The holidays are over and you’re stuck with a ton of new clothes, gift cards, and spring sales looming around the corner. I bet you think your closest is shrinking every time you add a new shirt to it. This can only mean one thing – it’s time to organize that stack of clothes before your closet turns into absolute chaos.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to get rid of an item of clothing for every new one that comes your way. But I can definitely relate to the separation anxiety that comes along with getting rid of old clothes. A dress can bring you back to the time you went on that great first date with the guy who never called you back. Or the jacket you wore when you and your girlfriends had a night on the town and stayed out till sunrise. It’s hard to let go of clothes you’ve had for so long, but when there begins to be no room for the new, it’s time to let go of the old.

It’d be awesome if you could keep everything in your closet and love it all equally, but we all know this is never the case. There are shirts that you refuse to get rid of yet every time you try them on you put them right back on the shelf. Trust me – it’s much better to have 10 outfits you absolutely love and can mix-and-match than 30 that are all average at best.

#1

Take It All Out & Sort It

Take the day off. Put your phone away, get a sitter, and take this time for yourself. The first step is to take everything out and sort it out on your bed. Short sleeves with short sleeves, blazers with blazers, jeans with jeans, dresses with dresses – you get the picture. Classify all of these in simple little piles on your bed and around your floor if need be.

#2

Let It Go

Now, you have your whole closet arranged in categories on your bed! Step one complete – looks like a lot more when it’s all laid out, doesn’t it? This will make it easier to get rid of what you don’t truly adore. Go through each pile, and ask yourself if you really love each article of clothing. If you come across something where the answer is no, don’t hesitate, just let it go. Be honest with yourself. If you haven’t worn it in a year, you probably will never wear it again. And I assure you that you can make more money from selling it than you will get satisfaction from never wearing it.

After this lengthy sorting process, you will be left with all your best clothes, already sorted into categories! You may even discover some great pieces you forgot you had in the mayhem of it all.

#3

Color Coordinate It

Here comes the fun, but optional part. If you’re a neat freak like I am, you’ll enjoy color coordinating each category of clothing when placing it back in your closet. Obviously this is only if you really want to, but I promise the result is worth it. When all’s said and done, take a step back and look at your newly revamped closet. Doesn’t it look phenomenal?! The difficult part now is maintaining it. Set your alarm ten minutes later for tomorrow morning because you’ll be able to find an outfit that you love in no time!