Right now we all have feelings of anxiousness, fears as to what the coming days, weeks or months might look like. Creating order, focusing on something fun and thinking about the future positively could relieve some of your anxiety. One thing is for sure we have finally hit Spring and the temperature is slowly rising so its getting time to put those heavy woolly jumpers away and pull pieces long forgotten about through the depths of Winter out of storage.
Now is a great time to reassess what you have in your wardrobe, by keeping your wardrobe in great shape it will prepare you for the coming season and give you a clear list of what you need to buy new. Every wardrobe needs regular updates, your life isn’t static and your style evolves with you. As the weather is varying this process might take a couple of weeks to fully move into Spring due to some days being colder than others, but I feel it’s time for a change, time to be inspired and produce some positivism whilst being at home.
So grab yourself some great storage bags, a pen and piece of paper and follow these steps to do a seasonal overhaul yourself -
Make sure you are assessing everything you own, from boxes hidden under the bed, clothes stuffed into wardrobes, bags in the loft and coats shoved into cupboards under the stairs, once you start you won’t want to stop!
Either do it in sections such as; Go through Winter before looking at your Spring/Summer clothes. Or do by clothes type; start with trousers, then skirts, then dresses…you get the picture. Or just pull everything out and create one big pile on the floor or bed and start with whatever is on top of the pile.
Sort into 3 piles:
Keep - Keep the pieces you adore and still wear all the time, add these back into your wardrobe. If things need repairing or dry cleaning then make sure you keep these aside to attend to.
Toss - Remove every item you don’t wear and decide if it can go to a family member or friend, can be taken to the charity shop or is past use or reusing for anyone and needs to be binned.
Store - Pack things away that you will no longer wear for the next 5/6 months, move seasonal pieces such as woolly jumpers, long sleeved t-shirts, knitted dresses and skirts and anything else that you would wear in the cold weather.
As you are putting items back into your wardrobe take some time to look at the pieces you have, try things on and figure out some outfits that you could start wearing now. Think about what you want to wear this season, what you feel is missing from your basics and statement pieces and what you want to reflect your style.
Write a list down of these pieces you have identified you need or want as you go along gives you a focus and gets you excited for the season to come. This can be organised by priority or items, do you own enough dresses for Summer, shorts for around the house, jeans for the coming months or a Spring jacket to see you through the next few weeks? This list will help when shopping online in the coming weeks, gives you focus, helps you to not overspend, or impulse buy and also gets you buying the right pieces.
Remember you don’t have to fill your wardrobe with loads of things to be happy, it’s about having the right things that are versatile and can be worn over and over again.
I’ve recently concluded that a reluctance to undergo a wardrobe detox is actually the fear of ending up with too few clothes. In our consumer-crazed society, we often choose quantity over quality. But this isn’t the case with most of my clients. The process of detoxing and reassessing your wardrobe can give you joy, happiness and clarity for what you already have in your life and the gaps you need to fill.
So what are you waiting for? Get culling. You’ll be surprised, at times you’ll be torn, but once you’ve started, I guarantee it will be hard to stop, so cathartic is the satisfaction from seeing a clearer wardrobe. If nothing else, you’re going to learn something about yourself through this process and I can help support you every step of the way.