How To Declutter Your Wardrobe Of Sportswear & Activewear Clutter
Today's mission is to declutter your wardrobe of sportwear and activewear that you don't need and are excess stuff, to get rid of your closet or drawer clutter.
This mission is designed to be done while we're focused on the Organize Master Bedroom Closet Challenge and/or the Organize Master Bedroom Challenge, which are two of the 52 Week Organized Home Challenges here on the site, depending on where you keep these types of clothes within your home.
Instead of trying to get rid of all your clothing clutter at once, and then feeling overwhelmed, or pulling out too many clothes all at once and making a big mess, I've broken this task up for you into a series of missions, some of them focused on the type of clothing item, while others are focused on clearing out the places you store the various types of clothes, such as in drawers in your bedroom, or hanging up or on shelves in your closet for example.
As always, when decluttering any type of clothing, make sure to use these 9 questions to help you with the process, so you can feel good about the choices you make.
What Types Of Clothing Items This Mission Encompasses
During this Declutter 365 mission I want you to evaluate whether to keep or get rid of the following types of clothing items in your closet or dresser drawers that are considered sportswear or activewear. This list can include:
- T-shirts and athletic wear types shirts (you can get tips specifically for decluttering shirts here)
- Shorts and pants that you wear when exercising or playing sports (you can get tips specifically for declutter pants and shorts here)
- Sports bras and other undergarments worn during athletic activity (you can get tips specifically for decluttering undergarments here)
- Athletic socks (you can get tips specifically for decluttering socks here)
- Tracksuits and athleisure wear
- Swimsuits, wet suits, etc.
- Leotards and other dance or gymnastic wear
- Ski suits
- Sports uniforms and protective sports equipment that you wear, such as helmets, shin guards, etc. (you can also check out this article on decluttering sports gear here since there's overlap between the uniforms and other parts of the gear)
- Athletic shoes, including soccer cleats, ballet slippers, football shoes, riding boots, ice skates, ski boots, etc. (you can get tips specifically for decluttering shoes here)
Don't Forget To Purge Clothing Items For Athletic Activities You No Longer Do
One of the simplest ways to begin this decluttering mission is to gather up, to declutter, any clothing items you needed for activities you no longer do.
For example, if you haven't gone skiing in several years, and don't plan on doing it anymore, all the clothing items you had specifically for skiing, and can't be used for other activities you still do, should be decluttered.
How Much Activewear & Sportwear Do You Need?
Today's the day that you ask yourself how much activewear and sportswear you really need (and have room for in your closet or drawers), and then keep decluttering until you reach that number.
Since everyone's activity levels vary it's hard to say with certainty the number of workout clothes you should have for yourself. Therefore, it's best to ask yourself how often you work out each week, and how often you do laundry, to help you make your decision.
As discussed in more length in my article about how often to wash various types of laundry, you should wash your sportswear and exercise clothes after each wear.
In addition, I recommend that you do laundry at least once a week, at a minimum. Of course, you can also do laundry more frequently, depending on your laundry schedule or routine.
Therefore, at a minimum, you need enough activewear to have something to wear for each time you work out within a week period, or shorter if you wash clothes even more frequently.
An example of how that would work, in practice, is that if you work out five times a week, and do laundry once a week, you should have, at a minimum, five sets of work out clothes or sportswear, to make sure you always have a clean pair to wear to the gym or wherever you exercise.
Of course, that's just a minimum. You may want to have a few extras in case you can't get to laundry as quickly as you normally do, or because you like your work out clothes, or whatever reason.
Ultimately, you've got to decide how much room you can allot to this type of clothing within your closet or clothing drawers, and then you will need to keep decluttering until you can fit everything into the alloted space. If that means you can have one drawer of work out clothes, that's what you can have. If that means you have enough space for five drawers worth, that's great too (and I bet your closet is huge!)
Make sure you keep enough of these clothing items to do all the types of activities you regularly do, and in all the seasons you do them in. For example, you may have running clothes you wear in the summer, and others for the winter. Make sure to keep enough of each type.
If you find yourself without enough space for multiple seasons at once, you can check out the article about seasonal clothes switching for ideas of how to keep both types of clothes.
Photo From Reader Who's Already Done This Mission
Here's a photo sent in by one of the Declutter 365 mission participants, Trish, who worked on this mission. She said, "Challenge finished. Anytime fitness, yoga pants, and fourcast active wear tees."
Great job Trish! Are you ready to declutter now too?
Are You Ready To Declutter Your Home?
I hope these instructions have inspired you to get rid of your activewear and sportswear clothes clutter, so your wardrobe and closet contain only the items that you love, and look and feel good on you.
When you begin to declutter the feeling you get is contagious, so if you're loving the results you're getting I would encourage you to keep going.
I've got a whole series of 15 minute decluttering missions (eventually 365 of them!) that you can do.
Just pick and choose the ones you want to do, that will make a big impact in your home. But if you want someone else to tell you the order you can also grab the 15 minute daily decluttering mission calendars and follow along as we all get our homes clutter free together!
If you'd like to declutter more clothes here's a round up of all the Declutter 365 missions on the site for decluttering clothes of all kinds.
In addition, if you've got clothes used for the gym, or for playing sports, you may also have a gym or sports bag that needs a little decluttering and organizing TLC. Here's tips for how to keep your bag clutter free and organized.
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Share Your Comments, Tips & Ideas
I would love to hear from you, sharing your thoughts, questions, or ideas about this topic, so leave me a comment below. I try to always respond back!