Welcome to Week 39 of the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge. This week, we’re decluttering miscellaneous clothing items that we skipped in our earlier closet decluttering. Our decluttering task for this week includes sleepwear, socks, underwear, swimwear, and athletic wear. 

I originally had these items spread out over two weeks. When I started, I realized it was difficult to tackle one without the other. I decided to combine them, so we’ll tick two items off the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge checklist at once.

Are you ready for week 39? Let’s get decluttering!

This post was originally published in October 2021 and republished in November 2024.

What is the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge?

In this year-long journey, we’re tackling one task at a time with the goal of cleaning up and organizing our homes. If you’ve just joined us, no worries. You can jump right in with this week’s challenge. Just check out the first two posts in the series to download your free checklists.

• 52-Week Decluttering Challenge
• Week 1 – Easy Decluttering Checklist

You can get easy access to all previous weekly posts on the main Decluttering page.

Week 39 decluttering task – Miscellaneous clothing items

When I started this week’s task, I saw an opportunity to better organize these miscellaneous clothing items. I kept them in two drawers under my bed, and in an IKEA storage unit in my closet. But I had athletic wear in both the drawers and in the storage unit. Similarly, the things I need daily (socks and underwear) were split up between the two areas. So, it was time to reorganize!

This week’s decluttering and organizing tips

Before we get to what I got rid of, here are my tips and learnings from week 39.

• To speed up your morning routine, keep things you need daily together. As I mentioned, I had my underwear in the drawers under my bed, and my socks in the storage unit in my closet. They had been that way for years! I decided to move them all to the under-bed drawers. Similarly, my athletic wear and swimwear are now all in the closet storage unit, instead of in both places.
• Is your sock and underwear drawer a disorganized mess? Organizing expert Marie Kondo suggests you fold all your socks instead of rolling them. If that works for you, great. Personally, I have always rolled my socks and, despite what Marie says about it causing them stress, I don’t see any reason to change that. But I will admit I needed a better method of keeping them tidy. Instead of spending money on expensive drawer organizers, I put a couple of baskets and shoe boxes in the drawer. Problem solved! (As an aside, I do fold my bras and underwear. It seems I have a little Konmari in me after all!)
• Another of Marie Kondo’s tips that I find useful is vertical storage. I keep my sleepwear organized by season and vertically fold everything to make it easy to find.

My biggest learning this week—I probably don’t need to buy another pair of socks or underwear for about 20 years!

What I got rid of

Here’s what I got rid of this week. A total of 18 items.

• 4 nightgowns
• 2 half slips – Who remembers slips? Does anyone actually wear a slip these days?
• 2 camisoles
• 1 long-sleeved thermal undershirt
• 1 pair socks
• 6 pairs of “no show liner socks” that I thought were a good idea when I bought them but they never worked for me.
• 1 scented sachet that long ago lost its scent
• A datebook from 1998. I’m not sure why I kept it but a quick look through it reminded me that I saw my all-time favourite musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” for the first time on June 5 that year.

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2024 Update

It has been three years so I’m rebooting the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge to see how much I can get rid of in 2024.

In total this week, I got rid of 13 items. And I flagged a couple of bathing suits that I’ll review next spring and make a final decision on whether they stay or go. Even better, I inspired my daughter to go through and declutter her sock and underwear drawers.

So that’s our week 39 decluttering task done, and we are now three-quarters of the way through the 52-Week Challenge. 

If you have friends or family members who could benefit from a little less clutter in their lives, please share this post and spread the word!

How do you keep these miscellaneous clothing items organized? Tell us your tips below.