The 'Your World' Trick Uses Personal Style to Help You Clean Out Your Closet

As a clothing lover, my closet is always the number one area I struggle to declutter. Even though I know my life would be easier if my closet, dresser, and under-the-bed storage bins weren’t constantly overflowing with clothing, it’s hard for me to part ways with my clothes because they're such a big part of my self-expression. Since I like to dress in a variety of styles, constantly changing things up based on my mood, it’s never worked for me to pare down my wardrobe to just a handful of practical basics.

That’s why I was so excited to come across a closet decluttering method that proposed somewhat of an alternative, more personal version of the capsule wardrobe. It’s the “Your World” decluttering method, which is centered around personal style, and it's brilliant. Here's how it works.

The "Your World" Wardrobe Decluttering Method

Liz Perez, fashion creator and host of the podcast Let's Get Dressed, posted a TikTok showing her friend, celebrity stylist Thomas Christos Kikis, helping her out with a closet clean-out. At the beginning of the video, she tells him that she's hoping to clean out "close to half" of what she has, and that's when Christos Kikis starts to explain the "your world" method.

The stylist tells Perez that he wants to set up a rack of just her absolute favorite clothing items that fall under the category of "everyday, I wear this to death." That rack, he says, is "your world." Then, with that foundation, you can ask yourself what you want to add to that world to "make it cooler, more functional, or whatever your touchpoints are," as Christos Kikis says in the video. From there, you can add in the pieces that fit in with and work toward the goals of "your world" and get rid of the items that aren't serving it.

Why We Love the "Your World" Method

For starters, let's talk about how this method differs from the traditional capsule wardrobe method. Capsule wardrobes are often centered around more minimalist fashion styles, focusing on building a smaller wardrobe from typically neutral-colored basics that can all easily interchange for easy, functional styling. If your style tends to fall into that more minimal style, then capsule wardrobes can be an effective way to edit down your closet. However, if that doesn't match your personal style, then the capsule wardrobe template can be a bit restrictive.

What the "your world" method does differently is that it centers more around passion and excitement rather than function. You're starting by first identifying all your most-worn, absolute favorite clothing items and using those as the anchor to decide what really deserves a place in your closet. When doing this, you might notice that a statement blouse in a fun animal print makes its way onto the "your world" rack while a basic button-down you bought to be "practical" didn't. While the basic button-down may seem like a more practical choice, per traditional capsule wardrobe standards, it's not practical if you never wear it and it doesn't make you happy.

As you edit out the things that don't fit into "your world," you may also start to identify what things are missing to make "your world" complete. This can help you be more intentional with the new wardrobe items you buy, making sure they fit within the wardrobe goals you've set for yourself.