Want to be able to open the closet, grab what you want and feel great walking out the door . . . BUT your closet is overstuffed and you’re having trouble because you just don’t know what to wear?
Have GREAT pieces but, they’re hidden in between clothing from past lives?
After putting a few outfits together are you still left wondering if you look okay?
I got you.
Right now we’re going to take ONE BIG STEP forward to change that.
Just remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day neither was a great wardrobe. In fact, my image master told me towards the end of a 5 day, intensive stylist training certification course, that it takes the average woman 2 years to really dial in her style and closet.
So give yourself grace and let’s get to it!
WHERE TO START CLEANING OUT YOUR CLOSET
Once you understand the 10 biggest reasons your closet is overstuffed, you can stop the cycle and get going on de-stuffing effectively.
1. **Impulse Purchases:**
Buying items on a whim without considering if they truly fit into your style or wardrobe needs. This happens when you are out shopping for something else, snatch things off the rack and throw it in your cart.
Emergency shopping is also impulse purchasing.
>>GUILTY<<
Maybe you had a speaking event, a board meeting, or party or wedding. You procrastinated. You bought something that “will do” but you don’t really love it. It’s not 100% comfortable or 100% you.
2. **Seduced by the Sale:**
Maybe it was designer. A $500 jacket for $40. It’s so tempting to see a rock bottom price for something you sort of like in REALLY GREAT luxury brand. You got seduced by the glamour and the idea of owning a piece of luxury for less. The brand represents stats, an image, but if it’s not truly right for you, it’s not serving you.
You buy it because you feel like you’re losing money if you don’t grab the sale. BUT, it’s robbing you of cash you could spend on something that does work for you. Science has proven that shopping a sale is akin to the “happy hit” we get from addictive substances — beware. Not only that but, sales lead to compromising on fit, feel — your true dream style.
3. **Trend Chasing:**
For mid-life women, this is more about feeling the need to keep up with the latest trends. We want to modernize our wardrobe and look up-to-date but that = accumulating items you don’t know how to wear or only know how to wear one way.
BORING
It happens when we love fashion or “used to be fashionable and stylish” in our younger years. It’s the fall out of copying influencers rather than having our own clear style.
4. **Emotional Shopping:**
Shopping as a coping mechanism for stress, sadness, or other emotions. We are bored, seeking something exciting, fresh and fun so we shop. Retail therapy = that feeling of euphoria in something new. We feel fresh and vibrant, like a different person in newer pieces. The science of enclothed cognition has proven that what we put on effects our mood and our mental processes. It does change our perspective of ourselves. Which is why it’s so important to use style and clothing as a tool for us not against us. We know that when we look good, we feel more confident, more bold, more courageous.
5. **Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) or fear of not fitting in :**
Feeling like you’re miss out on a must-have IT piece, triggers buying items even if they doesn’t align with your true style or needs. This also ties back to missing out on the sale. More importantly, it relates to fear of not fitting in. Nobody wants to stand out or get noticed for negative reasons. No matter how old you are or how much less you care about what people think of you than you did when you were younger. We still want to fit it or be noticed in a positive way. No one wants to look like they are clueless or outdated.
6. **Lack of Closet Organization:**
Not having a clear organization system in place where your most worn items are front center – easy to grab and easy to put away = clutter and difficulty finding items. Organization begins with having first cleaned out what doesn’t belong. Things that don’t match your style or fit your body. Things off season should be put in storage and further back in the closet.
7. **Sentimental Attachments:**
Holding onto clothing items for sentimental reasons, even if they are no longer worn or needed. There is a place for memories. So keep those pieces in a separate area.
8. **Poor Fit:**
Keeping items that no longer fit in the hopes of fitting into them again someday. I want you to take an honest look at the item. When did you purchase it? Now say you are on a strict health plan and you are working your way down to your goal weight. Do you really want to wear this when you hit that number or would you rather have something new to celebrate?
9. **Not Knowing Personal Style:**
Not having a clear understanding of one’s personal style, resulting in purchasing items that don’t reflect their true style. This is one of the main reasons your closet is bursting. You have changed and the closet hasn’t kept up.
10. **Spent good $ on an item and feel buyers remorse or waiting for it to be in again**
Hanging onto a bad purchase as a way of trying to make peace with your conscience does not redeem the decision. As much as I’d want to believe it. Sorry.
#1 the money has already left your bank account. You’re not saving or recouping the cash by having that piece hang in our closet, you’re just adding guilt every time you look at it. If it can’t be altered to work for you, the best thing you can do is take the lesson you learned about why it. IE Why it doesn’t work and consign or swap it at a party. Let it bless someone else who can really use it.
Keeping it in there is not helping you to love your closet or your style. You want to remove the negativity and keep what sparks joy.
If you are waiting for the same style to come back in, you will be waiting a very long time. The same exact thing doesn’t really come back around again. And even if it did, would you want or be able to get back into it? Update versions are always a little different. There are few pieces that are truly classic, like a trench coat. Even the ballet flat is slightly different than it was 10 years ago.
Now that you have a clear idea of what pieces are cluttering up your closet, you are free to release what is no longer serving you. If you still have some questions left on what should go and what should stay I’m here to support you! Want step by step tips to cleaning out your closet? See this post.
NEED HELP putting together outfits you love and can’t wait to wear? Book a Style Consult. On call, we will determine 3 things you can do to love your style, feel confident your clothing choices, and #1 thing you need to do in order to achieve your closet goals.
Schedule your time HERE.
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