My closet is a mess. I have too many things and a closet purge was way overdue. I started the process yesterday and made some pretty good progress. I am not the person they are thinking of when they want someone to demonstrate a capsule wardrobe or heaven help us, a 10 item wardrobe. More is more as far as I am concerned. I want options. But it was getting out of control.
I pared things down to my fall/winter favorites and packed away the spring-summer items. I have a couple of bags to donate, and a couple of bins to store away for a while. If I miss the contents after a year or so then maybe they can come back to my closet. Typically, however, Out of Sight, Out of Mind rules and I completely forget I ever owned these items, which means they can go.
I used to work in a fairly formal setting, which meant that I needed nice shoes and work-appropriate clothing. I have finally admitted, after a couple of years of being retired, that those clothes no longer have a place in my life. Someone, somewhere could use them and look very work appropriate. The shoes are another story. I have dozens of pairs of shoes, at least two-thirds of which are heels. No one wears heels where I live. I live in a "flip flops in summer/boots in winter" place. It is casual. You never see anyone in heels, and if you do, you wonder what on earth is wrong with them and where they are from. But I have had such a hard time parting with those shoes. One, they were expensive, two, they are lovely, and three, they represent a time when I felt I dressed in a much more chic fashion. But you know what? After eight years of not wearing heels, and aging normally during that time period (as one does), I can no longer walk in heels. I put them on and feel off balance and awkward. And they hurt my feet.
I managed to cull two garbage bags of clothing to donate, but I still have not tackled the shoe situation. Maybe one day soon...
Meanwhile, I am enjoying not having my clothes crammed tightly together in the closet, and being able to see what I have at a glance.
My goals this week are to tackle projets one baby step at a time. Number one is to go through my coats. I have so many coats that have not been worn for years. That is a crime, when there are many people who need something warm to wear in the colder seasons of the year, who could truly benefit from these items that I am not using. Plus, we need room in the hall closet. Anyone who visits me who wants to hang up their coat has to lay it over a chair at the moment. Next, I want to spend an hour or so to go through my scarves and cull out the ones that realistically I will never use. And the pajama drawer is ridiculous. Do you throw out your old pjs every year or so? What is the point of hanging on to those things?
Ok, wish me luck. I may even attempt to part with some shoes I can no longer wear.
#AroundTheHouse
