What is a Closet Cull (And Why Every Woman Needs to Do One This Weekend)

What is a Closet Cull (And Why Every Woman Needs to Do One This Weekend)

Closet full of clothes yet nothing to wear.

A cluttered closet is a cluttered mind, my friend.

I have said that line to thousands of women across 45 countries. And every single time, I watch something shift in their face. Because they know it is true. They just have not done anything about it yet.

Today, we fix that.

What Is a Closet Cull?

A Closet Cull is diving into that scary, overwhelming, cluttered closet full of clothes where you have nothing to wear. This is not a closet purge. This is not an overhaul. This is a cull. Ruthless.

It is how I help you take back the power from your closet that is currently the monster over your mornings, and put it back in your hands with a very intentional, powerful, life-changing assignment.

Three questions. Every single piece of clothing. No exceptions.

Does it fit the body I have right now? Does it flatter my shape? Have I worn it in the last 12 months?

If the answer to any one of those is no, it goes. That is the reckoning. That is the Cull.

Why Is a Closet Cull Different From a Regular Purge?

Why a cull and not a purge? Because you have been purging your whole life. And how is it working out for you so far? It is not, right? A cull is ruthless. We are taking ownership here. We are taking ground.

You should not be purging your closet on a regular basis, because then you did not do it right the first time. It is an 80-20 principle. Major cull, then a top-up.

I do a major cull once a year and probably a second, lighter cull in the second half of the year. Two culls a year. One major and one light.

This is not a lifestyle. This is a system. Do it right once and your mornings change for the next 12 months.

Why Do I Feel Like I Have Nothing to Wear When My Closet Is Packed?

"What if" is holding you back. "What if" has produced a cluttered closet, which produces a cluttered mind. And then you open your closet and say, I have nothing to wear.

What if I lose the weight? What if I get promoted? What if I start dating again?

I hear it every week. And I say the same thing every time. That "what if" pile is not hope. It is hiding.

The external environment of your wardrobe has a major impact on how you feel. And how you feel is often how you will dress.

When you open a chaotic closet at 6:45 in the morning, already stretched thin, already navigating a body that feels unfamiliar since menopause, you do not make good decisions. You grab the safe, shapeless option. You dress from fear, not from power.

That stops today.

How Does a Closet Cull Actually Work?

Step one: schedule a date. You do not want to do this every month or every couple of months, because then you create a cloud that hangs over your head the whole year long and it just becomes this gloomy, doomy thing. Closet culling is not fun done repeatedly.

Set aside a full day. If it takes you half a day, great. If it takes you three quarters, great. But if you are doing it properly, it is not going to take you less than half a day.

Chat to your family or whoever it is and say, guys, this is what I am doing. Non-negotiable. Thanks so much for supporting me in this because I want to get organized, I want to look good, I want to reconnect with the woman in the mirror, and I want to take power back from this thing that is looming over my head every single morning when I dress up.

Wear your gym kit. Yoga pants, a cute tank top, your sneakers. Get as if you are going to the gym. Tie your hair in a ponytail because you are going to sweat, you are going to move, you are going to get a great workout, and afterwards you are going to say, I crushed it.

When you pick up every item, ask yourself one thing: is it mud or is it motivation?

If it does not immediately motivate you, it goes.

How Ruthless Should I Actually Be?

Very.

You are going to take your clothes and be ruthless. I have a beautiful client who got down to seven items in her wardrobe. And I said, whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop right there.

She was so determined to learn this thing, get on top of it, take the power back. You would hardly recognize the before and after. Years later, I see her at a business conference now and again. I can spot her across a room of hundreds of people. She is short but she stands out because she is beautiful. She is well put together. She is stylish.

That is what the Cull produces. Not minimalism for minimalism's sake. A woman who knows exactly who she is when she gets dressed.

The 80/20 rule governs your entire wardrobe from this point forward. 80 percent is capsule wardrobe. 20 percent is the other stuff. And this is what produces versatility, simplicity, efficiency, affordability, and predictability. All of this makes you a much more confident dresser.

For more on building that 80 percent foundation, read my full guide to the capsule wardrobe.

What Do I Do With the Clothes That Don't Make the Cut?

They leave the building. Today. Not next weekend. Not "when I get around to it."

Donate. Gift. Sell. Bag and drop. But they do not go back in.

The Closet Cull is a key step ahead of implementing your Capsule Wardrobe. When you clear your wardrobe, you clear your mind. You make space both physically and mentally for a fresh new phase of fashion.

You cannot build a capsule wardrobe on top of chaos. You cannot dress with intention from a closet full of guilt, nostalgia, and sizes from three bodies ago. The Cull is the clearing. The capsule is the building. One must come before the other.

How Do I Make Sure I Never Go Back to Closet Chaos?

Two small but significant investments I made into my wardrobe were hot pink velvet hangers (nothing falls off and the color inspires me) and a 20-pair shoe organizer that kept my shoes neat, tidy, and easy to see and access. Small changes, big impact. Your closet should feel like a partner, not a punishment. When it does, you will never go back.

Keep reading: 7 Capsule Mistakes to Avoid | Seasonal Transitions