I am not a hoarder in the typical sense, but when it comes to my clothes, I have a problem letting go.  What if the piece I get rid of is EXACTLY what I want to wear tomorrow?  That is the fear.  The reality is that so many pieces are either:

a) Bought on a whim and don’t actually go with anything else.  Out you go!

b) Are no longer in style and NEVER will be. Let it go!

c) Haven’t been worn in 5 years..Say good-bye my little friend!

Why do I have such an emotional connection to this stuff? I need to tell myself:

a) Someone else might actually wear it and enjoy it.  Get it to the Salvation Army and give it a second life!

b) Keeping it in my closet will NOT bring the money back that I spent on it! (I have been waiting and I have yet to receive an “oops that was a bad purchase” refund cheque in my mailbox).  Enough!

c) As a smart friend of mine told me, photograph the sentimental pieces that sadden me to give up.  I am not going to wear that Le Chateau polyester dress ever again, but I still remember wearing it on my first date with my husband.  Happy memories can be just as well kept in my memory drive, no need to further burden my already over stuffed rolling racks that are leaning on their last legs weighed down by so many heavy sweaters.

d) Speaking of heavy sweaters, stop buying the same sweater over and over.  Just stop.

Here are 2 fun articles that inspired me.

Drew Barrymore’s How To

Drew goes on a shopping diet and shares the results on Refinery 29.

Vogue’s How To

A very helpful flow chart for making those tough decisions.

Good luck with your closet cleaning!

P.S. Another good idea would be to stop shopping completely but I prefer the one in, one out approach (which I have yet to try, but it sounds very clever).  I don’t know if I am quite evolved enough to have a uniform of 8 pieces that no longer need refreshing, but maybe one day!