Right before I moved, I donated over 20 bags of clothes, shoes and accessories to Savers thrift. I did a serious deep clean of my closet and said goodbye to my college wardrobe and set forward for a new, New York, one. I never imagined I could cut my wardrobe down so much (disclaimer: I still have a lot of clothes) but the biggest lessons I learned were that I only really needed my essential pieces, and my outfits became more creative when I had a limited wardrobe.
The hardest part of revamping your wardrobe is saying bye to the pieces you don’t really wear but ask yourself, “But what if I go to this event? Or maybe I’ll wear it one day?” The answer should be ‘no’ but I have that exact internal battle with myself every time I clean out my closet. Today I am talking about those essentials pieces you need in your closet for a full-proof fashionista wardrobe, and I have broken down my closet cleaning process into 5 simple steps:
- Set aside and keep the pieces you wear repeatedly – these should be your essentials
- Bag up any pieces that don’t fit, stained/ruined or you don’t like
- Bag up any pieces that you haven’t worn in 6 months
- Go through the short list and make a definite ‘yes’ pile and undecided pile
- Finally, go through and undecided pile and only keep items you can build an outfit with and wear that month
Although it may seem tedious to break down the process into 5 rounds, it helps you look at smaller quantities and eliminates the questions of “maybe I’ll wear this.” It’s a straight forward process and you’ll realize very easily which pieces your gravitate towards as your ‘essentials’, and the pieces you definitely can’t live without or know you can build an actual outfit with. Also, get rid of a lot of repeats in your wardrobe. As much as I love chambray shirts, I had to realize that owning 4 chambray button-ups, 2 jean jackets and 2 jean vests was a tad excessive of one type of material. I narrowed it down to 1 button-up, 1 jacket and 1 vest and have removed that thinking process when getting dressed of what shade or cut I want to wear – I simplified my wardrobe and therefore simplified my getting ready and thought process. Isn’t that our real goal in the morning? I’d love to be up and out of the door in 20 minutes, and removing the overflow of options, I can basically do that! Minus hitting the snooze a million times of course…
In addition to you successfully cleaning out your closet, simplifying your morning routine, and actually knowing what you have in your closet – let’s talk about the 6th and possibly the most important step – getting rid of those pieces. There are several options you can explore, from selling your items online, through consignment, or my personal choice, donation. I have donated my clothes to a variety of places through the years but within the past year I have solely donated my clothes to Savers. If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, I have done a handful of collaborations with Savers and they’re some of my favorites – from thrifting my new fall wardrobe, celebrating National Thrift Day, to finding my killer retro jean skirt in today’s post (and previously here). But besides the point that I love thrifting and it’s an opportunity to find unique additions to your wardrobe, thrifting and donating give back to your community. Savers has become one of the largest recyclers of used goods in the world, keeping more than 650 million pounds of reusable items from landfills each year. And recently, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Connecticut have partnered with Savers to open 13 new Donation Drop Spots in the greater Yonkers area that provide convenient locations for community members to donate their used goods. Savers pays Big Brothers Big Sisters when community members donate their goods to Big Brothers Big Sisters at the Donation Drop Spots, whether the items make it to the sales floor or not.
By donating your items to a nonprofit at Savers or a Big Brothers Big Sisters Donation Drop Spot, you give back to your community and recycle! At the end of my post I have included more information about the new donation drop spots and how you can become involved! Now that you’re motivated to clean out your closet and give back, follow my essential wardrobe guide below where I have picked out 73 essential items you’ll need for an entire year. Learn to mix and match these items and trust me, you’ll never have to repeat an outfit! Happy Monday and check out my Thanksgiving outfit later this week! xx
Primary Donation Drop Spots, Nonprofit and Sustainability Messaging:
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Connecticut have partnered with Savers thrift stores to open 13 new Donation Drop Spots in the greater Yonkers area that provide convenient locations for community members to donate their used goods. Savers pays Big Brothers Big Sisters when community members donate their goods to Big Brothers Big Sisters at the Donation Drop Spots, whether the items make it to the sales floor or not.
The new Donation Drop Spots are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and are located at:
- 650 Stewart Avenue, Garden City, NY 11530
- 207 Glen Cove Road, Carle Place, NY 11514
- 1261 Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck, NY 10538
- 4042 Nesonset Highway, East Setauket, NY 11733
- 353 N Central Avenue, Hartsdale, NY, 10530
- 1365 Route 25A, East Setauket, NY 11733
- 38 Indian Head Road, Kings Park, NY 11754
- 1789 Central park Ave, Yonkers, NY 10710
- 77 Quaker Ridge Road, New Rochelle, NY 10804
- 4724 Nesconset Highway, Port Jefferson Station, NY 11776
- 15 Middle Country Road, Selden, NY 11784
- 274 Burnside Avenue, Lawrence, NY 11569
- 2700 US 22, Union, NJ 07083
Savers is also on a mission to create a better world through reuse by inspiring local communities to donate reusable items to local nonprofits instead of throwing them in the trash. Through its commitment to sustainability, Savers has become one of the largest recyclers of used goods in the world, keeping more than 650 million pounds of reusable items from landfills each year.
JACKET (SAVERS) | TOP (NORDSTROM RACK) | JEAN SKIRT (C/O SAVERS) | BOOTS (TARGET) | JEWELRY (GIFTED) | CLUTCH (FRANCESCA’S)
SPONSORED BY BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS
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