We have you covered if you are looking for decluttering tips for your bureau or closet drawers for day seven of the 30-day decluttering challenge. Whether you have already reorganized your closet or want to start small with your clothing storage, the drawers holding your underwear, t-shirts, socks, etc., are a great option. Why? Because you can do them quickly.
Tip #1 Decide How Much You Want to Declutter
Is there one drawer that always seems like a disaster area? Are you feeling overwhelmed by the thought of reorganizing an entire chest of drawers? I get it. It’s often best to focus on only a single drawer at a time. You can always go in for more if you feel motivated when you are finished.
Tip #2 Take Everything Out of the Drawer
I’m terrible at downsizing and reorganizing while everything is still in place. So, one of my favorite decluttering tips is to dump out the drawer onto the made bed. It allows me to see everything that was in the drawer in one go.
Tip #3 Dust the Drawer
It seems like an odd thing to clean, but I like to give the corners and the drawer itself a light dusting. I even put down some fun polka-dotted contact paper. It perked up the space, making me smile whenever I see it.
Tip #4 Toss Whatever Doesn’t Fit or Needs Replacing
Toss out underwear, socks, bras, and t-shirts you refuse to wear because they are uncomfortable or badly damaged. There’s just no point in storing items that you avoid wearing. Sure, there’s always that uncomfortable strapless bra in the corner. I get it. I’ve kept mine, too. But that is uncomfortable because strapless bras are uncomfortable, and it does get worn with certain dresses and shirts. I’m talking about the stuff you don’t even want to put on when you are a week overdue on laundry.
Do you have socks that are in great condition, but you have too many of them? You can actually donate them to the unsheltered. I did this recently when I had to buy a 10-pack of these great no-slip footie socks because they didn’t sell them in singles or pairs (so annoying). I kept the ones I knew I would use and then donated the other unused pairs to LA City Sanitation’s drive. I also learned how to darn my wool socks to keep them going another year or two. You can get all the info on how to donate or mend here.
Tip #5 Consider Adding Dividers
I always hesitate to suggest adding dividers into drawers as one of my decluttering tips. It feels counterintuitive to add something new into a space you have just decluttered. However, I added cloth dividers to my decluttered underwear drawer, and I dig them. I love that I can see each item (organized by color), and I never have to hunt for anything. YMMV, of course.
If you are interested in buying dividers for your newly reorganized drawers, be sure to measure the drawers first. Fabric containers and dividers do give a little bit, but not so much that you can cram them into a too-small space and still be useful.
These are the dividers I bought from Amazon. I may get a small commission if you buy a set using this link.
And that’s the first of my decluttering tips for clothing as part of the 30-day decluttering challenge. For more articles (and earlier days), click here.