and I owe it to this book: "Scaling Down: Living Large in a Smaller Space" by Judi Culbertson and Marj Decker. It's about downsizing, organizing, decluttering - and it just makes sense. I was totally blown away by the chapter on clothes - so much so that I could not WAIT to get my hands on my closet. Isn't that just nuts? Anyway, I carted out over 50 items from my closet (there's plenty left, don't you worry!). The floor of my decent sized closet was jammed with stuff, the hangers were jammed together, and yet I seemed to spend every morning thinking how much I disliked my clothes and had nothing to wear. Sound familiar? (I feel like an infomercial for this book, but I swear, it's awesome - and I'm not even halfway through!). Anyway, the authors talk about critically examining your clothes to really decide what to keep. I found that I kept a lot of so-so clothes because 1. you can never have too many white (or black) shirts, or 2. it was my favorite shirt (3 years ago, when I still had the baby weight - or was pregnant!), 3. it carried good memories, even though I didn't like the article of clothing itself anymore. So with these affirmations in mind, I tackled the closet and dresser:
Repeat after me and you can do the same-
"This does not look good on me."
"This is too tight (or loose)."
"This makes me feel frumpy."
"I already have three white shirts."
"I don't even like to wear skirts (or shorts, or sweaters)."
"I just don't like the way it looks, even though it fits."
"This is no longer in style."
"I do not have to wear this because it was a gift (or free, or cost $50)."
"This has a stain, or a tear, or a button missing (that's been missing since the Reagan administration)." and go tackle your own closets! (I did literally say these things out loud as I was sorting). It feels SOOOO good to look into my closet and see the back again, not to mention the wads of professional and dress clothes I just gave away on Freecycle (three responses within ten minutes - who knew that many people were trolling for clothes at 10:30 pm?)
With what was left, I took my favorite clothes and moved them to the front. Now when I look into my closet, I only see the clothes I love. Turns out I really only have five good pairs of dress pants and three pairs of jeans, about a dozen long-sleeved shirts, and three sweaters. That's the bulk of what I wear everyday anyway - now it's just easier to get to. I also found out that my favorite clothing share characteristics, which is going to make it easier to shop. For example, I can no longer tolerate pants that come anywhere near my belly button. However, I also only like shirts that come down wll past my waist. I used to be exactly the opposite, but since I lost the baby weight, my curves are different and I can now dress to accommodate (and accentuate!) that. Begone, high waisted pants! Adios, cropped tops! It sounds silly, but I was holding on to a lot of clothing simply because it used to look good on me, even though I had to admit that I hadn't like the way it fit in a long time.
As for sentimental favorites, I decided to get rid of my wedding shoes, the dress I wore to my bridal shower, and the sweater I wore when I told my family I was expecting ds1. The sole reason I held on to any of these was the memories, but I have the memories in my head and in pictures - no need any longer to clutter the closet. Phew. It really does feel good. Now I have to decide what's next...
My closet ROCKS!
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I'd love to have one of those nice closets that you see in Martha Stewart magazines some day. Those kind of shelving systems cost quite a bit of money, but I haven't seen the book you've mentioned yet.
Er... yes, I am a guy! No, I didn't just say I like Martha Stewart magazines!
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