As Promoted By Eminem, We're Cleanin' Out Our Closets

By Amanda Cohen on July 22, 2016

As a seasoned college student, I am here to tell you that those long nights at the library and/or in your dorm room study areas are not solely filled with figuring out your calculous homework. You will get bored and you will need a break. This break, ladies and gentlemen, will consist of browsing your favorite social media sites and (drum roll please) online shopping.

After immersing yourself into the college atmosphere and going out to fraternity parties or nice dinners with your friends, you will be desperate to update your wardrobe. However, the issues at hand are (1) dorm room closets are tiny, and (2) when you return home, your parents will be angry about you racking up your debit card bill to buy new clothing when you already have a perfectly filled closet (trust me, I know from experience … sorry, mom!)

Now, if you are like me and you are a relentless shopaholic, keep reading because I am going to tell you how to do a huge summer clean-out of your closet in order to make room for some new clothing and to ensure that you don’t clutter up your shoebox of a room.

Summer closet clean-out may sound stupid and tedious, but it is 100 percent necessary. In order to be efficient and successful in your endeavors, follow my tips.

Step #1: Be I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T – I know that cleaning out your closet may be boring and you may want to have a friend with you or a family member to keep you company, but I promise you that is a huge mistake. You need to be able to clean out your space without having your best friend beg you for hand-me-downs and without your mom telling you that you really should keep something, even if you absolutely hate it.

Spread out in your room, play some good tunes or watch a TV show, and then afterwards hit up the bar with your friends.

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Step #2: Organize and Label Bins – When you are deciding what to do with the piles of clothes you decide to part with, you will want to organize them into piles. I suggest having four bins for clothes you are done with: (1) consignment/sell, (2) charity, (3) hand-me-downs for friends and family, (4) trash. We are all guilty of buying something and either never wearing it or only wearing it a few times.

As college students, it is important to be financially savvy, which is why you should attempt to make a profit off of cleaning your closet. Sell items to friends, sell them to consignment stores, do whatever you want, but try to get some of the money you spent back. It is of utmost importance to think about others and do a good deed when organizing your closet.

Take it from someone who hates to give things away — you do not need 100+ sweatshirts, sweatpants, sweaters, jeans, etc. Items of this nature are perfect for clothing drives, to give to shelters, or to your local community center, temple, church, or whatever. If you have younger family members, let them dress like their big sister or older cousin and give them some of your gently used clothing … I was always ecstatic when my sister cleaned out her closet!

If you have clothes that are just so worn out and dirty, throw them out. It’s okay to throw something away if you got good use out of it and if it’s ratty.

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Step #3: Work Quickly and Purposefully – Don’t be that person who says they are on a mission to really clean out their closet and then end up keeping everything but two items. I have found that the faster you work the less time you have to think about keeping an item that you will never wear again. For example, I will always find an item and think to myself, “This is so cute, why haven’t I worn it in a while?”

As I think this, I will come to the conclusion that even though it’s been in my closet for seven years, I might need to wear it in the future. NO. If you haven’t put on the clothing item in seven years, you NEVER will! This method is also perfect when diving deep into the countless grey sweatshirts you have. Buddy, you already chose the school you’re going to for college, it’s time to give away the Lehigh sweatshirt.

I know these three steps may seem silly, but I promise you they really work and you will feel so accomplished after you clean out your closet. You might even want to clean out your infamous “junk drawers” while you’re at it! When you walk into your tiny dorm room and see your tiny closet, I promise you will thank me for telling you to get yourself together and clean out your closet!

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