Do you feel like you have nothing to wear? Here’s How to fix this problem.
I just read a book about decluttering called, I Have Nothing To Wear!: A Painless 12-Step Program to Declutter Your Life So You Never Have to Say This Again!* by Jill Martin and Dana Ravich (Aug 16, 2011). I’ve certainly read a lot of books about decluttering. I wouldn’t pick up a book like this until I heard Jill Martin speak on Sirius radio on the Stars station on the night of “Fashion’s Night Out”. (Fashion’s Night Out is an annual event (this was the third year). The object is to boost the economy by getting people to go out and shop by enticing them with entertainment, celebrity guests, and special deals. Plus proceeds from Fashion’s Night Out merchandise benefit the AIDS Fund of NY. I believe they also hold this event in other cities but in NY it has become a pretty big deal.
I hit one of the department stores early to pick up a FNO t-shirt and check out the scene before it really go started. You see, I have no room for any more clothes or anything else for that matter. I have had to basically stick clothing and objects from three homes into one home. The short version of the story is that I had to get everything out of my childhood home in order to sell it. I donated and sold a lot of it but I took a lot with me as well. I also moved from the NY apartment I’d been living in for many years into a house. That being said, I have a lot of stuff and getting rid of it has been no easy task. I have a lot of sentimental attachment to my stuff.
On the drive back home, I heard Jill Martin on the radio. She feels that the reason we have “nothing to wear” is that we actually have too much stuff so we can’t even see what we have. We tend to buy duplicates and things that we don’t need because we don’t realize what we have. Read Jill’s book for full details but I’m going to tell you what really stuck with me. Jill feels that we shouldn’t own anything that isn’t a 10 for us. (Scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best.) She feels that everything you wear should make you feel incredible and that you shouldn’t own anything that you would be even remotely embarrassed to be caught in. That means even the clothing you wear to bed. She doesn’t care if that old t-shirt with the holes in it is the most comfortable thing ever, get rid of it. If you are walking down the street, you should know that if you ran into an ex, you would feel completely fine with it. You know that you look great. You shouldn’t walk away saying “I can’t believe he/she saw me like that. I’m so embarrassed.”
I’ve never gotten rid of “good stuff’. Basically, I’ve been keeping everything that’s a 6 and up. Now I’ve got to get rid of 8s and 9s? This isn’t going to be easy but Jill is right. She says that by the time this process is done, we should be getting rid of (in a good world, donating) 75% of our clothing. Imagine only having 25% of your clothing?
As scary as that sounds, Jill says you’ll end up actually wearing more stuff. How many times do you wear the same things over and over again? I know that I probably switch off between 5 outfits. I also primarily live in workout clothing. This is also part of Jill’s point. We have a tendency to buy and keep things for the life we think we want or for things that we feel we should be doing. It’s hard to admit that I don’t go to a lot of events that require high heels and fancy dresses. The bulk of my life is workout clothes. I need outfits that I can wear out to dinner a few days a week and they certainly don’t need to be all that fancy. Jill’s idea is to figure out what style you are. Are you a surfer chick, a soccer mom, a fashionista, a bohemian, a corporate type, etc. Decide your style and stick with it.
Jill says to have a yes, no, and maybe pile. I can’t do this because I pretty much have been doing this for a couple of years and now it’s time to be ruthless. That being said, I went through draws and got rid of any sports clothing that was no longer perfect and comfortable. I’m so used to keeping things that are “fine” that this wasn’t easy. But I don’t need 50 fine t-shirts. I need 10 good ones. I have two closets in my bedroom that I’m not quite ready to go through yet. I also have stuff in closets and draws in a couple of other rooms. Today, I went into one of the rooms and cleaned out the whole closet and all of the draws. Most of the stuff in now in a donation pile. Next I’m going through the other room and doing the same thing. After that, it’s time to face the bedroom closets. After I’m doing getting rid of everything, that’s when the really hard part is going to come. I know that I’m still going to have too much stuff. That means that I will have to go through everything again and get rid of more stuff. Then I’ll go through again and get rid of even more stuff. Although this process will be brutal, I want to get down to the 25%. I have a feeling I’ll be so much happier. My new rule is that every time one article of clothing comes in, another goes out. I think that’s the only way to keep the clothing to a minimum.
I know that this process is going to upset me but when it’s done, it will be freeing and it will clear the way for me to figure out more of what I want out of my life. Remember that de-cluttering is clearing. Clearing frees up room for creativity. Remember that this project will actually give you more stuff to wear (shop your closet) and you’ll have a lot of stuff to donate to people who really need it. Good luck and let me know how your de-cluttering adventure goes and how this affects your life.