I have really good intentions of accomplishing this, so this post will act as some sort of mental accountability on my part. Here are a few thoughts on how I plan to tackle it and keep it under control:
I'm going to purge ruthlessly. All sentiments out the window!I'm keeping only those pieces that I absolutely love and know that I will wear on a regular basis. If something doesn’t fit, has holes, missing buttons, out of style, etc., it's going. All those 'Oh, I might wear this with . . .' pieces are gone. Tossing them!
Each piece will have a fate. Just because I'm pulling it out doesn’t necessarily mean it'll meet the garbage dump or wind up at Goodwill. And if you’re like me, you might have a couple of different sizes you're hanging on to, some stuff that you just really, really liked at one time and have dreams of fitting into again. Well, regardless, they're still taking up space. If I come across something that I'm determined to hang onto for memory sake then it's going into a storage bin of ‘used to fit me' clothing. Likewise, any torn or stained pieces in need of a little TLC that I know I will truly spend time salvaging, will go in another bin. No exceptions. None.
Minimizing my losses. Purging my closet won't be a complete monetary loss. Because you know what they say. One gal's junk is another gal's treasure . . . Hopefully most items, even some shoes and accessories, can be taken to a consignment shop (wash, pressed if really wrinkled and hung), sold in an upcoming yard-sale, or if my tech savvy daughters are willing, sold on Craigslist, eBay or Facebook. And speaking of consignment . . . my sister-in-law, Kristi, has a shop in town called Wee Cycled & New to You . Wee Cycled is for the kiddos and New to You is for you ladies. So if you're ready to undertake a little purging yourself or just ready for new piece or two at a great price, check it out!
Making sure it's worth my time. Once I've tackled the beast I'll have to continue to keep things in order. This will be the long term goal. The plan this weekend is to create a no-fail system that will be easy to maintain. Things like color matching will help for sure. And hanging tops here, pants there, etc. will help also. For example, I already do that with my black pants and jeans. I’ve heard it said that I tend to wear ‘funeral attire’ to work. But for me personally, I feel black is super easy to coordinate and work with when striving for a professional office atmosphere. So it’s easier for me to separate work attire (black pants) from my tops and my weekend/casual items. Also, I keep my clothes in a closet instead of dresser drawers. This creates an easier visual of what I actually have and makes it easier to grab something, plus helps prevent wrinkles and ironing.
Being persistent with the contents. Once I've managed to purge and trim things down, keeping things I truly love and will wear repeatedly, I need to keep it that way. And when I do buy something new I normally try to choose quality over quantity already. I mean I love a sale as well as the next person, but I try really hard to resist the urge to buy into the latest ‘fad’ or a 'this might work' piece simply because it’s on sale. I've found that I'm much better off buying ONE piece that I really, really love than TEN that are cheap and out of style before the next season rolls around. Yes, been there - done that. This helps explain the need for my weekend to be spent purging.
Re-evaluate regularly. Yep, the idea will be to re-assess, re-sort, and re-evaluate my closet every season to see what still fits, what's in good shape, how much dust it's accumulated, etc. And as the seasons shift I'll likely need to remove and/or switch out some items based upon our wacky Tennessee weather. But most importantly, I'll need to keep reminding myself why I purged in the first place and stick to my guns!
So? What about you? Do you ever buy things just because they’re irresistible or on clearance only to find that you don’t really like them after all? Have you ever been brave enough to purge your own closet down to the bare essentials? Do you manage to keep your closet organized? If so, what’s your trick? I'd love to know. Besides, surely I’m not the only one with a closet FULL of clothes I haven’t worn in ... a while?
And just one more thing ladies - a friendly reminder . . .
Later ;)
Shelia
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