A new wardrobe of beautiful blossoms for a bare tree
Spring is here! Flowers are showing up, trees are blossoming with new growth. It’s time for us to join in the promise of beauty this season. In other words, it’s time to update the clothing in our closets!
The urge to purge seems to show up every spring. Perhaps it’s that inspiration to start fresh after the heavy winter season begins to fade. Maybe it’s because the beautiful blossoms, gentle rains that make everything sparkle when the sun shows up, compel us to follow nature’s calling to start anew.
When clearing clutter, many of us head for our closets, ready to store the heavy clothing and start looking at spring and summer clothing.
There are many ways to clean your closets and update your wardrobe. This year, how about trying something different? How about listening to what your clothing is telling
you? It will make a huge difference in how you decide what to keep and what no longer serves you. The labor is short-lived compared to the joyful feeling you get for the rest of the season. Here’s what to do.
- As you go through your wardrobe, try on your clothing and ask, “What is this outfit telling me? If it’s saying, “You look fabulous,” create a “Fabulous Pile.” Another way to do this is to ask yourself, “How do I feel when I put this on?” Take a good look and decide why you look so good. Is it the fabric? The fit? The color? Probably all three.
- Does an outfit say, “You look sloppy and I don’t flatter you?” Was it a bargain? Was it a gift? Was it a last minute buy? Has it simply seen too many washings? You can learn a lot from this pile. Put this in your “Toss Pile.” (Toss means give, consign or throw it away).
- If the outfit tells you, “It’s okay to wear this. It’ll do,” ask what it needs to make it pop. Maybe it needs alterations or maybe it needs great accessories. This goes into the “Update Pile.”
- Then there’s the “Someday Pile,” You know the one! That’s the one with clothing we want to get into some day soon. This one may be say, “Watch your diet, start exercising, cut out the sugar, chocolates, fries, etc. Ask yourself why you want that “someday” outfit and how badly do you want it. I had a “Someday Pile” that I finally put into the Toss (aka give away) Pile. I figured that after 5 years it didn’t matter how much I paid for it. It was dated and I’d never be that shape and size again. It also gave me an excuse to buy something I needed and could wear immediately.
Wardrobe tip: When you clear the clutter in your closet, you’ll make space for something that makes you feel significantly wonderful. Because that’s who you are, that’s what you should have. So when you buy something new, buy it only if it tells you, “This looks significantly wonderful on you!” Keep that as your new shopping motto.
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One other option is to join a women’s clothing exchange. We have one in Santa Cruz that is held once a month. Bring your “give away” or “it doesn’t fit anymore” items including accessories and they may find the perfect home in another person’s closet. Also, if you take an item home and decide after a few times that it was a mistake, simply take it back the next month. And, many items find their way to shelters and other organizations.
An exchange group like this is an ideal way to get rid of the clothing in your “Toss Pile” once you’ve evaluated what works and what doesn’t work for you, of course. As for picking up new items, listening to what that clothing tells you could lessen the “returns.” Thanks for this great idea.
I have been donating my closet clean out to people who have had devastation from local tornados in my area..today,i gave the last few things to my grandaughter!
Some things,yes i agree,the pile of maybe next year…but hay,that has come and gone to many times for me,so now i have started to update my clost as of this week!
I am older now,and dont want to try to compete with the 30yo ladies,so i am accepting myself at my age,and wanting dress better for my age!
I have also discoverd my true colors for my skin tone,and i am a spring..that also helps me so much!
Have a great spring!
Bren
Congratulations on all counts, Brenda, especially accepting yourself at your age. To do anything else is a waste of energy but we can still strive to do and be the very best of who we are. Thanks for for comments.
Dolores — love the “someday pile.” Well, I did keep two beautiful silk tops that I bought about 5 years ago and quickly outgrew. I could not make myself toss them but committed to getting back into them. I lost weight over a long period of time — that I know I can keep off now — and the silk tops fit. But they are a bit too large! I love them nonetheless and they represent my commitment to myself.
Hi Jeannette. That’s a great way to look at it…a commitment to youself. The best part is that you DID it. Now I’m inspired to do the same.
Thanks!
Thanks for the great ideas on a spring wardrobe update! One of the ways I update my wardrobe is to buy an accessory–a silk scarf, a handbag in the latest spring color, or a piece of jewelry that makes a statement. Since I am on a fixed income, I have been shopping in my own closet for several years now and have discovered gently used, almost new items–to my delight. Keep the ideas coming–I look forward to them and actually make them a part of my routine.
Love that you can shop in your closet! Just proves that when you buy quality things that tell you, “You look wonderful!” the rewards will last for years.
I appreciate your comments.