After doing laundry all day, I finally decided this is the time for me to cut down on my clothes. First of all, I hate doing laundry. Second, I really don’t wear a lot of my clothes. I needed to give them away or, if they couldn’t be saved, throw them out.
I share my small apartment with five other girls, and my personal space is very small. This, combined with my hate of laundry, pushed me over the edge for cutting down. Besides, I want to be minimalistic. Isn’t this one of the first, scary steps?
As I began deciding if I needed certain items of clothing or not, I started to feel good. Some clothes were painful to get rid of, and I put a few things in a maybe pile. Within the last few days, though, I ended up putting almost all of my maybe pile in the donating box.
I love being able to look at my closet and see all the extra space. In the morning, I know that any top that I pull out, I’ll love. It makes getting ready in the morning faster, and I feel more confidence throughout the day because I’m wearing an outfit I know I love.
I’m learning that quality over quantity is ideal. Would I rather have three tops I kind of like or one that I feel complete confidence in? Obviously, that one top is worth it. That also means I’m more willing to spend money on clothing that I know I’ll love. This may seem expensive, but I’m actually saving money in the long run, and the experience is so much better throughout. I can’t count all the clothes that I bought and never wore. Those are the money sucking clothes, not the really nice outfit that is a little pricey.
My process
My process was really simple. I didn’t have an exact number for how many clothes I wanted to keep, but it was somewhere around halfway. Hopefully, I’ll continue to cut down my wardrobe more as I gain better quality items. I want to eventually be able to live out of a suitcase. That may not be for a while, though. I took all of my clothes out of my drawers so I didn’t get caught at the end with a lot of clothes I had missed and a lot more kept than I wanted.
To start this project, I took all of my clothes out of my drawers so I didn’t get caught at the end with a lot of clothes I had missed. I began going through them, placing them in either a no pile or folding them for the keep pile. I soon discovered that making quick decisions was most effective for me. I stuck with my gut, and it took me most of the way.
For the few things I really couldn’t decide on, I ended up creating a maybe pile. I soon realized, though, that if I was having such a hard time making decisions for those items, I really didn’t love them enough to let them take up closet space. Most of those went into the no pile.
As I was considering the items I went through a mental list of questions to test them.
- Do I wear this often?
- Do I feel confident in it?
- Do I look forward to wearing it?
- Does it fit my style?
These questions helped me make quick decisions and cut down my wardrobe significantly. I ended up cutting it by about half the clothes. Watch the video below for a better visual of how I sorted things.
What I learned
There are so many different methods to cutting down on stuff, but ultimately it doesn’t matter how you get there. The point is to minimalize the things that don’t matter so much and maximize the things that do. Spend less money on clothes and more time with family. See the difference?
In the few days since I minimalized my wardrobe, I have experienced less stress about my clothing. I like my clothing to be practical, but we all know that feeling when you are self-conscious about your outfit. You fidget all the time and are constantly checking to make sure you look okay. Wearing clothes I love, I didn’t even think about my clothes. I was able to focus on experiences more.
In the future, I plan on continually having these closet revamps. Also, I am motivated to controlling myself when clothes shopping. I will be more mindful of what I’m getting. Each item of clothing will have to pass the test just like my closet had to this time. I’m excited for a more mindful way of living, starting with my wardrobe.
Think of your own closet now. Are there items in there that you know you don’t ever wear. Consider going through today, right now even if you can. If you can’t do the complete overhaul, at least get rid of clothes you don’t wear. Later, you can worry about discarding the ones that don’t live up to the other standards. Just do something today. You can start living more starting now.
If that doesn’t work, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TavxFipjQcU
