How to minimize you clothing wardrobe from overwhelming to in love again
Are you being swallowed up by a big pile of clothes? Is laundry causing you stress and feeling like it is never ending? I totally understand the pain! I want to share with you how you can take control over your laundry monster and control your wardrobe and love what you have again.
I like to do laundry every single day. Trust me, it becomes a habit so it becomes easier and you get to control the amount of folding and putting away you do. This gives me peace of mind that I get to work on a smaller pile of clothes than a giant one. This might not work for everyone, I would suggest having 2 laundry days a week so you can split up the task.
Living in a small space
When my family and I were an RV for almost 2 years, I did laundry everyday because we had a washer and dryer unit in the RV. Or when we did not have enough water for laundry we would take our clothes to a laundromat and once a week we would dedicate the time to get it done. We managed to have 2 weeks worth of clothing or less. I liked keeping this because it was manageable and we had the space. Now I have it down to about 11 outfits not including nightwear or unders. Find a happy amount you can manage to reduce the amount of stress and overall time it takes to do laundry. I have about two weeks worth of clothes for both of my children also.
Minimal Wardrobe
I always share my tips on what I do and what I think is helpful, but it all comes down to how you feel and what you are capable of. I suggest having a minimal wardrobe. A smaller amount of clothing means more laundry days, BUT less to deal with overtime. I think of spending my valuable time with my family and work than doing chores 24/7. Although I feel like I am constantly doing chores already. I truly feel like my time is more important than chores. So think about it for a second, would you rather be doing what you love than always feeling pushed down by the big pile of clothes?
Does this give me joy?
This is a hard, but easily achievable. Take the time during laundry day and pick up every piece of clothing and think, just like Marie Kondo would say- Does this bring me joy? If the answer is yes, fold it or hang it up immediately. If not, throw it in the corner of your bed and once you are done, grab a bag with all of your "no's" and take it to a donation center. If you do this exact method every time you do laundry you will reduce the amount of clothing you have pretty quickly.
The hanger trick
Another method would be if you utilize your closet more than a dresser is to do the hanger trick. What I mean is when you wear something you love and wash it and put it away again hang it in the opposite position than your other clothes. This gives you are visualization that the hangers that are backwards are the ones I love. Then you can reevaluate the hangers that are still facing forward and decide is it worth it staying in my closet.
If you use a dresser more than your closet, I would suggest going through one drawer at a time- give yourself 15 minutes to dig around. Find items that you don't love and put them in your donate bag. The ones you are "meh" about, put those at the top of the pile. If they end up at the bottom of your drawer at the end of the week, then you probably won't be wearing them anytime soon and its best to just toss/donate.
Get your shopping under control
Curb that shopping habit. Do you go out shopping at Target every week and take a peek at the gorgeous racks, and just have to go searching even though you know you hate doing laundry because there is so much? Well stop it! I get following trends and shopping in general just feels so good. It's just not good for our closet space and your wallet. If you need retail therapy I would highly suggest going to a real therapist and talk through your problems than taking it to the racks. Its going to be a hard habit to kill, but you gotta do it for your sanity. I hate feeling overwhelmed, so find what makes you stressed and find a way to solve that problem. For instance, I hate doing the laundry= stop buying more clothes to add to the pile. Collect pieces of clothing that can match multiple other pieces to make more than one outfit. I used to buy clothes that would just match a few of my clothes together. I actually would often buy just 1-3 outfits at a time and not think about what I already had in my closet. This was a horrible idea because I would get a few pieces looking pretty similar, when I only needed one.
1 in 1 out method
One great tip I have when it comes to shopping, and you really want to add a new piece to your wardrobe. Do the 1 in 1 out method. If you have this in your head, you will be able to purchase new clothing, but go through what you already have so you don't buy similar clothing as well as taking 1 piece of clothing out for every new piece you bring in. This can help control the amount of clothing you want to keep as well.
Store seasonal Clothing
Remove seasonal clothing and put them in a Rubbermaid tub for save keeping. This trick will minimize the amount of clothing you can visually see and help you stay organized.
Hanging onto the weight
There might be a reason you are holding onto a lot more clothes than you like, because you wore them pre-baby or before you gained some weight. I think it is perfectly acceptable to have goals and wanting to lose some weight to be able to fit into your favorite jeans again. But you also need to be realistic. Are you actively striving to hit the gym and lose the weight or is it all wishes? Make it a priority to workout again if you want to wear those clothes again. If not, let go of them and when you do lose the weight you can go for a little shopping spree and celebrate your new body. If it is to hard to let go, add these clothes to your seasonal storage box and keep them there while you are working on the body changes.
Don't forget accessories
I highly suggest doing the joy method Marie Kondo suggests for jewelry and accessories too. Why keep something if you do not love it am I right?
-I personally keep 5 handbags/ purses at all times. I cycle through them when I purchase a new one. This is really hard for me because I love handbags! So I really have to restrain myself when I walk by the handbag aisles because they are all so beautiful. In my collection I have three everyday purses that are big enough for snacks and things when I take my kids out and about. I have one bag for outdoor use like when we go on hikes or to the playground, I don't mind it getting dirty. 1 fancy occasion bag. This does not include backpacks, library bags or grocery reusable bags either. I typically have two for each of those categories as well.
Memorabilia Clothing
Lastly, I wanted to talk about memorabilia clothing. I think we all have a handful (or more) of clothing we are holding onto. Like our college T-shirts or a prom dress or high school sports sweatshirts, etc. We don't wear them anymore but we don't want to toss it either. A google search can help you find ideas of recycling your old clothing but I wanted to share a few on here too.
-My favorite is making a quilt with all your favorite T-shirts and keeping it to snuggle up with during movie night.
- Take a picture of every item and make a little photo album digitally
- Repurpose an item and turn it into a bag for library books or a fashion statement
-Turn it into a teddy bear
Here are a few of my favorites that I wanted to share.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you have learned a few tips on how to reduce and manage your wardrobe to a happy amount that you will love and enjoy. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below. Have a great day!