Get Rid of Old Clothes + FREE Closet Declutter Checklist

I’m sharing how to get rid of clothes following the Marie Kondo method plus a free Closet Declutter Checklist so you can start too!

You can also watch my own Marie Kondo before and after pics of me decluttering my own wardrobe and drawers – video at the end.

Knowing how to decide what clothes to get rid of isn’t easy for most of us. There are things we’ve hung on to for years and sometimes it just feels like a waste of money to throw things away.

Are you a little obsessed with the Marie Kondo book or new Netflix show too?

The world (well, most of it!) is currently mesmerized with the Konmari method to declutter your life. Homes around the world are being transformed from cluttered chaos to organized bliss.

How to Declutter your Wardrobe

Knowing how to get rid of clothes clutter without it taking forever is something that really appealed to me. Whilst I don’t think it’s possible to declutter your whole house in one day, clothing can be done pretty quickly.

If you want to know how to get rid of clothes in your closet quickly and painlessly, this is how I did it today.

Want to do things the Marie Kondo way?

Buy the book here.

I first read “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” in 2016 and immediately got to action, applying her methods of organization to my whole house. But then I let it slide a little bit with the clothes.

Want to know how to organize your home room by room?

Marie advises to break down your tidying into categories, starting with clothing and working through each category in turn.

By the time you get to the last category of sentimental items, you’re already an organising pro!

Her approach on how to clean and organize your closet is methodical and gives you all of the steps you need to get it done quickly.

If you want to know how to declutter your room, here is how I have started. Plus you can see my Konmari method before and after in the video below.

You can watch my wardrobe clearout declutter before and after here, using the Marie Kondo tidying up method:

How to Declutter Clothing

This morning I decided it was time to start again and use the art of tidying up by Marie Kondo to declutter the whole house. Starting with…my clothes!

Following her tips for cleaning out your closet, I went through my whole house and gathered up all of my clothing, piling it on to the bed.

She says it’s the best way how to declutter your closet because you forget the things you can’t see. I had so many of my clothes hiding around the house.

There was a LOT! A lot more than I imagined. I cleared out my wardrobe, drawers, the garage and everywhere else that I had stashed away my clothing.

Next up, it was time to get discarding.

I held each piece of clothing in my hard and asked myself if it sparked “joy”.

Many clothes sparked happy memories but not necessarily joy anymore. By that, I mean I no longer needed them in my life, they were out of date, out of fashion or just didn’t serve me anymore.

So, following her advice, I thanked them for their service (seriously!) and placed them on to the Discard pile.

I also had a small pile of brand new clothes that I intend to try to sell to make some extra cash.

After I had finished, I had a pile of clothes to:

• Keep
• Discard
• Sell

I was so shocked at how many clothes I knew no longer served me. I looked back on how I’ve transported them every time we’ve moved house yet have never worn some of them in a decade or more!

Discarding my clothing was a very positive experience and felt so liberating!

Looking at the huge pile that remained, I wondered how they were possibly going to fit into my wardrobe and drawers.

Marie says that the best way to organise clothes isn’t just to hang them all. In the book, she goes into more detail about what should be hung and what should be folded.

I really recommend you read the book for the full advice on how to declutter your clothes.

She guides you through exactly how to sort through clothes and how to throw out clothes quickly but in a positive way.

Her tips really have been life-changing for me!

Related: How to apply the Konmari Method to People in your Life

The Marie Kondo Folding Technique

The Marie Kondo folding clothes method that guides you to fold your clothes has many benefits.

As well as saving space in your drawers, it also allows you to line up your clothing vertically so you can see everything you own.

At the same time, because they’re not stacked in a pile, they are less likely to get crushed and creased.

I decided to start by separating the pile into clothing to be hung and clothing to be folded.

When I had my two piles, I went about hanging everything back up in the wardrobe.

Marie advises that the best way how to organise clothes is to hang them with the heaviest items on the left so that they “rise to the right”.

I hung my clothes in this order following her declutter bedroom checklist (download yours below):

Konmari Clothing Categories

• Coats
• Dresses
• Jackets
• Trousers/Pants
• Skirts
• Tops (that shouldn’t be folded)

I also hung darker colours to the left, rising to lighter ones.

Surprisingly, when I had hung all of my clothes up, I discovered I had only used half of my wardrobe space. I didn’t need to use the bottom rail at all.

So no more struggling to get items in and out of the wardrobe!

Buy the book here.

Konmari Folding Method for Drawers

I was so daunted at the prospect of folding all of the clothes that remained. This was mainly because I worried that my chest of drawers wouldn’t contain them all. The pile looked so big!

The best way to organize clothes for me was to separate my clothing into:

• Beach/Swimmers
• Jeans & Pants
• Shorts, Leggings & Activewear
• Tops
• Underwear & Socks

Using the correct Marie Kondo folding method, I got to work! I put my clothes away in the drawers with the heavier items in the bottom drawer and the lightest at the top.

Once finished, I was so happy that everything fit! Check out my “Marie Kondo drawers”:

And here are the bags I am giving away to charity!

The magic of tidying up your clothing correctly is everything having a home in my wardrobe or drawers. There is now no excuse to have clothing in a heap or on the floor.

Once I take off an item of clothing, there is the ‘right’ space for it to be put away immediately. Who knew that sorting out clothes could be so therapeutic!

Someone might need to get this memo to my husband and kids. It’s a work in progress!

If you’re looking for more tips on how to declutter your house and want me to share more about mine, let me know.

You can grab your own copy of Marie Kondo’s tidying up book, “The Magic Art of Tidying Up”. Buy the book here.

The art of decluttering is to find a method that works for you and I can wholeheartedly say that this method works for me.

I love how quick it was to follow simple instructions to do a job that might have otherwise taken me months. Or, perhaps I wouldn’t have done it at all!

Do you have any tips on how to declutter your bedroom or even how to clean out your closet?

Want to do things the Marie Kondo way?

Buy the book here.

FREE Closet Declutter Checklist

Want to grab a guide to a free Warbrobe Declutter Checklist? It’s here in my Resource Library, along with many more ways for you to stay organised:

Read next:

• 33 Super Fast Things to Declutter Right NOW!
• The Secret To A Tidy House and Tidy Mind
• My Pantry Declutter
• 13 Quick Things to Declutter Right Now + Free Decluttering Checklist
• 10 Best Kids Clothing Stores I Love!

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