My minimalism journey started with Decluttering my wardrobe.

One night during lockdown I was blankly looking up at the ceiling at 3 o'clock in the night, I suddenly felt that I have too much stuff and it  made me feel anxious, my mind was in constant distress.

I have been always  gravitated towards  cleaning and organising . I was learning about sustainability and minimalism.There is an ocean of information in form of videos and blogs available out there.

I have spent a tremendous amount of time watching these videos, reading about others journey and procrastinating. It was finally time!

Instantly up and out of bed I started emptying my cupboards and piled every piece of clothing I owned on a corner of my carpet. And lord above the pile was too high for one human being.

Initially I felt overwhelmed seeing the piles and piles of stuff in my room but I took some time to calm myself and to realise that I am taking the necessary steps towards having less.

Many suggested many different ideas, but I choose some simple ways which suited me as a beginner and started from there.

I am pleased to share the process and techniques that I applied to my wardrobe decluttering.

1. In the fist step I made up my mind to remove the obvious items from the pile like the old tarred t-shirt I clung to, the night wears with wholes in it, the pants with coffee stain on it. You got the idea.

We tend to cling to items which are too cozy and comfortable even if they served their purpose and why is it so hard to let go of them!!!

 

2. For the next step I decided to remove the items which were in good condition and pretty but they were not comfortable to wear. 

I think you know what I am talking about, the pretty tops which is a little too tight to be comfortable, that weirdly fitted  pant  or the little black dress which is too little for you. I call them the "Some Day Items".

We all have items like these in our cupboard and we hold on to them for years in hopes that we will wear them some day or we will someday make it work.

Once I removed them from the pile I realised these items were making me stressed just by laying in the cupboard.

3. Next to remove from the pile were the items which I reach for every time (again and again) when I am stressed about choosing what to wear. Does this make any sense to you?

I am one of those people who gets too confused or stressed or lazy to iron any item before getting ready so ultimately I always reach for some selected items in my cupboard which are convenient and wear them again and again.

 I realised by doing this I am using 20% of my clothings 80% of the time and not giving much chances to other beautiful items in my wardrobe.

So it's time to remove the "Comfort Zone Items" from the pile.   

4. Do you ever have some items in your wardrobe with which you can not connect or you do not feel excited or happy to wear them no matter how perfect they are?

These items were next for me to remove from the pile.

Anytime I think of wearing them it feels like I am forcing myself and then I think not today may be next time. I go through this every time like a loop and never wear these amazing clothes.

If you have similar items then I urge you to let them go and be with someone who will appreciate them more than you.

5. Next are the items which I need only one of in my wardrobe.

We all have some items which we need only one but we keep buying them in different colour or in sale or just because and ultimately not use most of them.

Identify those items i.e belt, purse, wallet, watch, hairband etc.

I urge you to choose the best quality or the ones that go with most of your outfit to keep and let others go.

My process is to hold and feel the clothes, I prefer to wear most of the clothes to know the feel of them before I decide to keep or discard.

I tried to keep my most comfortable, good quality and perfectly fitted clothes which I love and get excited to wear again and again. Items that I reach for every time without forcing myself.

I did the wardrobe declutter twice more to achieve my almost ideal wardrobe and now I feel immense pleasure when I open my cupboard , I feel so happy and excited that I actually look forward to wear my clothes.

I will share further techniques in my upcoming blogs. Till then happy decluttering !

PS - If you are someone who feels overwhelmed or demotivated by the volume of  items in your wardrobe then try to focus on a single section in your cupboad and proceed slowly. Do not force yourself to sort everything out in one day, Its ok to take time.