Ask Harry: How Do I Clean My Closet Going into a New Year?

We often find ourselves making similar promises and resolutions to ourselves at the onset of a new year, with a thorough wardrobe cleanse being one of the most common.

In this post-holiday period when we’ve acquired a few special new pieces and indulged in the richness the season has to offer, it’s only natural to feel like a good refresh is in order. In with the new, out with the no-longer-necessary.

Here’s our advice on how to clean up your closet for the year ahead.

The first step in a comprehensive wardrobe audit is to separate your clothes into seasons: Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer. Visualizing these independently helps us take more accurate stock of what we have and need for that time of year.

From here, the obvious method is to immediately cull any items that no longer fit you — or realistically will in the near future. There’s no sense hanging onto anything that you can’t fit in to.

Then, sort your Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter piles into three subsections; the core essentials, the flair or accessory pieces that bring joy, and the dubious items that may be surplus to requirement.

Once you’ve got the basics in place and consolidated your selection of snazzier, special pieces, everything else goes up on the chopping block.

If an item no longer sparks joy when you see it, feel it, or wear it, it’s time to say goodbye. Those decisions are easy. Unfortunately, not all are that straightforward.

When it comes to deciding whether or not you want to keep an item, you’ll often find it necessary to adopt a cut-throat approach.

If you’re having trouble answering questions like these, take that as a good sign it’s time to move an item to the ‘to go’ pile:

Sometimes it can break your heart to say goodbye to a great piece, especially if it imbues a sense of sentimentality. When the time comes, however, one of the most fulfilling ways to off-hand those items is to gift them to someone you believe would truly appreciate them.

In our opinion, the best way to get rid of your best wardrobe pieces is to ensure they find a happy new home.

If you’ve got a friend, relative, or acquaintance you know appreciates quality clothing and great style, your wardrobe reset could be a win-win situation for all parties involved — including that old Shetland wool sweater.

For those pieces that you can’t foresee yourself gifting or going to the effort of selling, the best-case option is to donate.

This is where institutions like Value Village, The Salvation Army, and local charities come in handy. So do various thrift stores and public donation bins.

Donating your clothes is usually effortless and comes with a certain feel-good factor — despite you never knowing if they end up going to a person in need or to a teenager creating a Halloween costume.

Just because you’ve reached the end of a road with an item doesn’t mean it’s lost all value. If you’ve kept your collection in good nick by caring for your things properly then there’s no reason they can’t flourish again under new ownership.

While we don’t associate with any in particular, there are plenty of reputable, well-to-do consignment stores across the country where lightly worn luxury items are in high demand — and could very easily earn you a rebate on the price you originally paid for the item.

And today, online consignment and resale stores and the like have never been safer and easier to use. These, along with the traditional Ebay and Etsy routes, also present great opportunities to earn some income from your closet cleanse.

One of the most intriguing propositions about completing a wardrobe reset is the wardrobe restock. Once you’ve cleared out some room in your closet, any holes in your collection become much more apparent.

As far as building your dream wardrobe goes, cleanses give you a chance to draw up an accurate list of the items you're still missing or need to replace. Sticking to lists like these keeps us honest, making any impulse purchases less likely while allowing us to focus on patiently sourcing the very highest quality additions we can.

Building a wardrobe like this — over time and with purpose — is an extraordinarily rewarding pursuit, culminating in the development of true personal style.