Congratulations. You’ve made the decision to clean out your closet! Perhaps it has been a long while since you’ve gone through everything. When helping women edit their wardrobe, I find that time and time again, letting go of what no longer works can be difficult, if not overwhelming. Here is one strategy that can make
‘parting with old stuff’ easier to manage :
In terms of letting go of stuff, there are 3 basic statements that clothing will fall into:
“I Will Never Wear This,” “Return to Sender,” and “Find a Better Home”
I encourage women to start with the easiest group first:
“I Will Never Wear This”
When you get these clothes out of your closet, you can begin to see what you have.
You will find them in the far reaches of your closet. Either to the left or right of your ‘Working Wardrobe,” or in the back, or on the floor. They are the ones covered in dust, crushed/wrinkled, or sometimes brand new with the tags still on.
By their position in your closet you know in your heart that you will never wear them again, or they never worked in the first place. Take a deep breath and take them out of the closet. Sort them into:
- 1.) What you no longer wear, that someone else might like! Bag them up for a swap or for your favorite organization’s clothing drive.
- 2.) Yes, the rags and damaged clothing need to go! You will never fix them. Surprisingly, many organizations like HOPE, Goodwill, etc. take these clothes and get money from industries who turn them into the rags they are.
“Return to Sender”
We all buy things that we love. And sometimes we purchase gifts that we should really keep for ourselves, but instead, we give them to others who do not look like us. This is the “Return to Sender” category; someone choose this for you because they love it, and you love their thoughtfulness, but not the item. (This also happens when you shop with girlfriends who do not look like you. They encourage you to purchase clothing that looks good on them and not on you. The next time you see your friend, you might say ” you know we bought this together and I really liked it better on you. Would you like to have it?”)
“Find a Better Home”
Clean your closet: Find a better home.
Every closet has those items of clothing that don’t work for us and yet, we are emotionally attached. Either the clothing was an expensive mistake, or it represents a time on our lives when we were happier, or, some other fondness. For those things, finding a better home, and someone who will love it as much as we do is the answer. When we find the person who can wear it better, we will at least be closer to acknowledging that the clothing is no longer right. We will also have the satisfaction of seeing that outfit go to it’s “rightful owner.” If we insist on buying that same style again, we might as well just ship it to her directly with a note saying
“I bought this for YOU!”
It is time to face the music, the “Will Never Wear”, or “Return to Sender”, and “Find a Better Home” clothes need to go. They are cluttering up your closet and getting in the way of the clothes that will work for you; “Your Working Wardrobe.” As you find new homes for what you are ready to let go, through charities, re-gifting, or returning them to the original owner, your generosity will be rewarded. You are letting go and making room for some really nice things to come your way. Open your hand and heart to others and they will do the same. Now, BREATHE AGAIN! You are well on your way to having a wardrobe that works for you!
