing exchange. My girls and I have done an accessory exchange with friends, things such as jewelry, purses, scarves, ect. That way we didn’t have to worry about sizes of clothing. This is a great way to get some ‘new’ things without spending a lot of money!

    1. The accessory exchange is a great idea! The clothing exchanges I have been to have a few different sizes so it always seems to work that people find a few new pieces to take home. I just like to see my purged things go to people who will love them!

    1. Yes – you should! They are lots of fun and a great way to see your purged clothes go to someone who will love them!

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