Project Closet De-Cluttering

Closet Fashion Analysis: 

Minimize and De-Clutter

During this COVID19 time of limited careful contact and distancing, most charitable organizations are curtailing or at the very least limiting clothing donations. Call your charity to find out about their policy.

Our self-isolation time provides an opportunity for getting our clothing donations ready. Very often I have procrastinated with the process because there are other tasks taking up my time. I really do not have any excuses not to de-clutter my closet now when I am staying in.

This last winter I sent off two full-length camel coats and several skirted suits to Dress for Success, the organization that helps women with their wardrobe needs when returning to the work force. I still have some old favourites that I am finding difficult to let go and so this may be the time to cull, sew on a missing button and clean my future donations.

NEED

You can visit your chosen charity's website or call to see what your location requires. When I called during the winter, they needed all categories of winter outerwear, classics such as simple tops and dark trousers and although they accept all sizes, they had a particular need for larger sizes. Owing to my past career, this charitable organization, whose mandate is to collect donations of business attire and accessories to supply women, who are experiencing financial difficulty, with the professional wardrobes needed to make them look and feel their best while job hunting and beginning a new job, is a perfect fit for me. I'm ready to let go of all of those items.

Prepare 6 large bags or boxes and label them: Donate to charity, Give to a friend or family member, Garage sale/Online sales, Throw Out, Mend, Remodel or Clean, Keep. Or just go through your closet with a Donation box and never mind the rest. Sometimes having to make too many decisions will keep you from focused de-cluttering time. 

I like to concentrate on one thing at a time. Last spring before I left for France, I invited a niece who is presently working in management to raid the closet and she did. What amazed me is that I hardly noticed the difference and have already forgotten what she took. Now I am ready to donate. 

NECESSARY

1. Items have to be current and clean. 

My question is what is current? In business dress - a good quality white shirt is timeless, a blazer of medium length - not too short, not to long - can span several years. A good pair of trousers, not too wide and not a skinny fit are also timeless. Accessories? A scarf is a scarf. Colours that are basic - black, camel, navy, grey - these are not easily dated. I do understand that an 80s suit with football size shoulder pads and mid-calf skirts are dated. But I have a navy tuxedo shawl collared blazer that I still wear and still enjoy wearing. I bought it in 2011. 2011 is not current. And I'm keeping the shirt you see on the left which I also bought a good while ago.

So rather, I like to follow my definition of classic because classic, no matter how old, can be current.

If you would not wear it because of a stain on the sleeve, you should not expect anyone else to. Stained clothing ends up in my "housework" clothes drawer and if I have too many pieces, I give the 100% cotton things to a woodworker friend.

2. Items have to be in wearable condition. 

But of course. This seems rather obvious. And now is the perfect time to sew on a button or teach your children how to sew on a button, to repair a falling hem, to stitch a seam that came apart. Rips and tears pretty much should be thrown out because repairs can cost more than what the item is worth.

3. Items should be seasonally appropriate. 

Many charitable locations have limited storage space and so you should donate summer clothes and winter clothing in their relative seasons. Heavy coats, mittens, gloves, scarves and boots are all appreciated by charity volunteers because we don't own as many of these things and we wear them longer, therefore fewer are donated. Do the same for anything you want to try to sell online. You will get a better price selling a pair of Tory Burch boots in winter than in summer.

NO THANKS 

Now you're ready to take a closet inventory and ask yourself the following questions. Your answers will help you determine which box it belongs in.

When was the last time I wore this? A year or more, get rid of it.

Why am I not wearing it? It doesn't fit right; it hangs funny; I just don't like it anymore; my lifestyle has changed. If it doesn't feel right when you try it on, chances are it will not feel right the next time you try it on either. Any one of these responses is reason enough to get rid of it.

Happy Closet De-Cluttering! 

😃Spring 2021 Update: Does dis-order in your life overwhelm you? Changing Spaces by Design has recently published a guided journal with inspiring affirmations, suggested daily strategies to create clutter-free spaces, time management recommendations, and charts to record your project. Shirley B says, "I embarked on the process and am pleased to say that it really does work. I put my stuff in order, found stuff I had forgotten I owned, and got rid of stuff I no longer need (that is somebody else’s stuff now). The result – I know what I have, and where to find it. Amazing!"

You can check out their launch page at 30 Day Journal to Triumph Over Clutter.

A Clothing Strategy for COVID19 Inspired Staying at Home

Closet Content Analysis:

 Dressing for your Emotional Health

I have always been a proponent of dressing appropriately and this time of self-isolation to avoid COVID19 is no different.

Knowing you are not going out at all during the day may lead you to do the easiest and in relation to clothing, that means putting on your sweats and staying in them all day. “Why not?” you rationalize, “you have no one to impress.”

The consequence of that is lethargy and laziness. Now you don’t shower, you stay in your pyjamas until noon or don’t change at all and then crawl into bed. One day out of the week may be good for your mental health – a day of rest. Do that for a few days in a row and you may end up disgusted with yourself.

Hopefully you have not resorted to this kind of behaviour and are keeping positive and healthy throughout this inconvenient, albeit necessary time to stay at home.

NECESSARY

Purely from a mental and emotional health perspective, there may be some benefit for changing clothing relative to activity. Try it, you might feel a little boost in your disposition.

1.     Think about your day as if you were leaving the house to go to work.

2.     Follow your morning routine – shower, hair, shave or make-up.

3.     Dress for your day – let’s call them your “day clothes”. Are you working at home? Obviously you can be more casual but still, choose an outfit, one that if you do see someone during the day, you would not be embarrassed to greet them (remembering social distance). For me, a pair of cropped pants, a t-shirt and my flip-flops – this is extreme casualness for me and I would never go to work this way but it is better than sweats.

4.     Change your “day clothes” everyday. You probably don’t wear the same thing to work each day, so change up your wardrobe staying at home.

5.     Maintain some form of exercise and change into your workout clothing, then change back into your “day clothes”.

6.     Need to do some cleaning or de-cluttering (future blog post on this)? Change into your cleaning clothing. You don’t want to splash bleach on your favourite blue jeans or shirt or get all dusty unpacking forgotten boxes from your last move.

7.     Now for something completely different: (borrowed from Victorian times) – change for dinner. “What’s that?” you ask. Doing it everyday might be a bit much but occasionally, dress-up for your evening meal, even if it is just adding a favourite necklace or bracelet. Shut the TV, turn off your phone, put on your favourite music and eat your dinner – even if you are alone. Enjoy every morsel in the now and have that peace found in mindfulness.

Happy coping and know that you are doing your part for the slowdown of this virus through your self-imposed quarantine and positive attitude.

Leave a comment letting us know if this is making a little difference in your day.

😃Spring 2021 Update: Does dis-order in your life overwhelm you? Changing Spaces by Design has recently published a guided journal with inspiring affirmations, suggested daily strategies to create clutter-free spaces, time management recommendations, and charts to record your project. Shirley B says, "I embarked on the process and am pleased to say that it really does work. I put my stuff in order, found stuff I had forgotten I owned, and got rid of stuff I no longer need (that is somebody else’s stuff now). The result – I know what I have, and where to find it. Amazing!"

You can check out their launch page at 30 Day Journal to Triumph Over Clutter.