Clothing Clutter

By far the most challenging clutter area for me is clothing. Although my goal is to ‘live light’ I find the clothing area is difficult to manage because while I’m not trying to keep up with the latest fashions by any means (I don’t care for most of them), neither do I wish to look indifferent. My goal is simply to feel good, comfortable and relaxed and I have learned that what I am wearing greatly influences how I feel.  

Style is most annoying. For example, I have several jackets (blazers, coats) that are perfectly good but just do not look appropriate because the cut, colour, length and fabric looks dated. I believe your outerwear (blazer, coat) is important because it is the first thing people see (especially in the colder months), and as a people we make our minds up about others in a matter of seconds. So first impressions are worth paying attention to. But neither do I want to have a lot of clothes. I developed that habit from my year of living in an RV with a tiny closet space. It was those years when I developed a strong appreciation for reversible clothes! 

So my goal is to find that perfect, take-me-anywhere garment that fits like a dream. They are difficult to find (at least I find it a challenge) and there are more ‘misses’ than hits — when you think you’ve found ‘it’ but after wearing it a few times, the fit isn’t quite right or it is not as versatile as you thought it would be. Or you have found the perfect outfit, but sadly and eventually, it succombs to wear and tear and is not so much ’all occassion’. Perhaps it has become just a little too worn to go to more formal events. So then quest begins to replace the perfect garment.

But what do you do with the old, almost great piece that you adore? Keep them? Let them go? I hang on to mine until I find something to replace it with, but that doesn’t mean it is the best decision because it does lead to accumulation and clutter. And combine that with the other reasons why we hold on to things and the cluttered closet is born:  

• it was expensive
• it is for a very dressy or special occassion
• you haven’t worn it much
• it doesn’t fit right now but it will when you you lose or gain a few pounds.
• everything is great but the style looks dated.
• they don’t make them like that anymore.
• it is a classic!
• it is a status symbol.
• it is a colour you just had to have (vibrationally speaking) but no longer feel a need for.

But what do you do with garments that look ‘wrong’? Personally I let them go through a couple of seasons and then if I am still not wearing them, I give them away or sell on consignment. If something sits in your closet year after year and you can no longer find anything…then it is clutter and making life more complicated than it needs to be. I promise myself I will clear out the ‘mistakes’ and pare down once and for all. But I know in my heart I am always on the look-out for the next go-everywhere, perfect outfit.

© Copyright Deborah Redfern, 2008. All rights reserved.

Tags: closet space, clothing clutter, tiny closet