Out with the old, in with the new. Sounds great but in actuality, this is a hard concept for most of us. Unfortunately, New Year's resolutions are starting to die out by now. It is actually a great time to reorganize the home and clear out. A good place to start is with your wardrobe and accessories.



We all have skeletons in our closet. I'm talking about those old clothes that we are holding onto. One of the biggest reasons for holding onto our clothes? "I am going to loose weight and get into that outfit again." Time to ditch it! I am sure it is outdated by now and when and if you get into it, it will not look that great anyway. If you loose those extra pounds, reward yourself instead with something new, you deserve it.

Are you the sentimental type that holds on to clothes? The outfit you wore to a special occasion, date or the one that cost you a small fortune. I know it is hard to let go but it is time to do it. How about that little black dress that we are all suppose to have in our closet. It has been there for while, hasn't it? Have you avoided wearing it because it is so outdated? It is time to move on and get a new one.

Here is some good advice, if you have not worn it in two years or more, you need to get rid of it. Not wearable because it needs to be repaired, put them in a pile to bring to a Taylor or just get rid of it. Face it, if you have not fixed it yet, it will not happen. Are you waiting for the style to come back again? Style's do come and go and come back again, but always in a different way. The style changes in some way as well as the "in" color. Bell bottoms were once in but never came back fully in style again. They came back a little different as boot leg cut and not as wide as the bell bottom. So do not save it for another time, it will not work. Don't forget the clothes that were bought and just didn't cut it. I am talking about the one's you never got around to returning. Even the clothes that looked great in the dressing room but when you actually wore it, it didn't really look that great on you. These are great for the consignment store. It took me a while to realize that brown just is not my color. Each time when brown is the "new black" in style I just didn't feel right in a brown outfit. It dawned on me that it is just not my color. I held on to those great brown clothes for a while. Finally I let go and accepted those great brown clothes were not great on me. They were taking up much needed closet space.

Next, are the accessories filling the shelves and drawers? Handbags are a big save item. Spending a fortune on a designer handbag is a good reason to hold on to it. If it is worn out and does not look good any more, then there is no reason to keep it. Zipper broke, button off, bad looking scratch in the leather? If it is not useable, then do not save it. I had an off white suede leather Coach bag that I loved and spent a lot of money on. It became dirty looking way too fast. Being suede, it did not clean well. I kept it for three years before I broke down and threw it out. Never bought that color again! Handbags are like shoes, once they wear out, they do not look good anymore. Pull out of your closet all the handbags and shoe's. Try on the shoe's, see if they fit, are too worn out or are out of style and put them in the get rid of pile. Do the same for belts.

Anything in good shape and the style is current; bring them to a consignment store. The rest can go to the thrift store or if too worn out or damaged, throw it out. Thrift stores are usually run by volunteers, they don't need to be throwing out your not so good items in the trash. You will feel good with "out with the old," now it is time and space for "in with the new." Have fun shopping for those new great clothes!