Part 3/3 - Reveal Your Essential Wardrobe
(Image: Amazon.com)
Welcome back to Reveal your Essential Wardrobe!
If you missed parts 1 and 2, read it here and here.
Today we'll get to action!
Part 3 / Revealing Clarity
In Part 1, we learned to truly see, to reveal, your signature style. I don't mean an aspirational or superficial "style." I mean your comfortable-in-your-own-skin style.
It is absolutely essential that you honor your style as it's central to your true identity, your authentic desires, and unique gifts. It'll help you show up "in character" to do what you've come to do in this world.
Renata Watts
In Part 2, we learned that sustainable results come from treating our dressing routine as a collection of interconnected processes, as a system. "Organizing" just the clothes isn't enough to get us transformative, meaningful, and therefore lasting change.
So without further delay, let's clear the decks. Today, we get to perform!
1 / Decluttering
It's no secret that I'm a fan of (and fully trained in) the KonMari Method. It's simple and structured. That's a tough combination to nail, and Marie does it beautifully.
We should be choosing what we want to keep, not what we want to get rid of.
Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
With your signature style and favorite outfits close at hand, I suggest you sift through your items in the KonMari Method's specific order.
TRY THIS
Approach your decluttering effort as a 6-phase project:
1/ Tops
2/ Bottoms
3/ Dresses & Skirts
4/ Undergarments
5/ Accessories
6/ Outerwear and Shoes
@REVEAL.METHOD
The magic isn't in blindly following this order as if it were a magic formula.
The magic of the KonMari Method lies in the fact that it breaks down the overwhelming task of decluttering your wardrobe into 6 bite-sized chunks that have a clear beginning and end, and that you can therefore schedule in your calendar.
@REVEAL.METHOD
A project is a collection of tasks that progressively drive us toward a desired outcome. As David Allen says, no one can do a project, we can only do a task.
Marie helps us get our arms around our practical tasks. But we still have to troubleshoot for one more obstacle: We have a faulty inner clock.
We tend to overestimate how long tasks take to complete because we dread them or find them boring (read the article at the end for some fascinating neuroscience related to time). A faulty inner clock is a chief reason behind every form of procrastination.
TRY THIS
Schedule appointments with yourself - for as little as 30 minutes and at most 3 hours.
Always use a timer, starting with 30-minute increments. It'll help you develop a realistic sense for just how much you can accomplish in that time.
@REVEAL.METHOD
If you still have trouble getting started:
TRY THIS
- Break a subcategory into even smaller steps.
For example, break down Tops into Summer and Winter tops or Short-Sleeve and Long-Sleeve and so on. Make the first step - for example, starting with dark short-sleeve tops - so easy that you cannot help but get started.
- Set the timer for 10 minutes.
That's usually how long it takes us to engage with a task. Once we get past this hurdle, it's easier to keep on going, or you can stop without any guilt. You got started!
@REVEAL.METHOD
2 / Discern, then Decide
Once you finish decluttering, you should have a healthy collection of power outfits. Those are the pieces that match your preferred structure, material, shape, color, fit, and care.
But there's one more thing. We only want to keep clothing that meets our criteria in a go-big-or-go-(to-another)-home way.
It's inevitable - and I mean this - that we get heady somewhere along the decluttering process. We're human and really good at rationalizing our choices. It's possible that we decide to keep something for rational reasons alone!
Don't believe me?
TRY THIS
Pick the single most important criterion that EVERY piece of clothing must meet to earn its keep. If it fails this test, it’s automatically gone.
Be playful! Try a mantra: "Fit or forget it!"
Next, pair up some of the remaining criteria together - maybe it’s shape + color and drape + fit or another iteration… However you break it down, if a beloved piece passes the main test but fails one of these pairs, say goodbye.
@REVEAL.METHOD
Does this exercise seem strict? That's the point. Compromise doesn't serve you well, if at all.
That bag has all my "best clothes."
REVEAL METHOD Client
What my client meant is that the bag had all the items *she thought she should think of as best* - the shapes in fashion, the recognizable brand names, the expensive items.
Trust that your body and heart are better equipped than your mind, and definitely "the world at large" to know (the essence of) what feels good to wear! Let go of the generic and trivial in favor of the essential.
If it isn’t a clear yes, then it’s a clear no.
Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
3 / Making Way for Clarity
There's no magic way to part with unwanted items. Make an appointment in your calendar and get it out the door.
TRY THIS
If you're short on cash but long on time, resell your items online or at a local consignment shop.
If the opposite is true, take it to the nearest donation center.
@REVEAL.METHOD
Most of my clients "worry" about their give-aways finding a good home. The truth is that it's impossible to assure this outcome.
The impulse to micromanage how and to whom we give our things away speaks more about our grasp for control than our generosity. Give with an open heart. The rest will take care of itself.
Renata Watts
Going forward, think of your closet as a garden. Weeds will spring up. Our job is to be good gardeners.
TRY THIS
Keep a hamper in your closet or a bag in the laundry room.
Every time a piece fails the tests we explored above, put it in this spot.
Make a commitment to have it emptied once per quarter or even once per year. Put it in your calendar! When the calendar reminder goes off, do it that day.
Meeting each morning with ease is a goal you want to make no trade-offs on, so elevate and honor the tasks (no matter how small) that safeguard your morning routine.
@REVEAL.METHOD
4 / Honor the Essential
And speaking of honoring, over the course of this 3-part series, we've distilled a great deal!
You have:
Learned to see your clothes as they are
Learned what works for you: STRUCTURE, MATERIAL, SHAPE, COLOR, FIT, and CARE
Identified which items in your wardrobe "don't belong"
Revealed your Signature Style
Mapped out the current and ideal states for your morning "getting dressed" routine
Identified the behaviors that need to Start, Stop, and Continue so that it's easier to do the laundry beginning to end
Became aware of your natural tendencies when it comes to folding and storage, again to promote day-to-day ease
Turned shopping into an intentional and scheduled task
Improved the supporting process - maintenance (laundry, storage) and replenishment (shopping) - that make getting dressed easier or harder
Translated your signature style into your very own essential wardrobe through decluttering
Clothing is one of our three most fundamental needs, along with food and shelter. It's also intimately tied to the quality of our morning routine.
I hope my posts have energized you to simplify your dressing routine and reclaim time for what's essential in the rest of your day and life.
Ren
If you missed parts 1 and 2, read it here and here.
Further Reading from today's post:
The Year You Have a Closet Full of Clothes and Plenty to Wear (Part 1/3 – Reveal Your Essential Wardrobe), by Renata Watts
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, by Marie Kondo (Support Still North Books & Bar, a local shop; not an affiliate link)
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, by Greg McKeon (Support Still North Books & Bar, a local shop; not an affiliate link)
The Fluidity of Time: Scientists Uncover How Emotions Alter Time Perception, by Joe Dawson and Scott Sleek on Association for Psychological Science
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, on Wikipedia.com