Clothes, cleaning out and wearing out!

Clothes, cleaning out and wearing out!

There are a million ways to declutter your closet and you have to work out what works for you.

And honestly, I've tried them all.

You can Marie Kondo your closet and keep the things that bring joy. This can be hard in that you have items in your closet that still bring so much joy but that you will never wear again. I say this whilst wearing a honey cashmere jumper that I got from the second hand store for $7. I can't bring myself to throw it out as it is such a joy to have found it and worn it and it still fits perfectly despite the holes. What do you do?

Not throwing things out is hard. And yet necessary.

I get really caught with the idea that it's wrong to throw out things. I've been keeping 3 pairs of threadbare jeans, because I don't know what to do with them, surely they can be used? and yet, the fabric is barely hanging together, what could they be used for? And yet, they just need to be thrown out. I also have a collection of boxes that I thought I would reuse and I haven't. At some point, I need to move stuff out of my apartment, right?

What stage of your life are you in?

I never really worked corporate but I worked in offices so I needed office appropriate clothes. I no longer work in an office (does anyone?) but what about the clothes? I wouldn't wear them day to day but if I need to wear something nice, these would be my go to. If I got rid of them, would I find something sufficient? Probably. Excuse me, while I go and take out those office ready cardigans out of my wardrobe and take them to the op shop.

Sometimes you just have to be ruthless. You love them, you spent good money on them but truthfully they aren't you anymore and you need to let that version of you go. Get them out of the house as quickly as possible. Again coming from me, who has kept clothes around for a very long time. Way longer than she should have!

Be annoyed at yourself. You bought things that you didn't love, that you only wore once, that didn't fit properly and it was a massive waste of money and resources. That's annoying. You should be annoyed and disappointed in yourself. But learn from it and don't do it again.

I read somewhere that you shouldn't make your problem someone elses. When you are decluttering, its your problem. I agree with this. But that doesn't mean that you can't ask family and friends if they would like to take a look through or you put some items aside that you think they might like. Better to pass it on to someone you know and let them love on something first.

Work out what your style is. And realise that it may have changed. A year of living and working from home has shown exactly how little we need (and how good the right pair of tracksuit pants are!) and even as our lives start to be put back together, remember that your style and look can be done with fewer pieces but better quality pieces. Remember that this can take a while to put together.

I do believe in Marie Kondo's idea of thanking items for use. When getting rid of items that you loved, thank them for the good times and let them go. Be sad, they were fun times or fun clothes in fun times and it's time to let them go. Thank you beloved friends.

When was the last time you wore something out? My bet is not that often. I had a couple of pairs of jeans that I got the bums mended endlessly and finally I had to let them go but really how often do your clothes wear out? It's more often that we change our mind, don't like it anymore and move it on versus wearing stuff out completely. The goal is to find pieces you love and wear them endlessly. It's changing our minds on buying better quality but knowing we love it and will wear it over and over. I'm still learning this, but we get better at it, the more we say no to fit fashion and the more we invest in ethical pieces.

Refashion your wardrobe.

I don't love t-shirts but I love a sleeveless t-shirt. Once I realised this and hacked off most of the sleeves on the t-shirts I didn't really wear, I started wearing them all.  I saw that Rachel Castle cuts the waistband off jumpers to make them slightly cropped. Is there some simple change you can make, that will enable you to wear more of your wardrobe?

A wardrobe, like us, are constantly in a state of motion. We change, our lives change, our style changes, our bodies change.

We do our best with what we have and what we know. 

Where you can avoid fast fashion, shop second hand and shop your own wardrobe first.

A pair of cool sunglasses will make everything look better!

 

 

 

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