Does the chill in the air
have you looking for your sweaters and your heavier clothes? What are you going
to do with those summer tank tops and shorts? This month’s 1380 Clutter
Challenge will help you - we are going to end crowded closets with five steps.
Step one: have a fashion show! Put on
some upbeat music and maybe pour yourself a glass a wine. For the next few
hours you’re going to work the runway.
Try on everything and check out how you
look with a full-length mirror. Power-up your session with the help of a friend
who is not afraid to tell you how something looks on you. Another option is to
hire an image consultant who can help you develop your own brand. Or hire a
professional organizer who can take you from culling your collection, to the
closet design, and to putting it all together in the implementation.
Regardless of the type of
help you enlist, it is worth your time to think about what you want your clothes
to say about you. Focus on what
message you want your clothes to convey and, voilà, you have a strategy for creating
your wardrobe. Clothes that do not convey your intended message are prime
candidates to discard. Other items to discard are
·
The clothes you
haven’t worn in over a year,
·
The clothes that
look faded, worn or are in disrepair,
·
The clothes that
just don’t flatter you,
·
The clothes that
are uncomfortable and
·
The clothes that
leave you saying “bleh.”
If you feel out of sorts in an
outfit, that feeling will be projected into everything you do. The clothes you
keep in your wardrobe should fuel your confidence.
As you are going through
your clothes, a little voice in your head might be saying something like -
·
I paid good
money for that!
·
I’ll lose 10
pounds and I can wear that again.
·
So it’s a little
worn - I can wear it around the house.
·
It’ll come back
in style.
·
This has been my
go-to shirt since college.
This is where a helper can
remind you that –
·
The money is
spent. Holding on to the item will not make the money return.
·
After weight
gain and loss, our bodies are shaped differently than before.
·
How do you feel
in worn out clothes? How would you feel if someone saw you in that item?
·
Yes it might
come back in style, but when it does it will it be stylish on you?
·
Your life is a
lot different than it was in college. Reflect that in your clothes.
Many of our reasons for
keeping clothes that are better discarded are based on a desire to not be
wasteful. However the reasoning is faulty. Clothing that is not being worn
wastes the space it takes up being stored, and it is a waste of purpose when
that clothing could be used by someone else. Consider the good that can be done
by discarding your items in a responsible way.
There are many organizations
that do significant good in our community and whose work is facilitated by donations
of clothing. Some, like the Scholarshop
and The Resale Shop of the National Council
of Jewish Women, take higher quality donations.
·
Women’s work
attire can be donated to Dress
for Success.
·
Formal wear –
and that fine collection of bridesmaid dresses – can be donated to the Cinderella Project.
·
Wedding dresses
can be donated to Brides
Against Breast Cancer.
·
Shoes can be
donated to the Shoeman Water Project.
·
Drop off
clothing donations for Goodwill and Salvation Army at several collection points
throughout the city.
·
Donation Town picks up donations for
several organizations.
·
Recycle clothes
that have seen better days by giving them to Remains.
Clothing that is in
excellent condition and on trend can be consigned at a shop or sold
online. Should you choose the
latter, it is good to do some research into how to sell items.
After culling through your
clothes you should be left with the clothing that is in sync with your
lifestyle and your brand. The clothing that you discard can be put to good use
by supporting community philanthropy or bringing you a little extra money
through consignment or online sales. Amazingly, just a few hours of work can
reap great rewards.
Now that your wardrobe has
been whittled down to the best and the brightest, we’ll need to think about how
to store it. Stay tuned for the next step of the 1380 Clutter Challenge:
analyze your space and storage needs.
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