Wardrobe Decluttering: Tips and Tricks for Streamlining Your Closet and Reducing Overwhelm
We’ve all been there – staring at a wardrobe full of clothes, but feeling like we have nothing to wear. It’s easy to accumulate clothing over the years, especially as we are so frequently “influenced” by what is on social media, or by emails we receive on a daily basis with all the new in styles at our favourite brands. It’s important to periodically declutter and streamline our wardrobes. Not only will it make getting dressed in the morning easier, but it can also help reduce decision fatigue and overwhelm. We won’t wear what we can’t see.
Many of us keep things because they were expensive, they’ve hardly been worn, or that other favourite - we are going to lose weight to get into them. Instead what happens is we wear the same things over and over and we beat ourselves up about all those items languishing in our wardrobe. Getting dressed in the morning becomes something we loath when actually it should be a happy experience that makes you feel amazing.
If this is you, you aren’t alone. In fact I’m just working through this with one of my clients. She says her problem is complete overwhelm with her 5 closets of clothes. While there is nothing wrong with the items, in fact many of them are lovely, there is just too much. Creating outfits is difficult because finding pieces that go together just takes too long -she can't see the wood for the trees.
She told me she doesn’t know where to start in reducing and clearing because when she takes an item out to assess it there is nothing wrong with it so she’s reluctant to let it go.
Rather than diving in and spending days trying to clear her wardrobe only to agonise over each item here is the plan I have suggested for her.
The Plan
To determine what should stay and what should go we need to determine what suits her physically as well as her personality (or personal style) and her lifestyle.
To do this the first thing we will do is a virtual colour analysis. This service will show her which are her best neutral colours, her inherent colours (use these to wine friends and influenece), best reds (or power colours) and will look at her Style Archetype to discover the colours of her personality. From this I will create a personalised palette of colours that will not only make her look fabulous, she will feel fabulous in them as well.
She has a pretty good understanding of what shapes and styles work for her body shape and what she feels good in, but if you don’t I would recommend this be the next step with my Body Silhouette service.
Next we will dig deeper into her personal style and I will create a mood board and a set of style key words that really speak to her.
Once we have completed these steps she will have a really clear picture of what works for her and it makes it so much easier to assess each piece in her wardrobe. Now she can work through the wardrobes quickly determining if the colours, shapes and styles work for her physically and if they fit with her mood board and style keywords, keeping only those items that are perfect.
Any items she is unsure about will be put aside to discuss with me during a Zoom consultation.
Then we can start having some real fun by creating outfits and making a note if there is something she needs that would pull pieces together to create the perfect look. To be honest it’s likely that we will be able to create multiple weeks worth of outfits with what she already has. But should she want to add any items she will have clear guidelines to follow making sure mistakes are a thing of the past. Knowing what is left means she will avoid duplicating items as well.
The end goal is that you love every item in your wardrobe, can create multiple outfits using them and they make you feel your best when you wear them.
When discarding items from your wardrobe, consider donating gently used clothing to a local charity (such as Smart Works) or consignment shop. You can also sell items online - I’ve had success with Vinted - or use a specialist re-seller for designer pieces so that you can recoup some of your expenditure and put that towards anything you might want to add in the future.
Don’t let the overwhelm of overflowing wardrobes stop you from feeling your best. Yes, this plan will take some effort to implement, but the results at the end will be so worth it. You will enjoy getting dressed and it will take you much less time! Plus you will be wearing items and outfits that are perfect for you. You can be that stylish woman with a wardrobe full of gorgeous clothes.
If you want help or would like me to create a plan for you just get in touch. Or if you would like to work through these steps and more yourself, my Stylish at 50 Blueprint is an online program that puts you in control of your wardrobe and personal style at your own pace.
And by the way this client is on another continent, we will be doing all of this virtually without either of us having to leave home. So wherever you are in the world, I would love to help you.
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