I feel like nearly every other day over the last couple of weeks, I’ve found myself rummaging through my closet, cleaning and clearing things out for at least 30 minutes if not more. Anyone else? The habit, which I happen to find quite therapeutic, has developed for a number of reasons. Firstly, I’m spending more time at home than ever. In fact, I’m spending all of my time at home as some of you may be able to relate to.
Next, spring has just arrived! Not only does this signal the age-old tradition of spring cleaning, but as a New Yorker, specifically, this means I can start putting my winter coats, boots, and accessories back into storage. (If you’re in the same boat, then you know what an indescribable joy that is.)
Lastly, for reasons that need little explaining, it’s a better time than ever to donate clothing (or anything, really) to those who may need it more than we do. In short, right now, closet-cleaning a triple whammy that results in me feeling good as well as my wardrobe looking less cluttered than ever.
Knowing I couldn’t be the only one doing this, I recently reached out to my fellow editors and asked them to share what specific categories of items they found themselves purging from their closets this week. To see all of our responses packaged together into one handy graphic you can use to guide your own clean-out and read more about each person’s experience, just keep scrolling.
Lastly, since this is Who What Wear, you’ll also come across a handful of shopping picks just in case you’re currently inclined to do some online shopping, too.
I have a habit of acquiring a few too many “cool” tops each season, which I usually buy for super cheap knowing they might not make it past a few months in the trend cycle. Needless to say, a few of them in my closet were past their prime, so I decided to remove them to clear space for a fresh start. (Hopefully, I won’t make the same mistake this upcoming season.) Moving forward, it’s all about timeless pieces.
“I have so many weird pairs of leggings from years past. I pretty much just wear high-waisted, neutral, solid-colored ones these days, yet my drawer was crammed with crazy printed ones, so off they go. I’m very happy to be able to open and close my drawer again.”
“I just went through my drawers and ditched all of the worn-out T-shirts I’ve been apparently saving for no apparent reason. Seriously. Who needs five random faded black tees? Exactly. Given that I’m wearing T-shirts on the regular with my WFH fits, I replaced the dingy silhouettes with fresh styles from Hanes and H&M.”
“On a recent spring cleaning, I said goodbye to a bunch of ripped and distressed skinny jeans that I never wear anymore (perhaps because I tend to lean into more clean and minimalist silhouettes these days, or maybe I’m finally caving into my mom’s request!). It does feel really good to have a more streamlined denim collection.”
“Being at home has definitely inspired me to clean out my closet. My trick to really editing it down is to put everything on a rack and try all of the pieces on. Time intensive, yes, but it’s effective at helping me figure out what I want to hold onto. Anything that didn’t fit (or couldn’t be altered by a tailor to fit properly) was added into my donation pile.”
“Since I’m home more than ever now, I’m wearing house slippers every single day. I’ve been holding on to a couple of very old pairs, but I finally purged them since I’ve exclusively been wearing the newest of the bunch, anyway. My toes have never been happier.”
“I’ve somehow accumulated so many random promotional tees and tourist tees over the years, and they were the first thing to go when I finally sat down to go through my closet. Don’t get my wrong—I love a good graphic tee (I hung onto a few that have the perfect worn-in wash and slightly oversize fit), but the others weren’t serving much of a purpose and I wanted to make some room for a restock of my favorite basic tops that I just placed an order for.”
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