Thanks to the beautiful weather this week, I’ve been reaching for all my cute spring outfits that have been stored away for too long. However, each time I’ve reached for my clothes, I've become frustrated due to all the nonsense pieces I forgot I owned that are impossible to make into an outfit. I realized that my annual spring wardrobe clean out needed to come early. So here are five things you probably own that you can purge right now.

1. All the clothes you have to think about wearing

I’ve been doing a lot of Pinterest scouring lately on tips to become a minimalist, especially in terms of clothing. A lot of the articles I stumbled upon grouped clothing into 4 general categories: I love these clothes, I want to keep this for some reason but can’t place a finger on it, clothes don’t fit, clothes are ruined.

So with this, put the LOVE pile back in your closet. Take any ruined clothes to a textile recycling location. Donate any clothes that don’t fit to a non-profit collection. Then it’s time to deal with the MAYBE pile. If any of the articles provide a form of “function” to your wardrobe that you don’t need on the day-to-day, but you know you’ll actually use, like hiking boots and ski pants, then place them back in your closet.

Ready for the next part?

Donate or recycle the rest.

If you have to think about whether something is worth keeping, it’s not

2. And likewise, clothes that don’t fit your lifestyle

We’ve all been there: you step into the store for one specific item but you see this super cute red dress that you try on against your better judgment, look amazing in it, create an event in your mind of when you can wear that dress, buy it, then hang it up in your closet. Every time you get dressed then, you come face to face with that unwearable dress and it taunts you. Just…say goodbye to it. Give it to your roommate or a friend.

3. Crew necks and tee-shirts

There comes a point in time where you can only wear so many of these t-shirts and crewnecks in the span of a week…two weeks…three…however long it is that you wait to do your laundry. So go ahead and get rid of a good portion of them that you can’t remember wearing. Or, find someone to make a quilt out of them for you. And make sure you put that quilt to use…don’t just save it in a box.

4. Unwearable cute shoes

Just like the beautiful dress you bought on a whim, some shoes you’ll just never have an occasion to wear them for. Sure, they might be a cute pair of office heels, but if you don’t work in the office, there’s no point. Also, I never bought into the whole “beauty is pain” concept. If these cute shoes are giving you blisters, get rid of them.

5. All those lotions and body gels you’re keeping for “when you run out”

So this one doesn't have to do with fashion but think of it as a little bonus from me.

By the time it comes to you running out of soap and body lotions and shower gels, you’re probably going to end up buying new scents even if you have a stock pile of previously bought ones. What’s the point of crowding your bathroom with bottles that are just collecting dust?

I hope these tips helped and gave you some inspiration! Hopefully creating your favorite warm weather outfit will be a little easier now.