Minimalist Closet
Happy Friday!
It's that time of year again...decluttering! One of my summer goals was to go through every single nook and cranny of the house to get rid of things we aren't using. I'm about 80% done and have taken one load to Goodwill and have five boxes of garage sale items. More than likely those five boxes will actually end up at Goodwill too, because keeping them around for too long just makes me want to get rid of them as fast as I can.
Anyway, I wanted to talk about closets...clothes closets. Specifically, mine. Several times a year, I go through my clothes and get rid of anything that doesn't fit or I no longer like. Another thing I always do is keep the things that I still like and "will wear someday", but sure can't remember the last time I did wear them.
So this time I decided to do something different. I took EVERYTHING OUT of my closet and put back ONLY what I have actually worn since February-ish. It was probably about a third of the clothes. I also did not put back anything that I wore, but didn't feel comfortable in when I wore it. My mission was to only keep things that make me feel good in one way or another (even if that's just for lounging). I did keep some of the random necessary things that I wear for certain occasions (you know...Elf pajamas, the sweatshirt I don't mind smelling like a campfire, the black pants I only wear to funerals, etc.)
I loved the way my closet looked after this -- so open and uncluttered!! I actually noticed how much more light was reflecting off the walls too.
As I looked at my pile of clothes that didn't make it to the closet, I felt sad for them. But, not sad enough to put them in my beautiful uncluttered closet. So, I decided to go through the pile and anything I thought I would "maybe wear someday" got sent to an empty closet in the basement (yes, I really have empty spaces in my house....several actually..and I love it). I set a reminder on my phone for 6 months from now to check in with those "prisoned" items. Anything that is still hanging there on that date, will get a free ride to Goodwill. I have a feeling 95% of them will be leaving this house. This kind of defeats the purpose of "getting rid of", since they only moved down two floor levels....but I'm trying to prove to myself that I didn't need two-thirds of my wardrobe, and in case I fail, I still have the clothes and won't need to go buy more.
Which brings me to my next point. The hardest part for me is always saying "no" to new clothes. I try to remind myself that I don't even have enough days to wear the things in my closet the way it is.....but....."Oh, that's a cute top!"
I figured out that I can't keep buying "nice" things until I actually have a legit place to wear them to. I wear yoga pants and t-shirts at work, and when I'm at home it's usually some sort of comfy athletic wear. So, those cute "nice" tops I keep buying, never get worn.
Luckily, I've never been much of a shoe person. That's one area that is pretty easy for me to keep slimmed down. I have one type of shoe for each occasion (except for my flip flops---same pair in two different colors). I only own one pair of dress shoe and I've had them for five years and bought them at Wal-mart. They get worn about once a year.
Jeans. I used to be a jeans girl, big time. I once bought five pair at the same time, even though I already had a closet full. I still love jeans, but I just don't wear them much. I have four pair plus one pair of denim capris. The jeans I do have, I almost love wearing more than yoga pants....true story.
Anyway, I decided to do this same thing with the kids' closets. With their help, we kept only the clothing items they actually wear. This was sad for me in some cases, since I bought some adorable things for them that they ended up not liking. But, I don't see any sense in keeping them in the closet if they won't wear them. I'm not going to force them to.
It really does make so much sense to only keep the items you love to wear. I tend to mostly buy solid color things that go with anything and maybe won't go "out of style" for a few years. I've also found that I can always buy Iowa State gear and NEVER go out of style :)
I'll keep you posted on my progress with the closet clean-out! By the way, has anyone ever done the project 333 or a capsule wardrobe? How did it work for you?
P.S. Ya'll are going to think we are Crazy, but we also did this similar thing with our kitchen dishes. James and I were so tired of emptying the dishwasher. It was bad. We would wait until our counter was full of dirty dishes before we would finally empty it. So, we said, "lets just use 2 plates and 2 bowls and hand wash them as soon as we are done." We are going on three months now and still loving this system! Plus, my cupboard looks like a minimalists dream! (the kids have separate dishes -- but not for long).
It's that time of year again...decluttering! One of my summer goals was to go through every single nook and cranny of the house to get rid of things we aren't using. I'm about 80% done and have taken one load to Goodwill and have five boxes of garage sale items. More than likely those five boxes will actually end up at Goodwill too, because keeping them around for too long just makes me want to get rid of them as fast as I can.
Anyway, I wanted to talk about closets...clothes closets. Specifically, mine. Several times a year, I go through my clothes and get rid of anything that doesn't fit or I no longer like. Another thing I always do is keep the things that I still like and "will wear someday", but sure can't remember the last time I did wear them.
So this time I decided to do something different. I took EVERYTHING OUT of my closet and put back ONLY what I have actually worn since February-ish. It was probably about a third of the clothes. I also did not put back anything that I wore, but didn't feel comfortable in when I wore it. My mission was to only keep things that make me feel good in one way or another (even if that's just for lounging). I did keep some of the random necessary things that I wear for certain occasions (you know...Elf pajamas, the sweatshirt I don't mind smelling like a campfire, the black pants I only wear to funerals, etc.)
I loved the way my closet looked after this -- so open and uncluttered!! I actually noticed how much more light was reflecting off the walls too.
 |
| Before |
 |
| After Notice the difference in light??!?!?!?! |
Which brings me to my next point. The hardest part for me is always saying "no" to new clothes. I try to remind myself that I don't even have enough days to wear the things in my closet the way it is.....but....."Oh, that's a cute top!"
I figured out that I can't keep buying "nice" things until I actually have a legit place to wear them to. I wear yoga pants and t-shirts at work, and when I'm at home it's usually some sort of comfy athletic wear. So, those cute "nice" tops I keep buying, never get worn.
Luckily, I've never been much of a shoe person. That's one area that is pretty easy for me to keep slimmed down. I have one type of shoe for each occasion (except for my flip flops---same pair in two different colors). I only own one pair of dress shoe and I've had them for five years and bought them at Wal-mart. They get worn about once a year.
Jeans. I used to be a jeans girl, big time. I once bought five pair at the same time, even though I already had a closet full. I still love jeans, but I just don't wear them much. I have four pair plus one pair of denim capris. The jeans I do have, I almost love wearing more than yoga pants....true story.
Anyway, I decided to do this same thing with the kids' closets. With their help, we kept only the clothing items they actually wear. This was sad for me in some cases, since I bought some adorable things for them that they ended up not liking. But, I don't see any sense in keeping them in the closet if they won't wear them. I'm not going to force them to.
It really does make so much sense to only keep the items you love to wear. I tend to mostly buy solid color things that go with anything and maybe won't go "out of style" for a few years. I've also found that I can always buy Iowa State gear and NEVER go out of style :)
I'll keep you posted on my progress with the closet clean-out! By the way, has anyone ever done the project 333 or a capsule wardrobe? How did it work for you?
P.S. Ya'll are going to think we are Crazy, but we also did this similar thing with our kitchen dishes. James and I were so tired of emptying the dishwasher. It was bad. We would wait until our counter was full of dirty dishes before we would finally empty it. So, we said, "lets just use 2 plates and 2 bowls and hand wash them as soon as we are done." We are going on three months now and still loving this system! Plus, my cupboard looks like a minimalists dream! (the kids have separate dishes -- but not for long).
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