As a college student that is currently working a typical summer retail job, I get the benefit of shopping around the store! I love having the opportunity to walk around and see the old clothes as well as being able to go into the storage rooms and see the new clothes. Unfortunately, as a poor college student, I have to resist the temptation to buy everything that catches my eye in addition to reminding myself that I also have no more room in my closet. Therefore, I thought to myself why not purge my closet so I can buy myself a few new items with the little money that I have. And so I did!

I will say that purging my closet was not as easy as I remembered. I sat on my bed looking at my closet questioning how to start and where to start. I also saw clothes hanging in my closet that brought back memories of trips or adventures I had taken with friends. However, after I sorted through my closet, and made some space, I felt less stressed and had a sense of peace. As the summer is coming to a close and the academic year is drawing near, it gave me the feeling of having a fresh start.

So, if you are looking to purge your closet, I do have a few recommendations! To start, take a look at all of your clothes and start with the shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, etcetera that you know don't fit you. If they don't fit, how are you going to wear them anyway? Then move on to the clothes that you haven't worn in a long time. Chances are that if you haven't worn them in a year or two, you probably aren't going to wear them again.

After these two steps, this is where the closet purging can begin to get more difficult. To continue, take an overall look at the clothes that you have, and divide them into different "categories." These can be your lounge clothes, workout clothes, internship/job clothes, special occasions, etcetera, but divide them however you see fit. Again, if you haven't worn the article of clothing in a year or two, you aren't going to wear it. Now, this step might seem tedious and very tempting to skip. However, it is super beneficial and not one to be overlooked! Not only does this help with purging, but this will help you discover what you might actually need more of when you want to go shopping. Therefore, this will help you feel less stressed or guilty when spending your money shopping.

At this point a lot of the clothes in your closet should be separated into those you are keeping and those you are donating, or getting rid of as you see fit. Yet, there may be those articles of clothing that you are debating. A great way to tackle this feat is deciding if they can fall into one or more "categories" that you had previously established. If the article of clothing can fall into two or three different categories, it is a keeper. Another great way to help you through your debate is being able to pair the article of clothing in debate with an article of clothing you already have. If you can make a complete outfit with things that you already have, it is a keeper.

Now it may seem that there are no more steps left, however, there is one and probably the hardest one. Everyone has those few articles of clothing that they have special connections to. They could take form in t-shirts, dresses, pants or maybe a cutoff or two. It is great that you have great memories with them, but you aren't wearing them probably because they are special. Therefore, there are two ways that you can look at it.

First, t-shirt blankets and commemorative items like that are becoming very popular. It is a great way to purge your closet but also have an item to keep your special memories alive. Second, the articles of clothing that you deem to be special are great items to donate. The items would then have a new home and be open to making more special memories with new people and thus you can complete your purging.