I love editing our lives. It probably stems from being a bit of a control freak, but that’s the way I’m wired. I thrive when my environment is neat, clean, organized and uncluttered. Seeing perfect piles of colour-coded clothing in our wardrobe puts me on an absolute high! I like to know exactly what we have and where to find it at the drop of a hat. This makes me feel in control of my life, which in turn relieves my stress levels. Odd but true.
So I’m especially perky this week after spending a good few hours editing our closet (I get stuck into Greg’s side too, since we share a walk-in wardrobe). For me editing is an ongoing thing, which makes it easier and faster. But every so often I do a more thorough sweep. While I was doing that over the weekend I got to thinking about some of the less obvious benefits of the process:
- It clarifies what you have: It’s easy to forget what you own especially when limited closet space forces you to keep wardrobe items all over the show. Your memory is refreshed when you sweep regularly. No unnecessary duplications and not wearing items because you forgot you had them.
- It encourages you to wear items that you haven’t worn in a while: When I clean out my closet, I come across items I haven’t worn in months or even a year and it makes me want to wear them again.
- It sparks off a sense of creativity: I come up with new ways of combining clothing, footwear and accessories when I go through my closet. The process sharpens my style tools.
- It keeps the space neat and organized: Our closet is always tidy, but a monthly edit makes it even more so and that makes my toes tingle.
- It forces you to reorganize storage space: Your wardrobe can outgrow a storage space. For example, my handbags and boots required a better storage solution which meant that I had to rearrange storage space within the walk-in wardrobe in order to accommodate the extras.
I prefer a small wardrobe because it’s easier to manage and it forces you to be more strict about new additions. Something has to go before I can add anything else. Apart from our coats, underwear, socks, sporting gear and Greg’s shoes, all clothing, footwear and accessories fit into our small wardrobe and I want to keep it that way.
Do any of these additional benefits resonate with you? How often do you edit your wardrobe? Do you enjoy the process? Do you find it hard to let stuff go? Do you forget what you have? Are you happy with your storage solutions?
