This Hanger Technique Is Perfect Way To Help Declutter Your Closet

If you spend so much time at home, there's a good chance that some task has crossed your mind. Perhaps you want to finally finish that DIY project you began months ago, or want to start one, or maybe, you decide it's finally time to tackle all that decluttering you've been meaning to do. If you're dreaming of a more organized home, decluttering is the ideal place to start. As The Simplicity Habit explains, organization is simpler when you have fewer things. You'll save time, money, and brain space by not having to consider, sort, and constantly maintain so many items.

The closet is a great place to start for many reasons. It's not a huge space, so it likely won't take you as long as tackling a room. As per Strawberry Chic Blog, a decluttered closet will also help you see which clothes you have, making getting ready in the morning more pleasant. But if you're struggling to determine which pieces of clothing to keep and organize and which to donate, there's a super simple and effective technique you'll want to try to make the process effortless.

There are probably a few pieces in your closet that you reach for repeatedly and know will suffice every time. However, there are also a lot more items you don't often wear and, consequently, aren't sure whether or not to keep them. This is where the reverse hanger technique comes in handy. As Trulia explains, you'll want to go through your closet and arrange all the hangers to point backward, opposite how you'd normally hang them. Then after wearing and laundering a clothing item, hang it back the typical way. Home Storage Solutions 101 recommends giving this technique a little time — many suggest six months as ideal, although they flag that three months should be the minimum if you're looking to declutter quickly. 

After whatever period you've decided on has passed, you can go through your closet and easily see which items you've worn and the ones you haven't. This is a far more accurate way to determine which items in your closet are frequently used since the data doesn't lie. For example, maybe you think you wear a particular dress too often, but the reverse hanger technique may reveal it as inaccurate, allowing you to remove it from your closet or get your money's worth.

Now, you don't automatically have to donate the pieces you didn't wear — the reverse hanger technique is simply about figuring out what is actually being used. Shannon Torrens explains that once you know which pieces you aren't wearing in your closet, you can figure out why and take actionable steps. For example, if you haven't worn certain pieces because they no longer fit, donating them is the right move; having items in your closet that are either too small or too large won't make you feel like your best-dressed self. However, if you haven't worn certain items because they're seasonal pieces or for special occasions but know you'll wear them in the future, you might consider moving them into storage until they're needed. Hence, they're accessible but not taking up precious space in your closet.

Finally, there's the trickiest category of all, sentimental items. They may not fit anymore and may be pieces you don't imagine yourself ever wearing again, but simply tossing them in a donation bin seem unbearable. An unconventional solution that might work is to photograph them. As CNN reports, taking photographs of a handful of memorable garments will allow you to revisit them whenever you want and recall those special memories without a rack of items cluttering your closet.