Clean out your closets; pare down your wardrobe and you'll have less to move when the time comes!

If you're selling your house, you're preparing to move as well. Before your house went on the market you probably cleaned and de-cluttered, sorted, threw out and gave away any number of possessions that were taking up space. This effort not only makes your house look more spacious and at its best, but it leaves less stuff for you to pack up and move to your new place.

Areas that get cleaned and de-cluttered include the attic, basement, garage, kitchen cabinets, drawers and pantry. You probably went through all the closets in the house, too, where things that have no real place of their own go to hide. You most likely found soccer balls in the hall closet, a dead lamp in your bedroom closet, a box of old magazines in the back of the closet in the den and scores of unused hangers dispersed throughout. With these things discovered and disposed of, the closets are neater and roomier.

What about your wardrobe? When you cleared out your closet, did you sift through your clothes and remove deadbeat apparel? Items that aren't pulling their weight? Things that don't fit or that you wish you'd never bought in the first place? If you did, good for you! If you didn't, now is the time to do it.

Most people wear about 20 percent of their wardrobe 80 percent of the time. To test this theory, each time you wear something and launder it, hang it at one end of the closet. At the end of a few weeks, you'll see that you're wearing the same clothes most of the time.

The 20/80 pattern doesn't just apply to your clothing. It can be applied to just about any aspect of life. We all get 80 percent of our results from 20 percent of our efforts. We spend 80 percent of our time in 20 percent of our homes. Eighty percent of our business comes from 20 percent of our clients. In the business world, this is known as the Pareto Principle, named for the Italian economist who established the theory.

So when it comes to clearing out your wardrobe, separate your clothes into the 20 percent you love to wear and the 80 percent that are just taking up space. It then becomes much easier to sort through (and dump) the excess. When you sort the 80 percent pile, make sure you are clear on your criteria for what stays and what goes. People who invest in a professional color consultation discover what colors are uplifting and which do the opposite. Knowing which colors work for you is abundantly helpful in deciding what stays in your closet.

Next, try on each item of those that are left and see how you feel. If you don't like the shape, the texture, the cut, the fabric or any other aspect of an item, let it go. If you create a wardrobe that consists solely of things you love and feel comfortable wearing, you will never again look into a bulging closet and moan, 'I have nothing to wear.'

Once you complete the process, vow to never buy anything again that isn't exactly what you want because you know it will only end up in the '80 percent pile.' Resolve to buy only things you love, that look good and make you feel good. By the time you are finished with the wardrobe de-cluttering, you will have created an even more spacious closet to show off to buyers. You'll have less to move to your new home and require less closet space, too!

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