Monday, October 22, 2007

clean out your closet


everyone has too much clothing in their closets. most people only wear about %20 of the clothes that they own. lets get rid of the things we no longer wear. cleaning out your closet will make it easier to get dressed in the morning (less choices) and make your laundry easier (you always put laundry off longer than you should -- because you still have more clean clothes and if you washed all your clothes you wouldn't be able to put them away because your closet is full!)
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pull your clothing out of your closet one at a time and try it on -- think about the words you hear in your head. do they make you feel absolutely beautiful or do you feel bad? going through the clothing in your closet is difficult because it can evoke an entire spectrum of feelings. your closet didn't get out of control in one day and you wont be able to clean it out in one day either. take you time, spend 15 minutes here and 15 minutes there.
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we're only going to keep the clothing that we absolutely adore and feel great in.
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you will begin to see a pattern of your favorite items. we all have a favorite color, fabric or style that brings a smile to our face. i love jeans and pink. it's all about what you love and how you feel when you wear your clothes.
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let's build our wardrobe with the basic foundations:
(i'm not saying you should only have this, you can have more, these are BASIC foundations to build upon)
  • undergarments: 7 pairs that you love and 7 pairs for that wonderful time of the month.

  • bras: 7 - at least 1 black, 1 natural and 1 white - but colors are fun and make you feel pretty no matter what.
  • slips: 1 black and 1 white
  • socks: 7 pairs for the summer and 7 pairs for the winter (i like ankle socks in the summer and colors in the winter)
  • pants/slacks/jeans: 1 good pair of black wool slacks for dressy occasions and 1 pair of lightweight black for summer, 2 pairs of jeans, 1 pair of tan pants or khakis
  • skirts: 1 black wool winter skirt and 1 black summer skirt, 1 tan or khaki skirt, and 1 printed summer skirt
  • dresses: 1 little black dress, 1 summer dress
  • blouses: 1 black, 1 white and 2 colored
  • t-shirts: 6 (1 black, 1 white 4 colored)
  • coats: 1 black and a nuetral
you should only keep clothing that fits you and you feel fabulous in. a great way to see what you are actually wearing is to turn your hangers backwards and only flip them the right way after you wear something. after a sest time period (3 months, 6 months, whatever works for you) get rid of anything that is still on a backwards hanger.
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i know you might be tempted to hold on to some clothing that no longer fits you (you know what i'm talking about: those jeans that are 2 sizes too small) how long have those been hanging in your closet anyway? let them go, if you do end up losing the weight do you really think you wanna wear clothes that are old? nope, you'll wanna celebrate by wearing new clothes that flatter your new figure.
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coming next organizing shirts and blouses.

6 comments:

  1. I did just clean my closet, but I find that I *need* way more clothes than this list! I didn't think I was such a clothes-horse, but...I have 4 pairs of jeans,1 pair each black dress pants, brown dress pants, & khakis. I have a lot more skirts than you listed...well I have what you listed plus 1 long printed skirt, 3 short printed skirts. Tons more shirts than you listed, but I wear them all...some of the styles nowadays require you to layer T-shirts, and there are long sleeved t's, short sleeved, plus you didn't even mention sweaters. Oh, and I only have one coat, but I have at least 4 jackets. Am I lost cause? I always feel like I have nothing to wear.

    And I could not get by on that amount of underwear. I need at least 10 pairs, because it takes me a coupla days to get my drawers from the laundry room into the drawers.

    I think I am a lost cause.

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  2. you should see, my closet. i was actually thinking on changing the post becuase don't live like that either. i look at that list as a place to start and build from. maybe i'll unpost and chnage the wording around .... hmmm.

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  3. This is a great post and it I will use it alot I'm sure. I wanted to pose a question/problem. I'm losing weight...hooray, right. Except, I'm still losing and don't want to invest in clothes that will only last a couple months until I go down another couple sizes. I tend to lose a bunch at once, usually 2-3 sizes and then stay for a few months. So I have a crappy wardrobe right now, nothing really fits but I know I'm on the verge of another couple size losses. Any advice for the in between wardrobe. Overall the plan is to lose the, umm, I hate to say it, 10 sizes I've gained. I've already gone down 3. Any going down sizes, need something that fits, help me please, advice you can give would be much appreciated.

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  4. I am dying to clean out my closet but will do the complete gutting after my final pregnancy. It drives me nuts I have so many sizes of clothes but until I am done the shrinking and enlarging thing, I will hang onto them all. Unfortunately.

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  5. I'm starting to go through my pre-prego clothes... lets just say that my maternity clothes are nicer that a ton of my pre-prego clothes. Before I was sad that a LOT of my clothes are old and aren't flattering, but it was too overwhelming to think of buying so many clothes to replace the volume of clothes that need to go... but I've already pulled out 2 pairs of pants and 6 shirts!! Anyway, I can't wait to come over and catch up on the episodes!! We might need to spit them into 2 days... and it might be good to check with Aidan so we don't interrupt his "GeGe" shows!! :) You're the best! Sorry I missed you on Sunday... it's been a tad bit CRAZY since Friday night and the "running like a chicken with it's head cut off" is going to continue until Friday! Hold cow! :) Talk to you soon!

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  6. I have to be honest, the first day of cloth diapers I decided I didn't want to do it! It was so weird! BUT, I was inspired by other moms, and now it's like a hobby! It takes more time but thats alright. I don't think I'll ever get my husband to change one!

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