Remember – everything you want to keep should fall into the following categories:
I love it
I use it all the time or at least regularly
It has a story and has special memories
One question for you:
- You know your “old faithfuls” – the suit or dress or black boots you always turn to when you’ve no idea what to put on in the morning. You also know they’re looking a bit tired but where else do you turn on a Monday morning?
- You know the dress that you wore for the evening party on your wedding day did fit – and could again – but it hasn’t for 14 years now?
- And then there’s the questionable scarf you’ve never used but was the last ever present from your Grandmother?
Q – At least one of the above should be sent to the charity shop? But which one? I’ll tell you at the end.
Pick out everything you love in your wardrobe, and have used from between all the time, to twice this year. Pick out all the stuff you might not love – your two work suits and your “walk to and from the station shoes” for example – but use a huge amount. Pick out the classics that whilst you don’t use much, still could go anywhere and are investment pieces – the designer cocktail dress maybe.
After you’ve done that, what you’re left with is the “murr” clothing.
The washed out workout tee shirt; the blouse with only two buttons left on it; the odd socks; the pair of jeans that got over ripped during a wild night out before you had children; the dress that is probably a bit short now; the four pairs of tights that all have holes in them but you can’t remember which pair; the left foot of a new pair of shoes who’s heel got stuck in a pavement gap and snapped off; the strappy six inch sandals which will definitely get more comfortable with wear, if only you could just bear to wear them! The pretty summer dress, bought on impulse in a surf shop in Cornwall with a split seam and missing buttons and all those other bits that have shrunk, faded or miscoloured in the washing machine.
Take it from me, these “Murr” items can go as you don’t love them; they serve no purpose and any memories attached to them might be better forgotten anyway.
Bottom line – enjoy, look after and love what you keep in your wardrobe. It took me a long time to realise that a wardrobe doesn’t have to be the material scrapbook of your life. It can be something that you turn to and smile, with clothes that fill you with positive energy and optimism for the day ahead.
If you buy something new, swap it out for something old. Knowing what is in your wardrobe allows you to use what you actually have, reminding you not to buy yet another navy long sleeved tee shirt, and the charity shops will benefit too.
The answer to my earlier question was:
B – The dress that hasn’t fitted for 14 years, and you’ll feel so much better when it’s gone!
Try it and let me know how it goes via email or any of our social media’s –
Claire
