The Great Wardrobe Declutter

Today I started. And it wasn't as hard as I thought. I didn't need to try anything on as I already knew what I didn't want to keep. I found myself waking up last night thinking 'I'm going to get rid of that denim jacket', so really, I was decluttering in my sleep.

I started with clothing I had previously removed from the wardrobe in my bedroom. I cleared everything out of the office/sewing room wardrobe which was put there to 'think about' months ago when I first read La Bella Figura. I kept a handful of items, the rest went into a (decent-sized) suitcase for donation.

There were pieces I was tempted to keep but then remembered I never wore and didn't want to. A denim jacket which wasn't big enough in the shoulders so always sat funny, another jacket where the sleeves were too short. Tops that were scratchy, not comfortable. Out, out, out. It was so easy and unemotional I thought I mustn't be doing it right.

I also made a decision to declutter all skirts. None have escaped so far. I love how feminine skirts are, but in them I just feel frumpy. Dresses are different for some reason. I love the few dresses I have which I wear on special occasions. But in skirts, perhaps it's my body shape, I'm either too corporate or just plain dumpy.

It was very freeing to skip past the skirts without even a thought. Janet from The Gardener's Cottage made me think about this with her comment a few days ago noting 'right now hanging in my closet are 3 summer skirts that i never wear. why is it that i keep them?'. Thanks Janet for the nudge.

What kept me on track was thinking of my tiny Paris apartment (the one of my dreams, you know it, the breezy, sparse apartment with filmy curtains at the windows). Would Sabine, my ideal French girl have all of this unworn clothing clogging up her home?

And it's not like I'm wasting it, someone else will wear it if it's at their house, not mine. It's easier to live with it hidden away than to declutter it, but like most things in life, the easy way is not the best way.

I thought I would start out with the 'satellite' wardrobes before tackling the main one, work into it if you like. Stephanie from C'est Si Bon wisely began with cosmetics (starting with clothing is quite a tall order). But really, the main wardrobe I don't think will be so hard either. I've run out of time today (late afternoon is the start of relaxing, reading and dinner time) but I didn't think I would get it all done in one day. I'm not that good.

I did get quite a lot done today though, here is my list of Sunday Accomplishments:

Made chicken stock
Vacuumed the house
Changed the sheets on our bed
Did two loads of washing and hung on the line
Washed and ironed cloth dinner napkins
Tidied and picked up the house
Decluttered wardrobes in guest bedroom and sewing room/office
Washed makeup brushes
Renovated a pair of yoga pants that had a really annoying bunchy waistband

The next parts of The Great Wardrobe Declutter are:

Main wardrobe in our bedroom
Shoes
Makeup
Scarves
Jewellery