Weekend Warrior Project # 1
{Clutter-Free Challenge} Days 8 + 9
Time Needed: 2-4 Hours
Physical Rating: Medium
Emotional Rating: DOOZY
Although it can certainly be done alone, I'm begging you- involve the whole gang on this one. Whether yours is a party of 12 or a party of 2... All hands on deck, baby!
As always, depending on how much stuff you have, it may take you more or less time. This one can be really hard for some and ridiculously easy for others. Generally speaking, women will have a harder time with this project than men. As we already know- it's really hard to purge things that have been a part of our everyday existence for so long. Now, put on your big girl panties, crank your favorite song (the one that makes you feel like you can conquer the universe) and let's DO this!
There are many different ways to approach this:
- All Men for Themselves - each member of the family who is old enough to understand the task will attack their own wardrobe. After everyone has completed their sorting (see below for details) Mom can just sift through the items to be sure nothing important was chucked.
- Team Effort - pair up or create small "action committees" to tackle each person's wardrobe together
- Make a Competition- boys vs. girls, grown ups vs. kids, etc. Award prizes for the most purged, the least cluttered to begin with, the fastest purge, the biggest trooper (someone who worked through serious emotional attachment) etc.
- One Mom to Rule Them All- I don't recommend this for so many reasons, but you could certainly pull the "boss" card and do it all yourself. However, I feel like you would be robbing your kids of a great lesson, not to mention overloading yourself with an unnecessary burden.
- "Clothing Arguments"- can be done with spouses, roomies, friends taking turns at eachother's houses, or even a group of girlfriends. Trade closets with your partner and pull out all the "victims"- clothing and accessories you never see your partner wearing. Once the pre-trial purge is complete the defendant can plead their case for each item. If the defendant chooses to keep any of the purge items they will be placed on probation and any "victims" that the defendant chooses to keep will be marked as such. If they are not worn within 3 months they should be DONATED!
Phase 1: Leave No Stone Unturned

If you haven't noticed, I'm a total dumper. When I'm working on a project I like to have that "start from scratch" feeling. What better way to achieve that than clearing out the space that I'm working on?! The advantages to dumping are plentiful. a) Everything you need to sort is now in ONE spot. No dressers, hangers, bins, and cubbies to work around. b) It is so much easier to purge items you don't love when they are already removed from your space. You've already put effort into removing these items, keeping them means extra effort. "Ugh... putting it on a hanger and hanging it up??... DONATE!" c) motivation to finish the project. Guess what? When your bed is covered in mound of clothing the size of the polar ice cap, you finish the job ;)
Phase 2: Sort it Out
Sort everything into 3 Categories: Keep, Donate, Pack Away. Pack Away only applies to children's clothes that will become hand-me downs and seasonal items that you do not have space to store all year. Keep it really simple by focusing on what needs to go. Here is the criteria for the "donate" pile:
- It doesn't fit - look, we all like to save a pair of "skinny" jeans, but anything more is absurd.
- You haven't worn in it over a year- this one is a no exceptions kind of rule. If you haven't worn it in any of the last 4 seasons, chances are you never will.
- It needs to be hemmed, repaired, taken in, etc.- if you haven't fixed it by now, you probably never will.
- It's out-dated- saving clothing in hopes that they will return to style or for nostalgic purposes is not worth the amount of clutter they cause. Take a picture and move on ;)
It's really pretty straight forward, but your mind will come up with crazy excuses to keep items that should go. Here are a few that you are bound to encounter:
- "But I paid 'XYZ' for it!" - Remember when we had that talk about the Sunk Cost Effect? Whether you wear the item every day or let it hang in your closet with the tags still on it for the next 12 years you will never recover that money, so go ahead and donate it. It will hurt, but you'll learn your lesson.
- "But it's designer!" - Seriously who cares? If you don't wear it, it needs to go. Filling your closet with designer items that you don't wear is about as silly as filling your pantry with organic foods that you dislike and then trying to justify it by saying "But, it's organic!" Again, who cares?
- "I just need to lose 10 more pounds."- This is a hard one, but the reality is- saving clothing that doesn't fit you for an extended period of time just because it may fit you in the future is crazy talk. Maybe save 1 or 2 items that you love, but that's IT! (This of course excludes women who have just had a baby or are currently losing weight and can't afford to keep buying smaller sizes!)
- "I haven't had an occasion to wear it." - Jackie Kennedy didn't have an "occasion" either, but my word did she look stunning every day. I'm giving you total permission to dress up fancy for no reason sometimes, ok? That aside, seriously if you haven't worn it in a year, that occasion will never come around!
- "It's sentimental"- This happens mainly with baby clothes, prom dresses, and wedding dresses. You can absolutely get rid of these things... they are not memories- they are things. If you must save your wedding dress, have it professionally cleaned and preserved, but if you are saving it in hopes of your daughter wearing it, don't be surprised if she respectfully declines. If you just can't bear to part with these items, at least do something creative with them. Don't shove them in a closet...
There are a million other excuses that your brain will come up with to prevent you from cleaning house on this one. Have a glass of wine and own this project like a BOSS.
Phase 3: Organize
You'll find that the more clutter you were able to kick out of your life, the easier this part is. Fancy that?! Like I've said on the past few projects, you'll be tempted to go out and buy fancy organizers, but WAIT! Take a few weeks to get familiar with these spaces before you purchase any organizational components so that you can tweak your ideas based on your actual needs and not your perceived needs :)
Here's to being a week closer to a clutter-free life!
Cheers :)
