Declutter Your Closet, Declutter Your SOUL
I like STUFF. Cute clothes. Cute pillows. Comfy blankets. Fun coffee mugs. I mean - does anyone else have a problem with those cute little wooden signs that have a saying for literally EVERYTHING?! I have them all of the house. So hear me in this - I am NOT a minimalist. Never was. Never will be. I am a SUCKER for all the things that Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx and Homesense have to offer. It’s important that you know that up front.
BUT….
What I have found over the years is that too much STUFF is not only detrimental to my closet, my home, my physical space but it’s also detrimental to my SOUL. I have found that when my physical space is bursting at the seams, it is hard to focus mentally and there is a sense of unsettledness in my soul. Have you ever felt that way? Let me ask you this: when you walk into your closet, how does it make you feel? For me - I felt overwhelmed. I felt chaotic. I felt a sense of dread. Like I had this big mountain that needed to be tackled but didn’t have the head space nor mental capacity to do it and so I closed the door.
When I was introduced to the concept of 27 Hangers and the Closet Outfit Planner last year, I thought to myself, ‘There is no way!’ There is no way I could consolidate my closet down to 12 Tops, 8 bottoms, 6 layering pieces and 1 dress. For real?? BUT what I have found is that over time, as I have purged and purged some more - there is peace to be found somewhere between a closet bursting at the seams and 27 Hangers. There is no magic number yet the process of clearing, deciding, purging, aligning, and simplifying is what has brought me peace. Peace to my closet. Peace to my mental capacity. Peace to my soul. So I want to share that process with you!
Step 1: CLEAR
The first step to cleaning out your closet is to literally remove every single item. This is important! When you remove every single item, you are then forced to take action on that item. Not to mention how cleansing it is to your soul to see an empty closet!!! Ahhhh….. So yes, empty everything from your closet and place it on your bed.
Step 2: DECIDE
Then go through each item and decide whether or keep, donate or toss. When deciding, ask yourself a few questions: 1) When was the last time I wore this? 2) Does it fit? 3) Does it bring me JOY? 4) Is it in my Color Code? Here is the thing - you can keep whatever you want, friend. It’s YOUR closet. BUT if you haven’t worn it in a year, it’s too big/too small but you are keeping it ‘just in case’, or it makes you looked washed out - then you are NOT doing yourself any favors. It’s time to part ways. I say that because I love you.
One quick note on Color Code. First up - if you don’t know what your Color Code is - it’s essentially all the colors that look BEST with your hair color, eye color, and skin tone. Not all colors are created equal for everyone. The goal is to choose colors that highlight your natural features BEST. If you don’t know what your Color Code is, you can take a free quiz HERE. That said - again, you get to choose! If you love something and it brings you JOY, but it’s not in your Color Code, it’s not time to part with it yet and that’s okay!!! I am still holding on to some black items that I’m just not ready to part with yet (Black for a SOFT Color Code is not recommended!) and that’s OK. Baby steps.
Also just a friendly reminder for those items you know you want to part with but are unsure of whether to donate or toss - if it’s stained in any way, frayed, damaged or just completely worn then TOSS. Unfortunately so many items get donated that really should not be and these poor non-profits have to sift through. Let’s not just dump and run, k? xoxo
Step 3: TAKE INVENTORY
More than 27 pieces but hey….I’m a work in progress!!
Okay, now that you have looked through every single item, made your decision to keep, and created all your piles - it’s time to return the KEEP items to your closet. Here is how I want you to do that. Organize your items by TYPE. Keep your tops in one section (I like to further organize by top type - sleeveless, short sleeve, long sleeve etc.), bottoms in another, laying pieces, dresses, etc. Then I want you to take inventory of what you have and see if you have any gaps. This is where the Closet Outfit Planner comes in. This is a fabulous tool to help you to identify 1) Do you have the items you need? 2) Are you aligned with your color code so that you can look and feel your best? and 3) Can you mix and match the pieces you have to create outfits that work for you? This will help you to identify if what you have works best for you. In other words, can you STRETCH the pieces that you have by mixing and matching to maximize the number of outfits you are able to create with what you have. This will help you to be more INTENTIONAL with your purchases too. Instead of grabbing a top at Target because it’s cute (which I will never tell you NOT to do BTW), you can look for a top that is a certain style and in a certain color because you can then create 5 different looks with that one top or laying piece! THIS is where the true magic resides.
Step 4: BREATHE
Friend - Now that you closet is less cluttered, your wardrobe is more intentional and brings you JOY, you can now breathe DEEP. Take a moment to take that all in. The feeling of accomplishment when you finish a project like that and know that you have not only done yourself a favor with cleaning/decluttering your physical space, but you have also shifted your internal energy and made more room in your SOUL. And when we make more room in our soul, we create room for the presence of Jesus. Breathe Him in.
I am so proud of you! Doesn’t it feel amazing?
Two final things I want to make you aware of:
You can join the Closet Outfit Planner Community for inspiration and ideas on how to pull together outfits for your Color Code. It’s absolutely FREE and there is no purchase necessary! (Although you will totally want to purchase the new Spring COP because it’s AMAZING!) To join the Free FB Community, click HERE. If you want to snag the Spring Closet Outfit Planner, you can get that HERE.
If the thought of cleaning out and purging your closet overwhelms you or gives you hives, AND you are local to the seacoast NH area, I do personal closet audits as a stylist! I would LOVE to do that for you! Contact me HERE for more info!
Happy purging!!