My Closet

I have spent the last two days purging my own small closet. I am amazed about some of the things I found in there, and did it ever feel good to purge those things. Some of the items I'd been keeping all these years, because I'd already kept them for so long, might as well keep on keeping them. What a ridiculous reason to keep something!

Here's the first rule: If it doesn't fit you right this minute, if it doesn't flatter you, if you don't like it, or if you never wear it, PURGE IT!

As part of this process, I tried on every single article of clothing I own. It doesn't matter what the size is on the tag - some things look good on me and some don't. Some things I've kept in the past because they fit me, but I don't actually ever leave the house in them. Those things have now been purged. Phew!

We all have those clothes that are a couple sizes too small that we hope to fit into again someday. Would you believe I have size 12 - 22 in my closet?? I am a tall girl, and getting down to a 12 again is pretty unlikely after having three kids. And, without having any more 80-pound pregnancies, getting up to a size 22 again is also highly unlikely. Thank God. If I ever do get down to my college size again, I tell you what - I've earned myself a whole new wardrobe - one that's actually currently in style! And the big-girl size? Those were for just in case I "let myself go". Well, if I don't have a wardrobe that allows for some weight gain, then gaining weight isn't an option! So, if it doesn't fit you right this minute, purge it. I did.

I ended up purging several suits from my "corporate" days, as well. As a stay-at-home mom living in the mountains, I just don't have much need for suits anymore. So why have I kept them all these years? By the time I'm ready to go back to work, I'll probably need to get a suit that's not so outdated. But, what would be nicer still is to work a job that doesn't require a suit in the first place! I did keep my FAVORITE suit for job interviews and dinner with the President.

The second rule to follow when purging your clothes:  You can only keep what you have room to keep.

Not everyone, myself included, was blessed with a gigantic walk-in closet. Therefore, I simply cannot own as many clothes as someone with a bigger closet than mine. It's much more economical to get rid of stuff than it is to build a bigger closet.

I especially had to consider this rule when purging my shoes. I do not consider myself a fanatical collector of shoes. Going into this project, I decided to only keep five pairs - hiking boots, dress shoes, sandals, gym shoes, and my favorite trail runners. Well, I'm human, and I ended up keeping 14 pairs of shoes. (Afterall, you can't just have one pair of dress shoes - you need black ones, brown ones, white ones, sassy ones, conservative ones... And my friends are probably laughing right now, thinking, "Kristen owns dress shoes?")

I decided that to keep my closet managable, I could only have as many pairs as would fit around the perimeter of my 5'x5' closet. I had to narrow it down to 14 pairs. (Truly, did I still need that pair of Vans skateboarding shoes from high school? How embarassing! Did I really think those would ever again be in style again for my current demographic?) As long as I live in this house with this closet, I will not be able to own 15 pairs of shoes. When one pair comes into the house, one pair will have to leave the house. So, I whittled until I got down to 14 pairs, and managed to purge 21 pairs in the process!

Just to accentuate my day's accomplishments, I weighed the bags of clothes I'm purging from my closet, alone, and I am purging 102.6 pounds! To think - that just came from my closet! Not my dresser, not Josh's closet, not Josh's dresser, and not any of the kids' clothes! I have to say, losing house-weight feels just about as great as losing body-weight. I'm proud of every pound.

Now, doesn't it feel good to go into your closet, to be able to pull out the first outfit you touch, and know that it's a perfect fit?