Hello lovely Ladies,
Welcome to Week 2! It has been so amazing to see a few of you keeping me posted on your progress. And if you haven't joined the challenge it's not too late, the first week was mostly about the theory and putting away our summer clothes. We mapped out all the spaces that we use to store clothes, footwear and accessories and put everything away that we won't be needing until spring.
This week we will start curating our collection, category by category. My personal goal is to have less, so I will do my best to part with any items that I don't love and don't actually wear. I don't think I will be using Marie Kondo's method of hugging and thanking the items I no longer need, but I will pack them in a bag and pass them on with love.
Tip #1: Consider your current lifestyle
I believe the absolute first thing to do is really consider your life today and in the coming months. What kind of job do you do and what clothes do you wear for work? Are you on maternity leave? Are you self employed and dress fairly casually? Whatever your life is right now, be aware of it. It will help you make some potentially difficult decisions. Make sure you select the wardrobe that reflects your life and not just your Instagram or Pinterest accounts.
There are many ways to categorise your wardrobe, I chose to store my clothes based on the activities/occasions that those items are used for:
Clothes
BUSINESS - outfits that I wear to the office
CASUAL - outfits that I wear to run errands, meet up with friends, etc.
GLAM - going out, special events
RELAX - outfits I wear at home - loungewear, sleepwear
ACTIVE - sportswear
STAPLES - these are my absolute must-haves that I can use across at least 2 of the above categories (a good pair of jeans, a tan coat, a white shirt, a black belt...) these are the core of my wardrobe, items that I spend the most money on and get the most use of.
UNDERWEAR - panties, bras, shapewear, tights, socks...
Footwear, coats, handbags and accessories (scarves, gloves, hats)
These are the items I keep in the hallway, easy to access before I leave the house. More on these in Week 3.
Looking at my current lifestyle, my priority clothes categories are casual, active and relax and I have put them all in one wardrobe. This is where most of my staples are too. It makes it super easy to find anything!
To help you visualise, here's a simple drawing of all the spaces that I use. These are not all in one place, 1&2 are in the dressing room, 3 is in the hallway and 4 is storage.
I have barely any proper "glam" clothes, so I just group them with business :)
The method is quite straightforward:
Empty the wardrobe and wipe it clean.
Decide what items will be stored where.
Try on every item.
Pile 1 - Keep (clothes that fit, you wore in the past one year and you love)
Pile 2 - Maybe (If you are unsure of something put it aside - we'll come back to it later)
Pile 3 - Toss (anything that is damaged and cannot, or will not be repaired)
Pile 4 - Donate / Sell
Which leads me to:
Tip #2: Look at your space from a different angle.
Maybe that wardrobe of yours has been set up the same ever since you moved into that apartment. Very often we just work with what we see, not thinking that we can actually make changes. I have used the wardrobe space exactly how the previous tenants left it, never thought of actually moving shelves around and making more space for items I have more of and taking away from somewhere else. Most of the time we don't need to buy more chests of drawers, but rather just rethink how we make most of what we have. I have done that now, it feels amazing, I will share the before/after throughout the week. Ask a friend to come over and help you look at it with a fresh pair of eyes, you'll be surprised how many options you have.
Tip #3: The Maybe Pile - Take the emotion out of deciding what to keep
Easier said than done? Try this, see if it works for you. When I go through my clothes, rather than immediately asking myself if I love an item, I try to be absolutely realistic about whether that item was on me at all in the past one year. If not, I try to find out why. If there is no good explanation, it's time to let go.
- Perhaps I was on maternity leave and this year I am back at work. I might keep that item.
- I gained weight and it no longer fits. TOP TRICK: In 2016 when I had my second son I gained so much weight that most of my stuff didn't fit. I created a "fit box" with clothes that I loved but didn't fit me. That box had an "expiry date" of June 2017. I committed to letting go of any items in that box that wouldn't fit after that date. It was actually one of the things that motivated me to lose weight and it was the most amazing feeling to reopen that box!
Don't feel guilty just because you paid a lot of money for an item. Sell it! There are so many great platforms to sell your clothes and accessories nowadays! The same applies to gifts. Just because someone gave you an item, don't feel guilty about not wanting it.
TOP TRICK: What helps me is that I usually have a person in mind that I like to pass my clothes on to, so instead of imagining what I will no longer have, I imagine how happy she will be to get these!
If you are still unsure, keep those items items for now, put them somewhere easily accessible and see if they get worn this season. ;)
As a final thought in this week's post, if you are feeling motivated to go "lighter" with your wardrobe, I am adding links below to some of the top minimalist blogs and videos.
- Capsule Wardrobe - 36 pieces is all you need, (excl shoes, bags, accessories, lounge wear and sportswear)
- 10x10 Challenge 10 days - 10 items of clothing
- Project 333 - 33 items over 3 months (excluding underwear, sportswear, loungewear, sleep wear, engagement/wedding rings) everything else including jewelry counts towards the 33
Feel free to post any questions or photos in the FB group ;) Happy organising!!!
Love,
Maya