Spring cleaning time! Next Monday is the official first day of Spring. Let's get our butts in gear and declutter the house together. For the next month, I am going to tackle a new area of the house each week. Wish me luck! Let me know how your de-cluttering mission is going in the comments. What is a minimalist wardrobe? What does a well-organized closet even look like? These were the questions circling my mind as I browsed the internet, reading endless blogs on minimalist living. My philosophy on buying clothes up until this point in my life has been: ‘the cheaper the better.’ Thrift stores have been my specialty. After all, I was paying off those student loans! But now I see the flaw. When you buy cheap, you buy a LOT. Basic fact: I have too many clothes. And they aren't even high quality! There are a variety of approaches to clearing out a cluttered clothes closet. Everyone has a method they swear by. Below are a few of my favorites. 4 Methods That Helped Me Clean Out My Clothing Closet 1. KonMari Method: The first step in Marie Kondo’s method is taking everything out of your closet and drawers. Build your own clothing mountain. Then, carefully select each item from the pile one-by-one. Hold the piece in your hands and ask yourself, “Does this item bring me joy? Does this item fit?” Ask yourself, “Will I wear this in the next month?” If the answer to any of these questions is no, it goes to the donation center. (http://tidyingup.com/) 2. Capsule Wardrobe: In the blog Unfancy, I learned about this method of keeping your clothing quantities under control. Developed by Susie Faux, the idea is to build a small wardrobe of clothes that all coordinate together. The original idea was to build 5 outfits out of maybe 12 items and that’s it. Others have expanded this limit but the general rules still apply. Rather than a closet of 10 colors, you build a small collection of neutrals with 1-2 accent colors. Or if you love color, you choose a few to focus on and choose pieces that go well together. In all, you have only about 30 items and they all coordinate in a variety of cute outfits. (http://www.un-fancy.com/) 3. Project 333: Similar to the capsule wardrobe, you commit to wearing the same 33 items for 3 months in a row. First, pick your 33 items. This includes clothing, accessories, jewelry, and shoes. Then, put everything else you own away. Lock it up, hide it away. Project 333 is more of a therapeutic and eye-opening experiment since Courtney from Be More with Less doesn't demand that you donate everything else immediately. (http://bemorewithless.com/project-333/) 4. Plan your ideal wardrobe on paper: This was my method of choice. Without even opening your closet or a single drawer, make a list of what you would include in your ideal wardrobe. Split it into categories: What dress pants do you need? What jeans? What dresses? What undergarments? What casual clothing? Write it all out and feel free to add details of specific items from your closet that you know you want to keep. Once you are done documenting everything you feel you need in your wardrobe, begin the purge. My Closet Clean-Out I originally began sorting my closet using the KonMari method, but it wasn’t working. I still had too many things! So I switched to the “Plan your wardrobe on paper” plan. And I loved it! More detail on Method #4: Once you have created your list of ideal items for your wardrobe, take a deep breath and open the doors to your closet to see the wonder of a mess you have created. Take it all in. Appreciate that your closet will NEVER have to look this messy again. And begin. Move everything out of the closet and place it on your bed or in piles on the floor. (This is a good time to dust and vacuum that closet, BTW). Once you have removed every stray sock, replace the items on your list. ONLY the items on your list. No cheating! I recommend printing out your list so that you can mark things off as you go. One by one, put the articles of clothing in their proper place. Once everything has been carefully hung and/or folded, take a look at the mess still cluttering your bedroom. You will be amazed by the number of items left over. Of course, at this point in the clothing purge process you will inevitably come across an item or two that pull at your heart. You immediately gasp as you grab a particularly sentimental item, “Oh I LOVE that shirt, I can’t give it up!” And you clutch the beloved item to your chest. But let’s pause. Ask yourself, if you love this item so much, why did you forget to add it your list? And when is the last time you wore it anyway? If you really do wear it all the time and want it, keep it in there. It’s your closet! It’s your choice. But really consider each extra item carefully. (This may have been the Lorillee Lippincot method but I can’t quite remember where I the initial idea came from. http://lovingsimpleliving.com/) Reality Check Does my closet actually look like this? Most of the time, yes. As mentioned in Entry #2, I am still having trouble getting my laundry routines under control. Usually for a few days there are a few extra items on the floor to the right of what you see in the last image. And I still can't bring myself to actually fold my pajamas after every use. I'll get there.
4 Comments
deborah
3/16/2017 06:36:30 pm
“'Will I wear this in the next month?' If the answer to any of these questions is no, it goes to the donation center."
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True! I live in Madison, WI and agree 100%. I sorted out all of my fall/winter/spring items this week. I've found most items that I kept work for all seasons (with layering). I have one separate bin with summer or holiday-specific items (Christmas Sweaters!). Since I keep the bin in a separate closet I was able to really focus on what I am using now. Great point!
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Simone
3/25/2017 05:29:12 pm
I love this post, thanks Kendra, it's really helpful. And I love how your closet looks. Sista Love from Australia x
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Anji
4/22/2017 06:44:15 pm
I used the Kon Mari method & decided to keep 30 items for summer/spring & another 30 for autumn/winter. I sorted my clothes into summer/spring & autumn/winter but it didn't work so put them by category as I layer my clothes, singlets 4 summer often get worn in autumn & winter instead of thermals. Love your waredrobe shelves on the side
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My name is Kendra and in 2017, I'm giving minimalism a go. Follow me as I work to declutter my house, my diet and my finances.
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