My closet is a total mess. There are far too many clothes rammed in and I also happen to hate a lot of them. Whenever it's time to try on a new outfit, I find myself constantly reaching for the same capsule of clothes and shoving the other ones to the side.
Whether it's because they don't fit or they just don't suit my mid-30s style considering I bought them in my 20s, it's far too easy to just leave them where they are than admitting the truth. For years, I've ignored the problem, shutting the wardrobe doors and pretending that half my wardrobe doesn't even exist.
But, last year, as I rotated out my spring and summer clothes for my winter wardrobe using my mom's 'storage swap' hack, I thought I'd try something new. There's a decluttering method I knew I hadn't tried yet, but as it kept popping up on my social media, I decided to give it a go. It's called the 'reverse hanger' hack and it's actually a really simple method that I wish I'd tried sooner. Here's how it works.
What is the 'reverse hanger' decluttering hack
The 'reverse hanger' hack is pretty much exactly what it says it is. You put your hangers into your wardrobe in reverse, which is a much more awkward way of putting them in there, but you'll see why in a minute.
Once you take something out to wear it, you can replace the hanger the right way which means it'll be easier to grab next time you wear it. But, if you don't grab something out, then the hanger will remain reversed.
Visually, it's a really easy way to look at your wardrobe when a season is ending or after a designated amount of time to see if you're actually wearing things and what you're definitely not.
The pieces of clothing that you're not wearing should then be donated, sold, or thrown away (depending on their condition). But, it's totally up to you how long you give yourself before you decide it's time for those unworn pieces to go.
What happened when I tried it
As I mentioned, I tried out the 'reverse hanger' hack when I put my winter clothes into my closet. Now, as spring has finally arrived and I'm packing away those winter wears, I can assess what I've actually worn – and I've been surprised by the results.
Only a few weeks after putting my hangers in backwards, I barely even noticed because I didn't seem to be pulling out any hangers that weren't already placed back to normal. But then that made me ask the question, was I totally ignoring a portion of my wardrobe? Yes, yes I was.
When it came to swapping out my winter wardrobe for spring, I pulled everything out of my closet. Anything that wasn't easily pulled out was still on a reverse hanger so it stayed where it was and it turns out there was a lot.
As I stood looking at the clothes in my closet, I realized that I was more than happy to donate the ones left behind because I clearly hadn't worn them for months (or literally all winter) and I hadn't even noticed. Now, looking at them as I take on my spring clean I'm almost annoyed at how many I didn't wear.
I've always been a visual learner and this kind of decluttering hack was such a great upfront way to see what I hadn't worn. It's easy to stare at something and think maybe you did wear it at some point. With the 'reverse hanger' hack, you know immediately if that's true and I'll definitely be using it again. In fact, my spring-summer wardrobe has entered my closet in the same way and I'm excited to see the results when winter comes back round.
