How to Declutter Your Closet Like a Professional Organizer
Apartment Therapy’s Decluttering Cure is a free two-week decluttering program that’ll help you achieve a tidier home. Sign up here and get all 14 assignments delivered to your inbox.
When it comes to closet organization, decluttering your clothes is essential. Whether it’s taking stock of items you no longer love, that don’t suit you, or that are beyond repair, it’s important to regularly declutter one of the main spots where you store your wardrobe.
Here’s how to declutter your clothes like a pro organizer to give your closet the refresh it deserves.
Day 5: Declutter Your Clothes Like a Pro Organizer
Before you start decluttering, think about why your closet gets so cluttered in the first place. Are you holding onto anything sentimental or that no longer fits? Do you have an impulse shopping habit? Is the way your clothes are organized not working for you? Understanding this will give your closet a better chance of staying organized after you’ve decluttered and reorganized. Then, prepare your game plan and workspace: Decide if you’ll go section by section or tackle your entire wardrobe (make sure to set aside 30 minutes or an hour, with breaks in between); lay a sheet over your made bed or on the floor for where you’ll be putting clothes down; and grab your outboxes and trash bags.
Now, you can get started. Take everything out — whether that’s just a section or the entire wardrobe — and sort items into piles by categories, which can be as specific as different types of tops (tank tops, long-sleeve shirts, etc.) or more general like clothing types (jeans, tops, dresses, etc.). Make decisions on your items quickly by asking yourself the ground rules we set up on Day 2. Start reorganizing into new piles: what you’ll keep, what needs to be donated or sold, what should be mended, and any sentimental items (we’ll deal with that another day). Put the items you are keeping back in your closet in an organized fashion. Place donated and sold items in their respective outboxes, anything that needs fixing into the maybe outbox, and sentimental items in a separate box or the maybe box.
More Ways to Participate in the Decluttering Cure:
- Sign up for email updates.
- Visit the 2026 Decluttering Cure page and catch up on assignments.
- Download the Decluttering Cure calendar.
- Check off that you’ve completed this task and track your overall Decluttering Cure progress here!
- See all the winners from our 2026 Organization Awards to get your home organized.
The Cure Program is a tradition here at Apartment Therapy — it happens every January, April, and September. Click here to learn more about the year-round program and when to sign up.