As we wrap up the second month of the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge, we’re coming to the end of our clothing declutter. This week, we’re looking at blazers, cardigans and suits. We’re not done with our closets, though. We still have accessories and outerwear to go. We’ll come back to to those later.
For most of my career, suits and blazers were standard attire every day in the office. The company I work for switched to a more casual dress code a few years ago. That change, combined with me primarily working from home, meant I had suits hanging in my closet that I hadn’t worn for years. Compared to last week when I had to tackle my beloved t-shirt collection, this should be easy!
This post was originally published in February 2021 and republished in February 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.
You can get easy access to all previous weekly posts on the main Decluttering page.
Are you ready for week 8? Let’s get decluttering!
Week 8 – Clothing declutter – Cardigans, Blazers, Suits
In my first round of closet decluttering last year, I cleared out a lot of my professional clothing. Here’s what I started with this time around. Still quite a lot!
This week’s decluttering and organizing tips
Here are my tips and learnings from week eight.
- Keep items that you can wear with a variety of different bottoms. I kept blazers and cardigans that I can pair with jeans, dress pants and skirts.
- As with previous rounds, weeding out duplicates is a quick win. For some reason, I had three black cardigans. I kept my favourite and said goodbye to the other two.
- If you have suits and blazers that you don’t wear any more, consider donating them to a charity like Dress for Success or ClothingWorks. The clothes you no longer wear could make a big difference in the lives of women who need clothing for job interviews.
A big a-ha for me this week is decluttering gets easier every time you do it. There were a few items that I considered getting rid of during my first round of decluttering. Because we were in a pandemic and I thought maybe I’d wear them when we returned to the office, I decided to keep them. This time around, it was easier to rethink that and part with them.
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What I got rid of in this week’s clothing declutter
This week, I got rid of two cardigans and two blazers. I also have three suits hanging in my basement closet that I will donate when I get the opportunity.
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.
As I had already done a couple of major clear-outs of my career clothing, I didn’t find a lot to get rid of this time around. However, I did set aside a white blazer, a short-sleeved cardigan, and a blue cardigan to donate.
So that’s week 8 done.
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 are you feeling about your closet decluttering progress? Tell us below.
You are so good about this! I just keep hanging on to stuff because I fear I might have to return to the corporate world before I retire. But some day I will take your good advice! ☀️
Thanks Lisa. I’ve hung onto a few items for meetings and conferences. I’ll be retiring at the end of June so more stuff will go after that!
Love your a-ha about how the decluttering gets easier the more we do it…I figure it’s akin to retraining myself — to avoid bringing in the clutter in the first place. Love your black cardigan example…yup. How many DO I need? xo! 😉
So true, Vicki! I really stop and think every time I buy something now, and I try to buy versatile, quality items that I’ll get lots of wear out of.
Same! And it feels so good to resist the impulse purchases! 😜
Definitely. 💚
Clothes wise I’m in good shape. What I find myself with is some storage containers that I no longer need for what they were doing, but I’m reluctant to toss a good bin, so I’m trying to repurpose.
I have the same problem. When my daughter moved across the country last year, I ended up with about 10 big storage bins from her apartment because we had to pack her stuff in cardboard boxes for shipping. I nested them inside each other and put them in our storage closet. Someone else will move and use them at some point. 😂
I had many as well and was able to re-home them with my oldest daughter 🙂 I just donated 2 black sweaters that I’ve had for years…but replaced them with 1 new black turtleneck. I really like and use turtlenecks all winter long so I felt okay about that! I have no concept of blazers or suits however 😉
Most of my blazers and suits are from the days when I dressed up for work every day. So glad I don’t have to worry about that any more!
Luckily, I don’t have any suits, blazers etc. to sort. Just need to sort out my other clothes, now!
I have a lot less now than I used to! Progress is good.
I have suits in my closet I haven’t worn in over a decade, yet I can’t bring myself to part with them. However, I very much admire the momentum for de-cluttering + recycling you have created in your life — AND are offering as inspiration to the rest of us!
Thanks Will. This blog series has been a great way to keep me motivated and on course with my decluttering efforts.