Walk-in Closet Exorcisms 101: A Guide to Physical and Symbolic Clear-outs
By: The Metafictionalist
Tags: Closet, Spirituality, Beauty, Cleaning, Letting Go

“Woman with a Mirror” — Titian

Dedicated to Rebecca Altman of Wonder Botanica, Rachel Maksy, and Jade the Libra, whose invaluable closet insights inspired my closet musings and battles.

When the ladies on the Internet were deep in their Covid solitude and started cleaning out their closets in ways that make old era closet clean outs seem like mere lip service, I started contemplating my own closet. The truth is that I must have been stoned because I couldn’t wrap my head around what could possibly make a closet clean out so emotionally strenuous. Then I thought more deeply about what these women were saying and confronted my own closet.

I cleaned out my closet several times, with each cleaning unfolding like a layer of an onion, but each time I was still making a superficial effort. I was afraid to let go of items I didn’t wear and didn’t love. The shadows of the archetypal hoarders who live in the infinite universe of my mind loomed strong. Their influence came from a scarcity mentality, one that went beyond the material and touched on my own self-concept. I had grown up poor, and thus have a tendency to hold on to things I don’t need due to fear that I might need them and not have the resources to acquire them at a later time. Also, by holding on to garments that I didn’t love but rather tolerated, I was reinforcing this false belief that I wasn’t worth the investment in newer, better loved items. It’s the type of belief that keeps people small and confined, and I believe it is yet another variety of a scarcity mindset. I would never recommend being wasteful, but in my case, the blouse that I got from a thrift store ten years ago and didn’t really like had become a burden. I would wear it occasionally but always with a quiet sense of dissatisfaction. When I really came to clean my closet out, I couldn’t help but wonder why I put myself through this nonsense. The blouse was ten dollars. If I didn’t like it, it would be to everyone’s benefit if I donated it. The lady closet cleaners of the Internet said all of this would happen, the resistance and the emotional exploration, but I didn’t fully believe them. Hence, I kept resisting a defiant, liberating stance and was, consequently, stuck in denial-ville…the moments of difficult realism and letting go would come later.

Despite several closet cleanings, mine was still a shadowy overwhelming place of dust bunnies and spiders. It is close to a universal truth that every woman has a secret place in her heart devoted to the idea of a walk-in closet. Here I was with the walk-in closet, but it was not a place of pleasure, no temple to Aphrodite. To be fair, due to the nature of my living situation, in a recently duplexed 100-year-old house, my closet was on the other side of the house from my bedroom. Still, the expansiveness of it was under-utilized. It became a garage of wardrobe cast-offs and dead dreams rather than the place of happiness I wanted it to be. In my youth, when the other girls had walk-in closets, they were spaces of enchantment and excitement, impromptu margarita bars, and chambers of feminine wisdom. Despite my initiation into the higher echelons of closet décor and experience, mine wilted on the vine like a blighted bloom.

At this point, you may be wondering how I actually came to exorcise the shade from my closet and uplifted it to a Venusian space of beauty: the answer is the will to unfuck my situation. I believe that the clutter of a space reveals truths about one’s inner-state (at least it does in my case) as well as the household energetics. The odds and ends within a closet’s walls take on symbolic dimensions, echoing and reflecting the untraversed space of our psyches. They are mementos of our undealt with emotions, memories, and issues. The items we can’t let go of are like ghosts of the past, traces of lower energies that do not work for the best and highest good, and at a certain point, to cleanse a closet, we must exorcise the negative symbolic spiritual forces within. In my case, I had the hardest time letting go of old shoes. There’s an old saying that to understand someone else’s perspective, we must walk in their shoes. In my case, my life had changed, but the old shoes were there, and I couldn’t release myself of the roads they had wandered. Perhaps, it was the years taking the bus wearing flip flops because I couldn’t afford shoes or perhaps it was the years living on my father’s humble provision, a situation where nothing was to be wasted. Whatever it was, I held on to shoes that were once lovely in the extreme but had reached their best-by date. They were scuffed, worn, ripped, and perched on tumultuous soles. My first step in truly cleaning my closet was realizing that despite what the shoes once were, they weren’t even worth the repair. They had been worn hard year after year. Not only had they lost their charm, they brought back stressful memories. They had to go. After that, it became easier to sort through the rest.

With that, here are some tips that you may find useful as you clean your closets:

1. It really is necessary to take everything out of the closet

When my closet cleaning role models explained that to clean a closet, everything must be removed, I resisted. I’m a busy person, and it sounded like an unnecessary hassle. I imagined that a visual run through would work, but I still hung on to items that didn’t fit me size or style wise. However, when I finally took everything out of the closet, I felt like a weight had been lifted, and it was much easier to realistically determine what was a relic of the past. I was then able to donate those items and curate my wardrobe.

Another aspect of this is freeing up space in order to better clean. Once everything was out of the closet from shoes to linens, I was able to dust and mop in neglected corners and better address messy areas. I personally believe that areas of mess attract negative energy, especially the spots we frequently ignore. After clearing everything out, I realized that the walls needed some love, a realization that I wouldn’t have had if I was content with the easy version of a closet cleaning. As I cleaned the walls with a homemade cleansing spray that included lemon and lavender essential oils, I imagined that I was cleansing my own life and what I perceived as the outer limits of my potentiality.

2. If you believe in energy, take the opportunity to do energetic work.

Here is where the exorcisms come in to play. Once your closet is cleaned out and physically cleansed, take the opportunity to cleanse the energy if that is part of your belief system. You can smudge the air with sage or with some other type of incense or plant appropriate to your situation. You can the lower banishing ritual of the pentagram and ring bells in the corners to break up and release old/negative energies. Pray to the gods if that’s your way and ask for the the higher spiritual forces to assist you in elevating the energy of your closet while escorting out all harmful and imbalanced energies, entities, emotions, and thoughts. Try burning an appropriately charged candle during this time. You do need an empty closet for this because you don’t want to accidentally start a fire. Whatever your ritual practices are, I recommend waiting at least 24 hours before moving items back it to the space. Cleaning out a closet can be life changing, so cleansing and purifying observances are appropriate and should be handled with mindfulness.

3. Try on clothes before keeping.

When I was sorting through my clothing, I was stunned when I started trying things on. Some of my favorite items were far too large. Once I discovered this, I determined what I could get taken in and what wasn’t worth the effort. I also had to confront the fact that some of the items in my closet weren’t right for my body type. I had kept these items for years thinking I could force myself to wear something I was uncomfortable in or that I would some how like how the garments looked even if they proved unflattering year after year. By taking the garments out of the closet and trying them on, I was able to disconnect from the feelings of guilt at my perceived wastefulness and realize that the garments were a waste to me whether in the closet or not. This is not a fun process, but by clearing out the space, you open up space for garments that better suit your needs and that will fit you better.

4. Reimagine the space.

Once you have done the hard work of cleaning, clearing, and sorting, you are ready to connect with your creativity. With the space empty, you can exercise your freedom of choice about the type of closet you want. Does the white empty space of your closet hurt your soul? Consider painting a wall of your closet in your favorite color. Is your floor an aberration to look upon? It may be the perfect time for you to get an inexpensive and beautiful rug. If your handbags have been hidden away in drawers or boxes, you might consider using wall hooks for easy access. Do you have extra space you aren’t sure what to do with? It might be time to invest in a vanity where you can do your hair, makeup, and ritual observances to Aphrodite. If your space is large enough, you have so many options: a chaise lounge, a mini-chandelier, a fabric wall, and more.

5. Sell or donate.

Since you’ve been doing all this work, you can reward yourself by selling or donating your old items. You should have a freshly updated wardrobe at this point, which might very well offer you a pleasing spot to take pictures of items to sell online. You can also make a selling appointment at a consignment shop and get a little bit of spending money for any new wardrobe items you need. On the other hand, I personally feel a sense of satisfaction and well-being after donating items. There are plenty of people out there who are struggling financially and would absolutely love to discover your old items at a thrift store or charity center. Another gratifying option is to organize a clothing swap party with some of your friends. You can serve some refreshments, play some tunes, and take turns selecting pieces from the other ladies. At the end, you can collect all of the unwanted items for donation.