A seasonal closet swap means rotating the clothes you’ll actually wear this season to the front of your closet and storing the rest. You do it twice a year, spring and fall. It takes an afternoon, and it’s the easiest organizing win there is, because you’re already going to handle every item you own while you do it.
There’s a moment every morning where you reach past a few things you’re never going to wear to get to the one shirt or sweater, depending on where you live, that you actually want.
That reach is the whole problem.
Three Things I Want You to Know Before You Organize Your Closet
1. You’re allowed to let go of clothes you don’t like
If you won’t wear something because of how it makes you feel, you don’t need to keep making room for it.
You already spent the money. Keeping it doesn’t get that money back. It just keeps taking up space, physical and mental, that could be filled with something you feel amazing in. C’est la vie!
2. You’re probably going to find things that don’t belong in your everyday closet
Keepsakes and memorabilia have a funny way of showing up when you’re organizing. And they can bring everything to a screeching halt.
You don’t have to make those decisions in the middle of a closet organization project. Group them together, put them somewhere safe and higher up, and save them for a day when you can give them the attention they deserve.
3. Your closet should remind you that you are loved
I keep coming back to this one, because I really want you to know it.
You are loved.
By God. By your spouse or partner. By your children. By your family. And by yourself.
Your closet can be a space that tears you down every morning, standing there in the dark feeling like nothing fits and nothing works. Or it can be a space that feels peaceful and supportive, and reminds you to take care of yourself.
You are worth the time and effort it takes to build a closet that feels good and 100% authentically you.
That’s not a small thing. That’s the whole reason I do this work.
The Twice-a-Year Swap, For Those of Us Who Don’t Get All Four Seasons
A seasonal closet swap is the easiest organizing win of the year, and not because it’s fun to pull out the sweaters and sweatshirts you haven’t seen for six months. Because you’re already going to handle every single piece of clothing you own. The sorting is free. You just have to decide to do it right now while you’re already reaching into your closet.
Take the off-season things out first
All of them, before you sort anything. Onto the bed. You cannot see what you actually have while last season is still hanging in front of it.
Ask this one question for every item
In this case, try not to ask “do I love this,” because you’ll talk yourself into anything at nine o’clock at night. “I’ll lose 10 lbs by Christmas. Keep.” Anyone?
Instead ask: did I wear this last season? Your closet has been quietly collecting that data for six months.
Then notice what’s missing
This is the part everyone skips and it’s the most useful thing the seasonal swap gives you. As you bring this season forward, you’ll see the gaps. No fun, fall sweater. Three cardigans and nothing to wear them with.
Write it down or make a list on your phone. That list is the difference between shopping on purpose and shopping because you’re standing in Anthropologie looking at the cutest outfit you’ve ever seen.
And my version, because I’m not going to pretend
Mine looks drastically different than those of you who live in the north. I live in Los Angeles. There are no parkas. Most of the time “fall” means I move a couple of warmer dresses and fall colors to my main closet rod, put the spring and summer colors away, and I’m done in twenty minutes. I mean, I don’t even own one turtleneck anymore. Lol.
If you’re somewhere with actual seasons, yours is a bigger job than mine and I know it.
But the rhythm is the same, and the rhythm is the point.
Small closet, mild climate, one shelf. Still counts.
I Think of Baskets When I Think of Fall
Everything you just pulled out has to go somewhere. Every item must have a home. Because when it doesn’t? It becomes clutter. Real fast.
Nothing says fall like a beautiful basket! Something about the texture and the warmth of them makes me want to grab a cozy blanket and a cup of hot chocolate.
Back to your closet. Here’s how I decide what goes in what.
Woven baskets for the things you want out of sight
The top shelf. Winter hats and gloves. Costumes. T-shirts from college. Random sports gear. You get the idea.
Woven gives you a soft, quiet surface instead of a wall of plastic, and it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy.
→ Amazon’s hyacinth baskets are my pick. Natural fiber, warm, and they look intentional on an open shelf.
Label them. Trust me. Do it anyway. A labeled bin is a decision you only have to make once.
All matching hangers for the beautiful clothes you’ve kept
Your curated clothes deserve to be taken well care of and displayed neatly. So go ahead and use this time of year as your excuse to get all matching hangers. You’ll thank me later.
→ Amazon’s wooden hangers are what I use, because somehow, even though I’m from a big house in Texas, I’ve become minimal with my clothes and a wider hanger is fine for me. If you’re the opposite, try the velvet slim line hangers, like these from Amazon.
If you want more fun and functional closet product recommendations, check out my Amazon storefront!
And a word about the pretty part, since this is where function and style meet: beauty is welcome in your closet. It’s the icing. It is never the foundation. A gorgeous basket holding things you don’t use is still clutter, just clutter with style. Get the system right first, then make it beautiful.
A couple of the links above are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small amount at no cost to you. So tiny in fact, I still haven’t received one check from Amazon. Lol. I only share things I actually use and recommend to clients.
Want the boutique-closet version of all of this, with the styling details? I wrote about that separately in The Art of Wardrobe Organization: Tips for a Clutter-Free Closet.
A Side Quest: Costumes
Halloween is five weeks out. When you’re up on that top shelf anyway, pull the costume bin down and look at it now rather than the night before. Outgrown, ripped, or never worn twice means it can go. You’ll thank yourself in October.
I literally just helped a client go through all of her family’s costumes. I had a blast. It was a gentle reminder of how fast our kids grow up.
That small baby shark costume? Bye bye.
Does Any of This Actually Last?
Fair question, and the honest answer matters more to me than a pretty photo.
I organized a closet and a kitchen for a couple moving into their first home. They both work from home, so those two spaces carry a lot of weight in their day. We didn’t just make them look good. We built around how they actually move through the space: easy to find, easy to put away, intuitive from the first day.
Eight months later, they’re still easy to maintain.
That’s the goal every time. Something that works beautifully on day one and keeps working while your life happens inside of it. They already have a list of the spaces they want to tackle next.
That’s what hiring an organizer actually looks like, by the way. Not a magazine spread, although I aim for beauty as well. A system built around you that’s still standing next spring.
If you’ve started and stalled on your closet more than once, that’s usually a sign you need a second pair of hands rather than more resolve. You can book a 1:1 with me, in person or virtual.
Once We Clear the Clutter, We Can Hear God’s Voice Clearer
I sat down with Engel Jones on his podcast #12MinConvos with Jesus Believers. It’s a quick one, under twelve minutes, so it’s an easy listen while you fold a load of laundry or sip your morning coffee.
He asked the question that gets right to the heart of what I do.
Why does clearing clutter matter so much?
Here’s what I’ve come to believe:
Once we clear the clutter, we can hear God’s voice clearer.
When your hands are releasing what you no longer need, something on the inside loosens too. The papers. The old files. The expectations you’ve outgrown. The dreams that didn’t go your way. You stop gripping. You start LISTENING.
Toward the end, Engel asked what I’d say to someone who’s on the fence about starting. Here’s exactly what came out:
“If you take the time and the effort to work with your spouse and declutter, you will feel the amount of stress and overwhelm go down in your house, it is like scientifically proven, and in your body as well. And so I would just take the leap, I would take the leap and your house will catch you. And God will catch you.”
“There is also ‘…a growing body of evidence that clutter can negatively impact mental well-being, particularly among women…women who have issues with clutter have the signature pattern of cortisol that is associated with people who have chronic fatigue, post-traumatic stress disorder, and a higher risk of mortality.'” — Reclaim Your Space with G.R.A.C.E.
So if you’re standing in a sea of clutter this week, feeling stuck under the weight of it all, consider this your gentle nudge.
Come just as you are. Listen on Apple or Spotify.
If the weight of it all is the part you’re stuck on, I wrote about where to start when you feel overwhelmed right here.
Do You Need a Little More Guidance and Support? I Got You!
I have a full closet organizing guide that I normally only give to silent auctions to support the community. It’s over 70 pages of organizing steps, tips, and what those silly laundry symbols mean.
I send it to the people on my email list, along with a letter like this one every Thursday.
→ Join the Beauty & Grace newsletter, then reply to any email and tell me you want the closet guide. It’s free, and it’s my way of saying thank you for being here.
I want to help you in any way I can get your closet organized for the busy fall and holiday season ahead.
Frequently Asked Questions About Seasonal Closet Swaps
What is a seasonal closet swap?
It’s rotating the clothes you’ll actually wear this season to the front of your closet and storing the rest. Twice a year, spring and fall. It takes an afternoon and it’s the easiest organizing win there is, because you’re already handling every item you own while you do it.
What are the best bins for closet organizing?
It depends on what you’re storing. Use woven baskets on open shelves for things that are less important and can be stored up high in your closet. Make sure to label it. A labeled bin will help you know immediately what’s in it. Fast. Easy.
How do I decide what to keep when I organize my closet?
Ask one factual question: did I wear this last season? Not whether you love it, not whether it might come back. And know that you’re allowed to let go of clothes you don’t like. Keeping something you won’t wear doesn’t recover the money, it just keeps costing you space.
What should I do with off-season clothes?
Give them a real home rather than a corner. Woven baskets or lidded bins on a top shelf, labeled so you can find them without opening everything. Every item must have a home, and “temporarily in the guest room” is not a home.
Do organizing systems actually last?
They do when they’re built around how you really live rather than how a photo looks. I organized a kitchen and closet for a couple in their first home, and eight months later both spaces were still easy for them to maintain. If you’ve started and stalled more than once on your own, that’s usually a sign you need a second pair of hands. You can always book a 1:1 with me, in person or virtual.
Keep reading
- Decluttering For A New Season of Life
- Anchored, Not Overwhelmed: A Faith-Filled Way to Organize Your Home During the Holidays
- From Pandemic Pivot to Purpose: How Organizing Transforms Your Home (and Your Cortisol Levels)
- Reclaim Your Space with G.R.A.C.E., the book
Ready for help with the closet that’s been fighting you for longer than one afternoon can fix? Book a free discovery call.
0 Comments