“If you don’t love it or use it, it’s clutter”
Let’s talk about your closet today. It’s time to clean up and declutter. It’s time to identify your essentials and live a more meaningful life with the things you care about and make you happy. We’re going to do this together; I will guide you through and hopefully, you can find some more inspiration for bringing more joy in opening or entering your closet space.
I have to go shopping for a living
First, I will tell you something about my own experiences.
I’m a fashion designer and I love beautiful objects and clothes, which makes it challenging to maintain a minimalist lifestyle. I have to go shopping for a living – It’s literally in my job description. Once every month or two, I end up in an amazing city somewhere in the world, where I have to buy many samples for work. So, 10 hours a day for 5 days, I am immersed in shops that inspire me. Even when I shop for the company, it’s inevitable that I will see some items that I love along the way. I have to consider if I really need a specific item for myself.
Luckily, I have quite a solid style, as I don’t particularly follow fashion for myself – I wear big white shirts, white T-Shirts and jeans (in a nutshell).
What does your perfect closet look like?
There are some rules
Before we start decluttering your closet, we need to talk about the foundation and create a different mindset. We start with your clothes since that is where often most of the clutter is and it’s satisfying since you’re confronted with your closet space every day.
I want you to envision your perfect wardrobe. What does your closet look like? Maybe you have some inspiration pictures, or perhaps you have a vision for opening your wardrobe doors. These visions or ideas could come from your friend’s wardrobe, something you’ve seen on TV, in a magazine, or you can create a Pinterest board when simply searching for ‘closet’ or ‘wardrobe’.
Okay, hold on to the thought, vision, or feeling that you’ve created – this is what er are working toward. Now it’s time for me to get strict. The rules are:
- Focus on the items you want to keep, not the ones that you want to throw away. Always focus on the positive.
- Do not involve the family. Your husband could say that he loves seeing you in this dress, or your mom could remind you of when and why she bought this shirt for you. No! This is for you; all for you.
- You are not allowed to have a category called ‘home wear’ from unwanted clothing. Why would you walk around in leisurewear that doesn’t make you feel good, look good, or has fit issues? Unacceptable category!
- All the seasons will be in your closet and not hidden away in a box, a bag, in storage, or under your bed. What you see is what you get. We can change the position of a category to a higher or lower shelf due to the season, but that is how far we go. No cheating here – we want to have an overview of how many clothes we own.
Question(s) to ask
In my post about minimalism, I mentioned that I learned questions to ask in order to prevent me from buying things that I don’t actually need. This is definitely helpful since I have so many temptations through work. It basically comes down to 1 question, and it definitely needs some practice. It’s creating awareness, and that often takes some time.
The question that gets you through decluttering your home when you’re holding an item in your hand: Does this make me happy? When the answer is yes – you keep it. If it’s a no, or doubtful – chuck it. It’s that simple.
The question that helps while shopping when you’re holding an item in your hand: Do I LIKE it or LOVE it?
When you like the item – smile at it, and put it back.
When you love it, it’s time for the follow-up question: Do I NEED it?
This answer gives you the corresponding action.
Are these questions not really working for you? Read this blog post for some additional questions to ask to get your answer.
Getting to work
In this process it is important to give value to every object; we need to estimate with care and love, without thinking about waste. The objective is to get more order and peace in your life and that starts today in your closet. Ideally, you have done all your laundry for your clothes, so you can collect everything you have. We’re going to work per category (clothes), not per room. So now you got the basics, and it’s time to push on. Continue reading on how to declutter your wardrobe step-by-step.
Summary:
- Ideally, you have done all your laundry for your clothes
- Envision your perfect closet (space). How does it feel and what does it look like?
- Focus on the items you want to keep – focus on the positive
- Don’t let the family involve
Do you have some items in mind that you definitely want to keep?
Thank you for reading.
We’re in this together.
~
