Sarah Wilkins
29 November 2020
On my list of places to declutter are my closet, the bathroom, the laundry room, the shed and gosh the list just goes on and on! Since I want to have SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound), I will not say that I will finish with all those areas by the end of November. That would be neither smart nor attainable.
I am looking to make lifestyle changes and those take baby steps. So for the month of November we are going to focus on my wardrobe. I will become a DIVESTING DIVA!
Divest. According to Websters, one of the definitions of divest is to be ‘rid’ or ‘free’, in this case to rid or free oneself of the unnecessary clothing and accessories that languish in the laundry, muddle my mornings, and generally just get in the way.
There are oodles of lists posted around the blogsphere showing the minimum pieces needed for a basic wardrobe and I have no intention of re-listing those, telling you what or how many items you should keep. The basic principle is wear what you own (and not just once) which means you have to own pieces that fit your life.
I work full-time in an office that has a professional/business casual dress code during the week, and I like to puts around my house and play outside evenings and weekends. I need clothes for those activities. While, I haven’t quite figured out what my minimalism will look like when it comes to a number of items I will keep, I do know two things for sure: 1) I have too many clothes that go unworn; and 2) I always feel like I have nothing to wear.
Phase 1: Address the unworn minions
Sort through and get rid of the obvious items. For example, there are a pair of snow pants I have had for 5 years still with the tag. Why do I still have them? I think I must have gotten a good deal on them for starters. It’s an expensive brand and I know for sure I didn’t pay full price {since I rarely do}. I think I bought them after a trip to a friends cabin one winter {not sure of the logic there}. And again, I think we had been planning on going back to said cabin several times that year and I wanted to be prepared.
Obviously we never went and honestly, that is way to many “I think” statements. Not knowing for sure why something was purchased is a dead giveaway, it’s going in the get-rid-of pile.
Sort through and get rid of the “I could wear that if I was 10 lbs lighter” items. We all have them. And let me tell you, that doesn’t provide the right kind of motivation for me to eat healthy and exercise. I am an “out of sight, out of mind person”. When I am getting ready in the morning and see those items, sometimes I think, “Oh I should really work out a little more today and NOT eat my daily cinnamon roll”. More often however, it’s something like, “Wow, I can’t believe this used to fit me, I think I need some chocolate to self-sooth”.
I’m exaggerating, however really isn’t that more how it goes? For me, feeling good about what I am wearing, having clothes that really fit and flatter, is the biggest motivation to keep active and eat healthy. So those don’t quite fit pieces? Out they go.
Phase 2: Pare down the rest of the items.
Had a flash of brilliance yesterday (if I do say so myself). I am going to wash all the clothes that made it through the first cut, and then tag them all with a little piece of that green painters tape. After a month, anything with tape still on it will obviously not been worn and should be removed from the wardrobe. Not sure if this will work however I am going to try it out and let you know!
So that is it, my SMART goal for November.
Specific – Reduce the number of clothes and accessories in my wardrobe
Measurable – I am starting out with something like 200+ items (will count and update later with an exact number) and I want to get this number down.
Attainable – I am not trying to do too much, I have more that two weeks before the end of the month to finish the first cut and think I will use the month of December for the second phase {the tape experiment}
Relevant – It fits in with my overall goal of living a minimalist life
Time Bound (time frame) – Again, finish first phase by end of November and spend December on phase two.
