For those who joined us in tackling closet clutter this weekend, how did it go? Our weekend ended with fewer unused items tucked away and more space ready for incoming baby gear—or whatever else needs a new home once the baby arrives. We have plenty to recap, so we’ll start with the master bedroom and follow up with what we did in the other closets later. Ready for the excitement? Hold on to your pared-down hats.
As I mentioned on Friday, my closet had become messy—mostly because of a growing collection of race tees (thanks, 10Ks) and a general folding laziness.
I emptied everything out to assess what I still needed and what had been forgotten. Step one: clear it out so you can see what you’re working with. Here’s a look at my empty drawers… well, except for the one that literally contains my drawer organizers. No need to see every detail of that step.
That pile of t-shirts in the corner was just the start. Once I dug in, I found a surprising number of shirts hiding in there. It felt a bit like a clown car—shirts kept surfacing. In a funny comparison, it was almost like the male version of Sherry’s shoe collection. (She insists she’s “in recovery” from that addiction and claims only a couple of jeans balance her shoe-to-clothing ratio. She’s a minimalist in everything except footwear.)
With everything out, I sorted items into four piles:
- General-wear t-shirts (button-down work shirts stayed hung up, though I did trim that collection too)
- Workout/running shirts
- Project/painting shirts (similar to workout shirts but with paint splatters)
- Shirts to donate
We learned long ago that you don’t need a dozen paint-stained shirts to tackle home projects—one or two seasonal outfits are usually enough. After sorting and paring down each stack, I neatly folded the keeper shirts along with a slimmer collection of shorts and pants, then returned them to their proper places.
The result was a much neater drawer situation and an entire shelf above the drawers freed up. That’s bonus storage space for any impending baby items that will inevitably spread into every available nook and cranny. I also ended up with a solid donation pile.
Sidenote: Surprise! A dog was hiding in the closet the whole time.
We sorted the items we were letting go into a few clear categories:
- Donate
- Trash (for items too worn or damaged to donate)
- Return to friends & family (we discovered several borrowed items we were happy to return)
- Pay it forward (some items were perfect for friends or family, so we gave them directly instead of donating)
I also tidied the top shelf of my closet, which had been an out-of-sight, out-of-mind junk zone—yes, including more shirts. Now that shelf is almost empty except for a few shoeboxes corralling miscellaneous items (and yes, a few nostalgic things remain). If I wanted to be tidier, I could add matching bins or baskets to keep everything neat and leave some empty for future storage—maybe an Ikea trip is in order sometime.
So to recap: my closet went from cluttered and overflowing…
…to organized and streamlined.
Sherry’s closet wasn’t nearly as chaotic to begin with, so there’s less of a dramatic before-and-after. She still purged clothes, jewelry, and shoes she hadn’t used in a while—not just because of the baby but because she’s been simplifying for some time. Below is the final spread of donation items from our closets, along with piles for returns and gifts to friends and family. And yes, we decided to keep the sleeping chihuahua.
For those curious about Sherry’s side, here are a few “after” shots of her closet area (you can see more in an older closet post that showed the space in detail).
Before we leave the bedroom, note that Sherry cleared out our small “bonus” closet—the original single closet in the room. It now holds a few of my suits and dress pants and some of Sherry’s non-maternity clothes, while her bedside wardrobe stores daily wear. Two top shelves are totally empty now—like a breath of fresh air.
In the end, we felt accomplished. Our closets are tidier, we freed up about four shelves for incoming items, and we filled a donation bag to drop at a local donation center. We also returned items to friends and family and dropped off some books at a neighborhood bookstore. The bedroom closet purge felt complete.
We’ve still got more closet cleaning to do later today, but we’d love to hear how your weekend of decluttering went. Did you pare down your wardrobe or rediscover pieces you’d forgotten about? Any tips for people who haven’t tackled spring cleaning yet? Share your best tricks for clearing out closets, junk drawers, or kitchen cabinets. If you have photos from your own closet projects, feel free to share them on our Facebook page so we can all admire the results.
Psst—For a closer look at our closet organization at Casa Petersik, check our earlier closet post. If you’d like to read about how we planned and installed the built-in wardrobes beside the bed, there’s a full story about that project as well.