We are in February. Wait, let me say that again. WE ARE IN FEBRUARY! Soon we’ll be packing away our snow boots and planning our veggie gardens. Being a southern girl, I can’t wait. One snow is all I need, then I start dreaming about breezy gazebos and cool Mojitos with fresh mint leaves. Not clothing inventory.
But back to reality. Before we can plan our capsule wardrobe for Spring & Summer, we need to clean out our closets. Colette’s Wardrobe Architect challenge offers some great suggestions on how to tackle this, but first we need to set aside some time. An inventory will probably not be a quick and easy task; at least for me, I know it will take a day or two. So, schedule a date with your closet, and let’s get started.
My plan of action is to designate 4 boxes labeled keep, give-way, sentimental, & mend.
The mend pile is easy – items you love but which need repairing. In cleaning out my closet, I found a pair of Gap chino shorts in need of a new button and 2 adorable (brand new, never worn) maxi sundresses that need to be shortened a few inches.
The sentimental pile isn’t so difficult, either, unless you struggle with hoarding tendencies. This category includes garments you do not intend to wear but they hold special meaning to you. We’re talking high school varsity jackets, wedding gowns, NOT the dress you wore to your second cousin’s wedding and you just can’t part with it because she was your favorite cousin from childhood. The few sentimental clothing items I’m keeping are sealed in garment bags and reside in our condo storage unit.
The keep and give-away piles can be tricky. There are many ideas floating around about how to edit your wardrobe. If you haven’t worn it in a year, let it go. If you never feel confident when wearing it, toss it. And so on. But I say keep it simple. These are the questions I used when purging my closet:
- Do I love it?
- Does it fit?
- Is it flattering?
- Have I worn it during the past year?
- Is it in style?
You can also download Colette’s inventory worksheet if you need more guidance.
When we downsized from our big suburban house to a city condo, the biggest sacrifice was closet space. I went from a huge, California Closet customized walk-in to what you see below. I graciously gave the larger closet to my husband. In a way, this is good, as it is forcing me to simplify my wardrobe. But even after a ruthless edit, my closet has become cluttered once again.
After a day of strong coffee and Lifetime movies playing in the background, here’s the outcome.
It may not look all that thrilling, but I’m very pleased with my editing. I have room to the right to hang just a few longer dresses and coats. Then I designated the top rack for Summer and the bottom one for Winter. As for the shelves on the left, I used two for Winter clothes (sweaters, pants, shirts), two for Summer (tanks, tees, shorts, lightweight sweaters, & several sundresses), and two for shoes. I probably tossed half of my tee shirts. I whittled my shorts down to just those that I wear the most. I kept ONE pair of black leggings for cold weather and ONE pair of cropped black leggings for warmer weather. I wanted all the clothes I NEVER wear gone, so I’d have room to add only items that I love, love, love!
It CAN be done – and I believe – with an accompanying sense of liberation.
