How To Declutter Your Closet Hanging Clothes

Today's mission is to declutter your closet of excess hanging clothes. Of course, as always, this does not mean to get rid of all of the clothes you've got on hangers, but instead just the ones which have become clutter.


This mission is designed to be done while working through the Organize Primary Bedroom Closet Challenge here on the site, which is part of the 52 Week Organized Home Challenge.

As always, I try to break down these daily decluttering missions into more manageable chunks, to make the process of getting rid of your clutter easier and less overwhelming.

That's why today I want you to focus only on clothes hanging up in your closet, and not everything that is in there. (There will be more days to focus on closet shelves and drawers, the closet floor, and even specific types of clothing items you've got in there. To see a more detailed breakdown of all the various missions go to the organization challenge article linked above.)

Also, again, so it's not so overwhelming I want you to start with your own clothes, and then you can move onto a spouse or significant other's clothing at another time, this time redoing the mission with their clothes (and hopefully also with their assistance and input.)

Remember, as well, that we'll focus on organizing your kids' closets in a separate mission, so those missions will come in a separate week. (You can read more about how to get rid of kids closet clutter here if you want to learn more now.)

If you get overwhelmed easily, and still have a lot of hanging clothes, make sure to do just one rod at a time. And if even that is too much at once, do just 10-20 items on a rod at a time, working from left to right.

Part of the issue, sometimes, is not wanting to make decisions about certain things, so if you have trouble, just force yourself to make a decision about each hanging item as you come to it, instead of jumping around in the closet to this item, and then that one. Sometimes being methodical can help!

Goal For Your Closet When

This Mission Is Completed

The goal for your closet, when this mission is completed, is to have only clothes hanging on your closet hanging rod that you love or wear frequently, and that they are not so tightly crammed into the space available anymore.

When you overload the hanging rod in your closet it can actually cause the rod to collapse and pull out of the wall, which is a disaster to have to clean up.

In addition, when you overstuff your closet, and have too many clothes on the rod, it makes replacing the clothes back onto the rods a bit pain, and difficult, which means you're much less likely to do this task.

I've found for myself that this actually leads to clothes that should be hung in your closet instead left in your bedroom, or your laundry room, in piles, that themselves are clutter. Surprisingly, decluttering your closet can help you declutter these other problem areas as well.

A clutter free and organized closet is much easier to maintain, and also allows you to get yourself ready for the day much more quickly. You'll really love it when you've got it just the way you want it.

If you need some help deciding what clothes to declutter, remember to check out this article with 9 questions to ask when you declutter clothes.



In addition, one simple trick of turning your hangers backward helps you identify wardrobe clutter within your hanging clothes, because it will allow you to know, over time, which clothes you wear and which you don't. Check out the linked article for more details if you'd like to do this task first, a few months before tackling this mission.

Finally, you may also find that after you get rid of a bunch of your hanging clothes that you get the urge to declutter hangers too. If you want to do that, check out the article at the link for more details about that mission.

Now, make sure to scroll down below to see pictures from other readers who've realized they need to do this decluttering mission, or who have actually done it. It can get you inspired to tackle this task for yourself!

Second photo courtesy of Miss Pupik

Reminder Of What You're Trying To Avoid By Decluttering Hanging Clothes

First, here's a photo from a reader, Trish, who realized she had too much stuff hanging in her closet once the rod pulled free from the wall.

I've seen entire closet systems, including rods, and shelves, ripped from the wall from too much weight, and it is such a pain to deal with, on top of needing to declutter and clear out the space.

Try to avoid this outcome if you can, by decluttering some now!

Before & After When Get Rid Of Hanging Clothes In Closet

Here's a before and after sent in by a reader, Brandy. She showed not only the difference in her closet once she'd done the mission, but also the clothes she decided to donate to Goodwill.

As you can see from the after photo, doing this mission can free up a lot of space for you! After all, both hangers and the clothing hung on them are pretty bulky!

Are You Ready To Declutter Some Of The Hanging Clothes In Your Closet?

I hope you're getting excited about the great results you can have when you do this challenge.

Here's just a couple more photos from readers that I thought were outstanding, and really show what you can get accomplished!

The first one, above, is from Dawn. She not only decluttered but then went on to do some organization, getting an organizer from Costco. She said, "I picked up the shelves at Costco for around $30. I love that I'm able to build them how I want to accommodate my closet's needs."

It looks great Dawn! Wonderful job, don't you think?


Further, this photo above is from another reader, Erin. She said, "My husband and I just decluttered our walk in closet and dresser. 4 1/2 large garbage bags full of clothes are ready for donation! Wish I had taken a before picture!"

Great job Erin! You and your husband made a great team, and it looks wonderful inside!

Want To Do More Decluttering Missions? Get Started With Declutter 365 Today!

Once you declutter one type of item in your home I bet you'll want to declutter some more. After all, decluttering gives you a great reward for even a small investment of time and energy.

The Declutter 365 system is designed to help you declutter, over the course of a year, your entire house, with just 15 minutes of decluttering each day!

Hundreds of thousands of people use this proven system to get rid of their clutter, and bring peace and calm back to their homes.

Declutter 365 works to guide you to clear the clutter without overwhelm, focusing on just one small area at a time, and without making a huge mess in the process, so you see consistent forward progress without all that "messy middle" that makes it even harder to function in your home than before you started.

In addition to building a daily decluttering habit, the Declutter 365 program, along with the accompanying 52 Week Organized Home Challenge, teaches you the skills, habits, routines, and mindsets necessary to maintain the clutter free and organized state of your home from now on, so it'll never be as messy and cluttered as it is right now, ever again.

If you haven't already, make sure to get your copy of this year's Declutter 365 annual calendar here (it's FREE!), find today's date, and do 15 minutes of decluttering on the day's mission. Then, repeat again tomorrow, and again and again. Over the course of the next year, if you do this 15 minutes per day, you'll declutter your whole house!

If you've got a lot of dresses and formal wear within the hanging clothes of your closet, also be sure to check out this article on how to declutter dresses and formal wear here.



In addition, here's a round up of all the Declutter 365 missions on the site for decluttering clothes of all kinds.

Related Pages You May Enjoy

How To Declutter Your Wardrobe Of Workwear Clutter

Ideas For Where To Donate Or Otherwise Declutter Your Wedding Dress

Getting Rid Of Bedroom, Clothing & Closet Clutter Hall Of Fame

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