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After our move in July I just threw....yes, that is the correct term.. threw my less than desirable clothes into my new closet. I wasn't interested in organizing anything, so they got tossed into place and my shoes in a pile on the floor.
The new year began and evey blog in blogland was giving out information on organization...not one of my strengths or passions. One suggestion that stuck with me came in a question, "What If?" I don't remember all the tips, but what I got out of the post was, What if I only kept clothes in my closet that I loved? What if I removed all those "one day" clothes that only remind me I haven't been to the opera in years? What if I only kept clothes that made me feel pretty? What if I had the courage to dispose of all those "frumpy" clothes that only make me feel fat? What if I only kept jeans that were flattering?
My self-talk marched my willing body into the closet of dreaded clothes. I pictured Mary Poppins as she cleaned the room with clothes dancing to her command.
"Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more....hit the road Jack", well not a Mary Poppin's song, but one that commanded obedience. Each garment seen in countless pictures for over a decade...good bye! Every garment that only covered my body, but didn't put a skip in my step....so long!
Yes, that means my closet rods lifted as the weight of "less than desirable" pieces of clothing were flung into a heaping pile. Now the floor only holds shoes that are comfortable, stylish and not worn out.
I did take a tip I had heard and put it into action. Put your clothes on the rod with the hanger hanging backwards. As you wear the garment return them with the hanger going the right way. At the end of a year you will see what you didn't wear all year....add those to your donation box.
Now I look into my closet...everything is color coordinated, winter clothes separated from spring and summer....many combinations can be seen.
JEANS!!!!!!!! That was the biggest hurdle. I had a couple of pairs of nice jeans...now nice is an oxymoron when it comes to jeans, now days "nice" jeans mean you spent a bank load of dollars, and they usually have holes in them or rind-stones on the bottom....I mean, jeans that make me look slimmer and don't have holes or glittering bottoms. For some reason I felt I had to save them for special occasion...not anymore, I got rid of the worn-out, less than flattering jeans and decided to wear the "nice" jeans every day.
I am satisfied...even though my choices are limited, it allows me to dress each day with more "spunk" and since "spunk" is one of my words, I feel I have moved one more step forward.
Are you hanging onto clothes you don't especially like? If so, why? It's a New Year!
34 Joining in with more words:
it's way overdue...my cleaning out my closet...i think if i get rid of all i have not worn in the past year it will be slim pickins...but that's okay, i find i get by on lots less these days and don't seem to mind it.
now jewelry is another thing all together. lol
Janette,
What a wonderful and liberating feeling! I am a purger/editor/tweaker, so I regularly act upon my closet and rest of the house.
Less is more. Someone else can use many of the things I don't, too.
Oh yes ma'am! I SO need to do that - especially since my closet decreased by about 3 times when we moved to the little farmhouse! I have done some purging, but I need to do it again!
Thanks for the impetus! Now, you get out there and "spunk" everybody with your stylish jeans!
I did this a few months back, it was actually kind of freeing. I t makes getting ready in the morning so much easier and I don't miss anything that I have gotten rid of
I have to agree with Carol less is more
Sooooo need to do this, too! It's made it as far as my Sally List, but I haven't tackled it yet. Soon... I hope. GOOD FOR YOU!
Great job Janette, I need to do this too; our good friend gave me most of his wife's clothes after she passed and I've loved almost all of them but here are a few I don't like that I need to purge. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Hugs, Noreen
I have given a bunch of stuff away, too. I'm promising myself a whole new skinny wardrobe as I lose weight.LOL!
Oh well done!! You know what my problem is ... I have sentimental value attached to my clothes! Yikes, like the sweater my dad bought me 19 years or the swede jacket my man bought by himself with a matching skirt that I can't fit into - or that vacation we took when we bought those sweatshirts .... ugh ... I'm not sure I'll ever get my closet cleaned out!! Oh and of course I have a pair of white skinny jeans that I keep for when .....Any tips - lol
Oh how I do know just how you feel.
Downsizing is freeing and therapeutic.
Congratulations to the revised clothes closet.
I am going to the closet too!
The stuff that has been hanging there since forever, is GOING! I sent this to my daughter and dil.. they are on the same page.
Keep going girl... the whole pack of us is watching! :) Please don't clean out your garage anytime soon. It's got to wait till spring!
I actually did do this in November when I took some of all of our clothes to Good Will. It's great having more room in our closets and is really kind of selfish to hold on to clothes we haven't worn in a long time or just don't find flattering any more. There's someone out there who needs what we have.
Hugs!
Your post sounds like a good wake up call to me. Sheesh....did you have to be so inspiring on a Friday. Lol....But love the attitude and you've given me some motivation to do the same......Have a great rest of the day Janette....you earned it!!!!!
Oh it is definitely time to do that again over here too. I have always been pretty ruthless when it comes to getting rid of things though. My saying is, "If I haven't used it, worn it, or enjoyed it in over a year, get rid of it." Now that doesn't include memory books, pictures etc., but pretty much anything else. But haven't done this closet since we moved in, and it is time. You have inspired me (as usual) Have a good week-end Janette! HUGS
Oh,mercy me. I do so need to do this too, Janette!! I tell you, girl, you are stepping all over my toes. LOL! I am so proud of you and I know it has to feel wonderful and spunky!! Big woo hoo!! Awesome. blessings ~ tanna
Oh dear my toes hurt and not from my shoes in my closet that I barely wear either but from your post stepping on them . lol!! I have that pile of clothes in my closet on the floor-mine is because I have too much hanging on those hangers hoping I will one day lose enough weight to wear them again and have them look nice so I don't have room for it all. You have inspired me to make room-clear the stuff out that I will never wear again. I do this almost every season when I switch out my closet with the make shift closet in my attic that houses the off season stuff-but I need to down size more. Happy Friday sweet friend. I need to work on mine this weekend.
Love ya
Yep. Hanging on a little longer. Till I get this weight off - then will see what's gonna work. I shouldn't have to buy a thing - but a little editing will be a good thing.
Good for you, Janette! You're on quite a roll here!
I am LOL so hard, Janette, I recently cleaned my closet, and had all those clothes piled high and had them halfway out of the house, when all of the What ifs came flooding back, and guess what i did? i sneaked them into another closet, Oh yes I did. I am so ashamed of myself.
Last week i wore a pair of jeans that dd had chosen for me while she was home for Christmas, they fitted then but for some reason last week they were real tight, and I told dh that if I survived to get home that those jeans would not see the light of day for a while!
I enjoyed this post so much and have missed visiting as we have been so busy with the green house.
Enjoy your weekend, and please give dear Benjamin a hug for me.
Love,
Sue
This was a great post. I'm heading to my closet right now....seriously! Besides, half of it is stuff I'll never squeeze into again.
I actually like decluttering my closet and your backward hanger idea is excellent!! Blessings!
Oh you have hit a nerve with me my/our closet is awful. I do have bags and boxes of clothes for seasons but it is a mess and it will be done this year, I did it in 2008 it is time again to clean and give away. Yes you have inspired me, the biggest hurdle is finding the time.
You Gor Girlfriend... way to stay spunky.. my daughte told me she saw a great idea on pinterest.. for those items of clothing that you dont wear all the time.. hang the hanger so that it is back wards.. and at the end of 6mth or a year if it is still hanging backwards, that means you didnt wear it for an entire year,,so say good bye to it.. cool idea I thought...
I'm not a fashion student but really wanted to learn how to dress what I have better. "What Not to Wear" gives great insight into dressing your body style correctly. I've learned enough to be confident buying quality pieces, putting them together to make outfits and spending my thrifty nickle on items I like and WILL wear.
Moving is a great reason to take inventory & junk the junk. When we moved from AZ to WA State in 2010 I got rid of a ton of stuff; and more since. It feels so responsible!
High Five to you girlfriend....way to go...Just don't do like I did last October when i purged my closet...fell out the back door and sprained my ankle......
You will be so glad you took this action. Now I know what's in my closet and I can put things together so much easier...what's left...and like you said I feel good in what I am wearing now.....
I am waiting for you on the purging of the shoes...let me know when you are ready and I'll do mine too....
I have been getting rid of clothes every season. Not buying anymore. My clothes are getting fewer and fewer. I only have two pair of jeans now.
I have two dresses and two skirts.
I read that book called the 80/20 principal you only wear 20 percent of your clothes. So I started getting rid of them slowly, but it is getting manageable finally. It is hard isn't it. I am so glad you did it this year. I still have so many shirts now to get rid of, maybe this year I will thanks to your motivation.
Thanks.
Hey Spunky! A great way to start the year! It really is easier to have spunk in your step when feeling lighter. I like the tip of reversing the hangers! Amazing how much stuff we have that just takes up space.
I purge often but it would be interesting to do the coat hanger thing and see what I don't wear in a season. It is likely to be things that require lots of ironing. I avoid wearing anything that requires to many minutes of ironing as I don't have that sort of time. These days I avoid buying anything that doesn't look nice after being dripped dried.
Oh my goodness! This recovering pack rat has a closet, and 2 dressers full of stuff! And yes, a large part of it I don't wear on a regular basis.
You've challenged (convicted) me about that - maybe it's time for some pre-spring cleaning myself.
And eating greens...
And exercising...
And my "annual" medical exam...
sigh.
Yep, it is hard to take that step and get rid of things we know we aren't going to wear. Why we hang on I don't really know. And I agree, we need to keep what truly feels comfortable and makes us feel good. Why wear anything else? We are allowed to wear what we want, rather than just what we think we should! Good for you, Janette!
Boy have I had fun catching up!!! Been away , but doing much as you! ;-0 I have a fridge full of baby green spinach n berries. Just let me get through tomorrow to ditch the chocolate - or is that full of heart healthy stuff w/a good glass of red wine? ;-) Need less chips n unflattering farm jeans! THANKS for sharing and inspiring as always! (i'll be looking into chaste too!)
xoxo
Leslie
Good for you! I definitely need to do the same! Out with the older and in with the more you! :)
You 'd be so proud-you motivated me to go clean mine out and I have another two large bags of clothing to take to Good Will today on my way to get my stitches out of my knee.
Hope you have a great day. We got a little snow-crazy-but not enough to shut things done. Off to drive the boys to school.
Hugs
I'm late to the party and likely will continue to be late since I'm functioning without Della the demon possessed laptop.
Whoda thunk I would actually MISS her?
Anyway, using borrowed time on an office laptop to say that I love this post and stand convicted.
Here's my problem. If I get rid of everything I hate in there, I would have to quote this passage of scripture:
Yea, LORD, I hear thy voice in the garden, but I was naked and hid myself from thee.
Goooooood grief.
Awesome post, Janette! Sounds like you accomplished much and made lots of good choices! Great job! :)
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