Spring Cleaning: Your Closet

Today we are tacking part three of my four part Spring Cleaning series. We’ve already talked about how to clean out  your mind, and body , and today we are going to focus on a more tangible area – your closet!

I tackled this one myself last Friday, and it felt soooooooooo good! I try to go through my closet once every 6 months or so and I was certainly due for a bit of a purge. Because I spend more of my days in workout wear, I don’t tend to buy a whole lot of “regular” clothes. When I do I usually do a “one-for-one” thing where I buy a new shirt and toss out an old one. Even still, I found that I had a lot of t-shirts and tops that I didn’t really like, or wear, that were taking up precious closet space. I say precious because my bedroom closet is teeny tiny.

I don’t follow the specific rules set for a capsule wardrobe, since moving here I have always tried to keep my wardrobe a manageable size (see teeny tiny closet comment above 😉 ). But I was feeling like there was still too much stuff hanging out in my closet so I went through it with a bit more determination that I usually do. Anything that was stained or ripped was out. Anything that I didn’t love I purged. Then I went through and tried everything else on. If it fit, I loved it, and it looked good – I kept it. If it didn’t pass all three criteria it went.

There are a couple things still in my closet that are a wee bit tight on me (like those two pairs of jeans I can wear as long as I don’t need to breathe at the same time), and I think it’s okay to keep a couple pieces like that around. I am working on getting my hormones/metabolism sorted back out so hopefully those jeans will fit me (while I breathe!) again soon. I also have stored away a half dozen articles of winter clothing that God willing, I won’t need again until fall.

The result? I. Am. Obsessed. With. My. Closet.

Seriously, I keep going in and looking at it like, “Ohhhhhhh, you’re so empty and spacious! I love you!” haha, it”s a bit of an issue.

In case you’re wondering, I also went through my fitness wardrobe and downsized there as much as I could. A couple friends/family members really benefited from me doing so. 😉 I wish I could downsize it even further but since I need a full set of winter and summer attire for yoga, running, zumba, teaching, etc. with about 15 changes of clothing/week – it’s a little bit harder to get to the minimum there. Yikes. But I’m pleased that everything fits in it’s designated area now without me having to push and shove and curse to get them all in there!

Now it’s your turn! Take a few minutes this evening or this weekend and take a trip through your closet asking yourself the following questions:

1. Is this stained, worn out or have holes in it?
2. Do I really like it?
3. Does it look good on me?
4. Will I wear it? (Sometimes you can like things that look good on you, but you just know you’ll never wear it)
5. Do I really love it?
6. Does it fit? If no, toss it – unless you are actively trying to lose weight and it’s a goal item for you.

Once you’ve gone through and really scrutinized your wardrobe, take all of the items you are ready to let go of and sort them into toss, donate or sell piles. Then bag them up and get rid of them as soon as possible. Once you make the decision to get rid of items it’s important to do the deed quickly. The longer they sit around waiting to go in the donation bin or the consignment shop, the more likely you are to walk by and think, “welllllllll, I do sort of like that shirt, and that skirt….and those pants….” and little by little they make their way back into your closet.

The funny thing is, when you pare down your wardrobe to the things you really love, and that fit you feel like you have more to wear – even though you really have less. Not only can you see the things you like more easily, but you may start putting them together in different ways. And since you only kept things you love and that look good on you, you’ll feel better about yourself, improve your confidence and have better self esteem.

[Tweet “Want a self esteem boost? Try cleaning out your closet!”]

And as if that wasn’t enough, If you sell some of your cast-off’s, you can take that money and invest them into a few new pieces that you adore! I picked up some cash at the consignment store when I dropped a bog off on Friday and went and bought a couple new pairs of shoes! And new shoes make everything better! 😀