How to Declutter Your Closet & Build a Postpartum Wardrobe

Making piles and being brutally honest

I took everything out of my closet and organized it by jeans, tank tops, jeans, sweaters, etc. to make it easier to go through. Sometimes it’s tough for me to declutter because I have an idealized version of what my life should look like.

But I’m not going to go through my things and look at them like “oh…this would be cool for the retro Taylor or the punk rock Taylor or the Parisian-vintage Taylor.” I’m going to actually look at the piece practically, and ask myself “Do I wear this right now in this season?”

Also, I had a baby and a lot of clothes don’t fit me anymore so I need a good postpartum wardrobe. 

Cute sweater-gone

I had this really nice sweater that I wore to my son’s church dedication. The sweater’s fuzzy fibers got all over my son’s pacifier, all over his face, and his clothes. It was a nightmare. This sweater isn’t going to work for me anymore, so I’m going to sell it.

Thrift purchase–gone

I bought this outfit at a thrift store and it’s just been sitting in my closet unworn. Goodbye!

Beloved pants–gone

I discovered Everlane clothing a few years ago. I bought some high-waisted pants and loved them and wore them all the time. Then, I bought them in every color!

But I bought them when I was pregnant, and I have no idea why I did that. Now, none of these pairs of pants fit me.

Eventually, they probably will fit me, down the line, but I really don’t know if my hips will go down in size. I don’t want to have these sitting there for years. I’m going to have to sell them.

Favorite sweater–gone

I used to love this sweater. But I haven't looked the same in the sweater since my pregnancy. My chest is just... different and it doesn’t fit me anymore. I’m not sad all these things don’t fit because I had a baby, and that’s not something to be sad about. 

Reorganizing my clothes

I went through everything and reorganized my piles. I counted that I have 63 items. That sounds like a good number to me. I’m going to separate them into seasons. I’ll probably have 30 items in the spring and summer category and 30 items in the fall and winter category which to me is a good postpartum capsule wardrobe. 

Now for the shoes

I don’t have too many shoes. I thrifted many of them and I still love tons of them. For example, I’ll keep my thrifted Vans and Doc Martens. But I’m going to give away the sandals and shoes that I rarely wear or that are uncomfortable. In the end, I’m only getting rid of two pairs of shoes! I now have 14 pairs of shoes.

What I need to add to my wardrobe

While going through my clothes and organizing my closet, I jotted down things I needed to add to my wardrobe. I keep a thrift/want list on my phone where I jotted down some items. That way when I’m thrifting, I know what I’m looking for or I know what type of purchase to save money towards. 

How to declutter a closet

There are many benefits of decluttering your closet. It helps to see what you will need to fill in the gaps. You’ll be able to make some money on the things you don’t need anymore. And you can give away items to homes where they will be used again.

Do you need to declutter your closet after having a baby or any other major life change? Let me know in the comments if it was easy or hard for you to give up things you used to love to wear!