Spring is finally here and now we need to shift away from those winter habits by moving out of that large sweater we have been lounging around in, shave our legs and get our houses back in order. (No judgements, I hibernate in the winter too.) Spring cleaning is a perfect time to get organized and start fresh. I love this time of the year because I go through everything in my house and usually find the things I have been looking for, forgot about or just plain don't use. It's time for those items to be revived or to find a new home.
Here are my top 5 tips for how to decide if it's time for an item to go.
Have you worn it in a year?
This is the most common question that people ask themselves as they are spring cleaning, "Have I worn this in the past year." Odds are that if you haven't worn something in the past year, that you won't and if you do it will be once. I would say to recycle it. Unless, it's of sentimental value like a wedding dress or a watch. Keep those.
Does it still fit you or are they your motivation pants?
We have all done it. We keep the skinny pants that we use to fit in as motivation to fit into them again. Truth is, you can keep a few, but if your entire closet is motivation pants, you are going to want to reward yourself for losing that weight anyways and want to buy new. Not to mention that fashions can cycle fast and they may not be on trend anymore.
Is it falling apart?
Let's face it. You have that one shirt that fits you well and we go all out in it, literally. We wear it out and was it so much that is has now seen better days. Ask yourself, is there hope for this shirt or has it lost it's fit? If it's lost it's fit and you have to keep the strap together by a paper clip, it's time to say goodbye.
Does it work anymore?
If it doesn't work anymore and it's not fixable or you haven't taken it to get fixed in over a year, it's time to part ways. Let it be someone else's treasure.
Sleep on it.
Have you ever given something away just to wish you didn't later? That's why my best advice is to have one day to sleep on your decisions. Make sure you really want to part ways with these items.
Read more about how we are Going Green.
Author: Erica Becker, Creative Director.