Try The Ripening Drawer Trick For A Stress-Free Closet Decluttering

If you're anything like the average American, you have too many clothes in your closet. In fact, on average, each person in America throws away 81.5 pounds of textile waste every year. While you probably shouldn't be chucking your lightly used items into the garbage bin (instead, donate them or repurpose these old items around the house), you also cannot live with a cluttered closet forever — sooner or later, you'll have to reckon with the dreaded chore of decluttering your home. Even though decluttering can be a huge source of stress, it doesn't have to be, thanks to a helpful trick.

In order to take the stress out of sorting through your clothes, try your hand at a simple and practical approach to decluttering your closet: create a ripening drawer. What is a ripening drawer, you may ask? It's simply a holding place where your underutilized items can be placed, allowing you to live with a pared-down closet instantly, sans the stress of hauling items to a donation facility. If you're on the fence about an article of clothing you haven't worn recently, add it to the ripening box for a certain waiting period — 30 days, for example — and then see if you actually miss the item or go looking for it. If you don't, chances are you're safe to part with it.

While the term ripening drawer may have you clearing a drawer in your dresser, it is somewhat of a misnomer. Your ripening drawer can be any container that you deem fit, whether that's a plastic bin, an old cardboard box, or a laundry basket. In order for the process to work, there are just a couple of rules you should follow: first, the bin should be large enough not to limit any decluttering momentum you gain, and secondly, it should be covered or concealed so that the items on the chopping block are out of sight and out of mind.

Begin by going through your closet with tactics like the 90/90 rule: ask yourself if you've worn an outfit in the last 90 days or plan to in the next 90; if the answer is no, then you can confidently add it to the ripening drawer. You can do the same thing with items you purchased for a special occasion, such as a bridesmaid dress. If you have only worn it once, there is no reason to keep it. If, during the waiting period, you decide that there's something in the ripening drawer that you will continue to wear, there's no harm in pulling it out of the bin and bringing it back into rotation. Remember, the goal of this approach isn't to get rid of perfectly good clothes but rather to ease the stress of the decluttering process.