A little while ago I shared that I was going to be trying a new way to clean out my closet, and that is well under way. I had done the KonMari method (famous from the book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up) and found that it was helpful, but I’m not the type of person to want to gather all of my clothes in one spot and deal with everything at once like the book suggests – hello, overwhelming! Instead, I’m gradually switching over to pretty velvet hangers, piece by piece, as I wear an item. Everything else has to stay on its plastic hanger until it is worn.
So how’s it going? First of all, check out how many plastic hangers remain on the clothing rack in my office… I never thought I could live with a capsule wardrobe, but the longer this goes on, the more I realize that I gravitate to the same pieces time after time. There are far more hangers I haven’t yet switched out than ones I have, so my closet is a sea of mismatched plastic hangers and velvet hangers. It’s not the prettiest, but it is making me rethink a lot of my purchases. I don’t like to try clothes on in stores so I do a lot of online shopping, but now instead of thinking I will wear something “someday,” if I can’t see myself wearing it in the foreseeable future, even if I like it, back to the store it goes.
I’ve found that looking in my closet each day and deciding what to wear is making me get rid of things easier, too. If I can’t see myself wearing it soon, or it doesn’t fit right or doesn’t look good right now, into the giveaway bag it goes. Last weekend I donated three trash bags full of clothes! My hope is that by the end of the spring/summer season, I will have a much better idea of what I need to keep and what I can toss, and that my daily getting ready process will be cut down by quite a bit. That’s not to say I won’t partake in seasonal trends, like off-the-shoulder tops and dresses, but I will (hopefully!) be much more organized about it.
I’ll check in again in a little while and share how this project is coming along!
Changing hangers to keep track of what you’re wearing is such a great idea!
My new mantra is “do I feel great in it?” If the answer is no, into the giveaway bag it goes. We are on day 20 of a 30 day de-clutter project. We don’t do it every day but we are making great progress!