How To Clean Out Your Closet
Get Organized Now!
![Niecy Nash](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cPUv2iyRbBKZYrUZDd8H6B-415-80.jpg)
Your closet should be more than just a hole in the wall where you haphazardly throw your clothes - it should reflect you. And indeed, as Niecy Nash explains in her television show Clean House, if your closet space is in disarray, usually so are you. "Readers should know that clutter is an outward expression of an inward thing. They kind of parallel each other. When you start getting your emotional closet together, everything else will be sure to follow," says Nash.
Each week Nash and her crew of interior designers choose one cluttered American home to organize, host a giant yard sale as a way of deciding what stays and what goes, and then pour the proceeds into a home makeover. At the end of the day, an organized closet benefits not only you but also the many charities in desperate need of your last season's attire. So clean your closet, and don't just feel good, do good at the same time. Niecy Nash tells us how.
MC: When is it time to start cleaning?
NN: "Nobody has to tell you. It's the kind of thing you always know. When you walk into your closet and you can't move around comfortably and you can't see what you have because everything is so piled up, or you have more things in your closet that you're not using than you are using, it's time."
MC: What's the best way to begin?
NN: "Depends on how bad it is. You need to bring someone in with you who doesn't have a vested interest in your foolishness. Someone who has to be like 'girl knock it off, you couldn't fit into that in 1965 and you still can't!'"
MC: What about those old clothes (the notorious "skinny jeans") we keep in the back of our closet as motivation to shed a few pounds?
Stay In The Know
Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.
NN: "Disregard them as clutter. At the end of the day if you lose enough weight to fit back into some old clothes, you deserve some new clothes."
MC: What's your favorite charity organization?
NN: "Dress for Success. They give work clothes, business suits and/or work attire to women who have hit on hard times and who through this organization can now enter into the workplace."
MC: What are your feelings on closets dominated by one color?
NN: "The rule of thumb I live by is that you shouldn't have anything hanging in your closet that doesn't make you happy. If it makes you happy when you walk in there you'll always feel like 'I have choices!' If you like all beige, rock it."
MC: What are the rewards of a clean closet?
NN: "Not only do you have a need for an organized space that you can move around in, chances are if you're consistently cleaning out your closet, somebody else is being blessed by what you're letting go of."
MC: Any tips on storage?
NN: "My favorite storage tool is the FreedomRail from Schulte Distinctive Storage - you can move the racks all around to make it custom to your own personal mayhem and foolishness."
MC: What's your craziest Cleaning Closet story?
NN: "[I was searching] at the top of a man's closet who was married and found out he had an entire collection of transsexual baby dolls hidden in the top of the closet. And I just said, 'Sir, I need to talk to you on the side, turn off the camera, and move to the side.'"
A 2-hour Messiest Home special of "Clean House" will air on Wednesday, July 4, at 9 PM. ET/PT.
-
Jennifer Lopez's Bike Ride Outfits Keep Rolling On
This time, she's in an off-the-shoulder set and fisherman sandals.
By Halie LeSavage Published
-
'Love Island USA' Stars Nicole Jacky and Kendall Washington Already Have Big Plans for Life Outside of the Villa
The season 6 finalists are looking past the finale and toward a future together.
By Quinci LeGardye Published
-
Jennifer Lopez Replaces Her Gym Birkin With a Gym Blanket
Technically, it's a sweater.
By Kelsey Stiegman Published
-
7 Make-My-Life-Easier Items I'm Buying From the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale
Grab these must-haves before it's too late.
By Nikki Ogunnaike Published
-
The Best Summer Work Shoes Don’t Have To Scream ‘Corporate'
Footwear that means business in the best way possible.
By Lauren Tappan Published
-
34 Chic Vacation Essentials Hiding in Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale
Don't board the plane without packing these items first.
By Lauren Tappan Last updated
-
The Boxer Shorts Trend Offers a Realistic Take on Lingerie Dressing
How the borrowed-from-the-boys bottom became a hero summer piece with endless style potential.
By Emma Childs Published
-
Fashion Girls Are Destined to Wear the J.Crew x Maryam Nassir Zadeh Collaboration on Vacation
Beloved indie designer Maryam Nassir Zadeh translated her essentials into the ultimate packing list.
By Halie LeSavage Published
-
I'm a Style Editor—50 Last-Minute Prime Day Fashion Deals to Grab Before Tomorrow
Grab these on-sale items before it’s too late.
By Lauren Tappan Last updated
-
Fashion Editors Share the Best Work Dresses From Their Summer Uniform
From classic wrap silhouettes to breezy linens, these are the expert-approved styles we're wearing on repeat.
By Lauren Tappan Published
-
15 Items Marie Claire Editors Actually Bought for July
We see it all—but these are the summer essentials our editors would spend their money on, from the best coconut perfume to the perfect white T-shirt.
By The Editors at Marie Claire Published