Purging your wardrobe!
Okay, I know it doesn’t sound very nice, but the final results and rewards are wonderful. Think of it as a cleansing!
Does this look familiar?
Or this maybe?
We all hold on to clothes and accessories for years thinking that we
‘might someday use it again’. I, myself, am guilty as charged in this
department. But something happened to me recently that has changed my
perspective.
Right before the holidays I had spent a weekend with a dear friend of
mine who as a gift took me out shopping. She said that the only
condition was that she picked out what I should try on. I felt thrilled
and grateful that she wanted to do this for me so of course I was
completely up for it. We were also shopping in departments that I don’t
typically go into so it was really exciting.
I tried on different things… beautiful things… not formal…..things
that I could wear any day of the week. But, what I realized as I tried
on what my friend picked out for me, was that I keep buying the SAME
STUFF...everything I had at home in my closet was a copy of the next
thing.
So, I came home with my new goodies and the holidays rolled around. I
wore my new outfits over and over through the following weeks.
Cut to mid January… here we are and, like many of you, I have been
putting things away and getting the house back in order. More than ever
this overwhelming urge to weed out all the “repeat” clothing, that I
have not worn in ages was nagging at me. It is hard to make these
decisions, but I keep reminding myself that if I made it through an
entire holiday season without them… do I really need them at all? The
first sweep was easy. Some things just shout ‘move on’. You know the
shirts that might have a little stain or rip that you think, “oh well I
can still use that for layering?” Chuck it! The next sweep takes a bit
more precision. I suggest laying things out on your bed and stacking
in categories. Once you have finished that you can go through
categories and save the best. Be sure to go into that one with a number
in mind… for example you will keep only 4 or 5 of something. Be firm
with yourself!
Now, you may be thrown for a loop in the process because as you are
weeding out you will find things that you forgot you even had and fall
in love with it all over again. This is okay. This is a good thing!
You will hopefully remember to wear these key items that never got any
attention to begin with now that you can see them.
As you are reorganizing be sure to pay attention to how you view your
wardrobe pieces from day to day. This could be the culprit to a
neglected wardrobe. You have to see what you have to know that you have
it. That goes for accessories too! I know that I like to think I can
remember all the fun belts or scarves that I have, but with all the
stuff I have going on, it’s not possible. If you can, hang your belts
in a convenient location where you dress and find a little compartment
for scarves, etc that you can get to as you dress in front of the
mirror, that will help in putting the different day to day touches on
your ensemble.
Once you have finished all these steps and gotten all things back in
their places, enjoy the lightness that you will feel. It’s like a load
has been lifted as you savor in the fact that you don’t need to keep
finding a spot for that ‘thing’ that you know you will really never use.
Here is the final step to your purging… where you take it from here.
No doubt there are many things that survived the process. The ‘maybes’
that we keep alive ‘just in case’. Use this little trick for those
items. If it is a hanging piece, put the hanger in your closet
backwards, like this:
If that hanger is still backwards for 6 months you need to consider
removal. I know that seasons will be a factor with this process, so I
recommend sorting for seasons to use this method, but it really does
help. If it’s a wear all year long garment and it still sits backwards
after 6 months you know it’s a goner. For things that go on shelves,
cabinets or drawers I am trying the bottom of the pile method. If
something is at the bottom of the pile for 6 months or more I know it
has not been worn and it probably is never likely to see the light of
day.
My last recommendation for this process that really makes it easier
is that I take all of my purged items to Good Will. Maybe you have a
place like that to donate? It always makes me feel better about it all
when I know that someone will benefit from my used things instead of
just throwing them away. Besides, it’s a write off on you taxes... and
that’s a good thing.
I’ll talk with you next time with ideas to round out your wardrobe since you’ll have more room to fit something new from Bob Mackie’s Wearable Art collection at QVC. For all the tweeters out there follow Bob on Twitter (@bobmackie) and for all the pinners check out Bob’s Pinterest page: www.pinterest.com/bobmackie.
Best~ Margaux
