Hello everyone! Welcome to BirthMay 2020 AND Self Care Sunday! Today I want to focus on decluttering beauty items.

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In general, Self Care Sundays this BirthMay will have a decluttering theme. With small declutters I’ve done throughout the past year or so, I’ve noticed that it really helped clear up my mind and so I thought it was a great form of self care to share with you. I did find a lot of inspiration through books, blog posts, friends, and other sources, but here’s what I did as I was decluttering and what worked for me.

In case you’re new, BirthMay is my annual birthday celebration where I blog every day for the month of May. This is the fourth annual BirthMay and no matter how many BirthMays you’ve been here for, thank you for your support!

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Closet Declutter

A big problem area for me has always been the closet. I have a ton of clothes and other accessories! I used to work in a women’s shoes department so I have a ton of shoes from those days, my mom has a bit of a shopping hobby that includes buying me clothing all the time, and I love handbags, so I have plenty of those! Plus, I live in northern Illinois (by Chicago), so I have a “summer” set of clothes and a “winter” set. I’ve been working on combining the two, with getting lighter tops in general so I can wear them just fine in warmer times and then also cardigans to layer in the colder months so hopefully I can mostly have just one set someday. But for now, I have a ton of clothes and want to go through everything to make sure I’m scaling back.

Anyway, the point is I have a lot of clothing and stuff so let’s get into my guidelines for the declutter!

Step 1: Does it fit?

Of course, the first tip is checking to see if something fits! That means trying it on, and really paying attention to how it looks. If not, then the solution is simple, you can get it out of your closet! More on what you can do with it later. If it does fit, you can continue through the process of decluttering.

Step 2: Is it in good shape?

Another good step is to determine if the item is even in a good condition or not. If it’s ripped, stained, or otherwise no longer presentable, I say just throw it out. (Exceptions for something you can fix or use in a DIY project or otherwise repurpose.) But for the most part, no one is going to find any use for something that is ripped or stained so might as well just consider it an automatic throw away item.

Step 3: Do I like it?

This might seem like a no-brainer but I actually have a lot of stuff I don’t like. Why? Well I mentioned that my mom will buy stuff for me (even if I tell her I don’t need anything!) and it’s always been easier to just take the items and throw them to the back of the closet than to tell her that I don’t like it. Due to quarantine she hasn’t been able to do this anymore and actually in recent years we’ve both been getting better about me being honest if I don’t like something and her not trying to convince me otherwise, but there are still quite a few things that I don’t like but still have. Plus, in general tastes change throughout the years so odds are that maybe something you don’t really like anymore is hiding somewhere in the back of the closet or bottom of a storage bin. If you don’t like it, just take it out of the closet.

Step 4: Am I going to wear it?

Even if I like an item, it’s quite possible I won’t wear it. I love workout shorts but I much prefer yoga pants/workout leggings instead, so I know I won’t wear the shorts. There’s also a sweater that I had before that I absolutely loved and thought was beautiful, but it was very itchy so I knew I wasn’t going to wear it and eventually did get rid of it. I also have a few pairs of heels but I don’t wear heels often as I don’t really have heel-worthy places to go (well, really no places to go right now), so I know I should get rid of them and maybe only week one or two pairs for any events that might pop up so I don’t have to spend again. Things like that where even if it does fit and you do like it, there’s no point in keeping it if you know you won’t wear it, so that’s something I’m working on following through on!

Step 5: Is it sentimental?

There are so many pieces that I find sentimental that I don’t want to give up! It’s not even necessarily quality pieces either but it’s things like some old t-shirts, my prom dress, and a jacket I bought in Barcelona when I studied abroad. I know I’m not likely to wear those items again but I have kept them and I intend to keep them for a bit longer. I have noticed that I do tend to get rid of more and more of these items over the years and have less attachment to new items, although that might be wishful thinking. I think if it’s something that you really don’t want to keep anymore but want to remember then just make sure you have a photo of the item from when you wore it and enjoyed it (such as a prom photo) before you let it go.

Where can it all go?

So there’s always the option of having your friends or family members go through your stuff that you don’t want. I know that I always give stuff to family in Mexico so that’s always fun when they enjoy stuff I don’t need anymore. Then there’s also the option to sell stuff on Poshmark or other sites like that. I believe there is one where you can mail your items to that online shop, they appraise it all and then either buy the items from you (sending you the money) or donate it for you if they don’t think they can sell it. I can’t quite recall the name of that website but I have heard good things about them, so you can research some and you might fight the one everyone raves about. Then there’s always the option to donate. There’s resale/thrift shops that will take donations as well as shelters or clothing drives. You might have to do a bit more research into shelters as they might have requirements for what they want/need and clothing drives may only be available from time to time but it could mean your stuff is going to great recipients. Also, anything you chose to do with it you should still research the place that you have in mind, especially if there is a stay-at-home order as they might not be taking donations or might have special requirements for this time.

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What are your tips for decluttering closet items? Let me know because I still have two separate sets of items and will likely do another check in the fall! By the way, Happy Mother’s Day (USA) to all mother’s out there (even those not in the USA because you deserve that shout out every day honestly)!

Thanks for reading!

Pamela

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