How to Gain Freedom by Letting Go of Most of Your Clothes
Cleaning out my closet was a little scary. I’ve got to be honest. I had to try on clothes that used to fit- ugg. Which is disappointing. It’s like swimsuit shopping with your whole closet. But once I truly tackled my closet and dealt with all the emotions, I found freedom.
So, let me give you a little of my backstory, I’ve never been a crazy clothing shopper. I’m not a fashionista. But my closet seemed to magically fill up even when I didn’t go clothes shopping. I have been given hand-me-down clothes all my life and I would go clearance shopping and buy random items. I love deals, and I used to buy super cheap clothes that I liked, but didn’t love.
My size has changed from having my two kids, so I have clothes in a variety of sizes which adds to the full closet. You know, I have kept those clothes I really want to be able to fit into someday, but when you try them on you can’t get them past your thighs. I don’t think I consciously thought that my closet made me feel bad about myself, but after I started going through it, it did.
At that point, I realized that I wanted to only keep clothes that made me feel good about myself and as Marie Kondo would say ‘spark joy.’ In the past, I would go through my closet and get rid of stuff, and then I kept bringing in more clothes that I didn’t actually love.
If you have been avoiding the process of purging your wardrobe, I feel you. By addressing the reason why you feel like you have nothing to wear in your full closet, you can find freedom. You will be able to have a closet full of clothes you love and keep it that way.
4 Steps to Let Go and Have a Closet You Love
ONE
It is so easy to look at clothing and want to keep them because it was expensive, someone gave it to you, or it was sentimental. Guilt is no fun and should have no room in our closets. Instead of making excuses about why you should keep it, look at each item of clothing you own and decide if it makes you feel good when you wear it. If it doesn’t, donate it.
This was my ah-ha moment. I won a free pair of LuLaRoe leggings that were in a too small size. If you don’t know about these leggings, they are super soft and expensive. I would never normally buy them, so I felt like I should keep them. They fit me when I stood up, but when I sat or bent over, it cut into my gut and was uncomfortable. The leggings made me feel overweight, which is no fun. I was keeping a pair of leggings just because they were expensive, even though I felt like crap when I would wear them and see them in my closet.
Can you relate? What are you keeping because you have guilt about getting rid of it?
TWO
When I started to really look at my closet, I realized that I kept on to clothes for all these what-if scenarios. Like if I lose weight, I will fit into these pants (even though they are ten years old). Do I really want to keep these items for that long and will I love them years from now? Probably not.
Instead of holding onto our clothes as a security blanket, let’s be generous and let others enjoy the clothes we don’t love. This mindset shift gave me a reason to purge my closet. By giving my clothes away to people I know and to organizations that I want to support, made this process easier for me. I want my stuff going to a good home.
THREE
Cutting out 90% of your closet might make you think you won’t have anything to wear, but evaluate what you actually wear. Do you have a hard time choosing clothes in the morning? It’s probably because you have more clothes that you don’t like than clothes that you love.
FOUR
It is so easy to buy clothes for retail therapy or because it is on sale. If we keep repeating our old patterns, our closets are going to be full again in no time with clothes that don’t fit right and are just ok. Be ruthless. Make a pact with yourself that you will only buy what you truly love even if it is a great deal. Just say no.
By buying less you are saving time and money. This is a win-win scenario, but you have to stick to your guns.
By changing the way we think about our clothing and our possessions, we are able to get rid of what is weighing us down. It is so easy to accumulate stuff. Let’s change our mindset and start loving what we look like right now while having a closet full of clothes we love.
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