I’m not always one to jump on to the proverbial bandwagon but in this situation it’s really a good premise. Cleaning out my closet and donating things I no longer use or need is a great idea. If I’m not using it someone else certainly can. Not to mention the simple act of decluttering can cause a great relief from anxiety. However, it can also cause some as well. I know I find it frustrating when the act of sorting cause a bigger mess before it gets better. Many of the people on the show reached points of contention when forced to make a decision on where certain things should go or if they should hold on to other items. I do have to say that I appreciated the fact that Marie stressed that the point was not to force people to get rid of things that they liked. It wasn’t a free-for-all to dump everything and you only get to keep two pieces of clothing. Rather it was an act or ritual to go through the things you own and see if you truly need those pieces going forward. If I have a closet full of clothes and none of those items bring me joy, do I really need those items? Isn’t the point of fashion to enjoy it? I don’t know about you but I have things in my closet that still have tags on them. I know that I go through my closet periodically, often with the season, and discard a few items here and there. I know did quite a bit after I finally started to lose the baby weight and stopped breast-feeding.
The big difference I noticed in Marie’s KonMari Method is that the she has her clients go through all their clothes at once. It was incredibly daunting to take out every piece of clothing I owned at once and place it all on my bed. But by doing this I was really able to see the amount of things I owned. So instead of thinking that I might need another blue Henley I can see that I already have two and a third that is really similar. In fact, I had three at one point. I think that this method, though a lot or work up front, is really a great way to go through my clothes and other items. I know for myself I have a tendency to hold on to things just for the sake of not wanting to throw them away even if they are damaged. For example, I decided to start going through my closet this week. And instead of going through a few things at a time I decided to actually empty out my closet as well as the two storage totes I had of off season items to get a better picture of what I actually own. Another aspect of Marie’s method is to look at each item you own and to ask yourself if that item brings you joy. When discussing her former clients she mentions how they continue her method and it works as you learn to keep and buy only the things you truly like.
As I mentioned, I decided to go through my closet this week and in doing so I discovered a few things. I don’t own as many clothes as I thought I did and I don’t own that many things I truly love. My closet over the past five years has transformed greatly from only owning what could fit in a suitcase from when I lived abroad to having a bunch of times in different sizes simply because I needed something that fit my current size at the time. My wardrobe really changed a lot as I had two babies in two years which created a need for lots of maternity wear and shirts that worked well for breast-feeding. However, post-pregnancy and post weight-losss I didnt’t quite know where to go with my closest. This in turn correlates to my fitness journey as after having been pregnant for two years in a row I finally began to lose the weight that I had packed on while pregnant. My body has also changed a lot in its composition, as although I am not at my pre-pregnancy weight, I am able to wear some pre-pregnancy pieces. Muscle mass and body composition play a larger role in how things fit than my actual body weight. Which is probably why I have running shorts and tights that I love as well as sports bras and athletic socks. This portion of the tidying was really easy for me. As not only do I look at whether or not I like something for how it looks but also for how it functions. For example a pair of cotton leggings can be super cute but their functionality when it comes to working out is actually quite slim. Cotton traps moisture and not only will look bad when you wear it exercising by showing all your sweat but it also won’t feel good. Especially, when running in the winter as you will get cold really quickly. So I found it really easy to go through my workout clothes and look at each item and say, “I like how this fits. These tights keep me dry and warm, etc.” Following these guidelines I was able to go through all my workout clothes and organize them by type into some cute baskets that I can easily store on my closet shelves.
The problem I am finding now when trying to apply this same principle to my everyday clothes as well as dress clothes is that due to my mishmash of sizes, hand-me-downs and pieces from different life periods is that everything isn’t coming together quite as well as I would like. I have found that I am currently at a bit of an impasse. Even though I have many items that I do not love and would be happy to donate them now, I feel can’t dontate them at this time because I have nothing to replace them with. For instance, I don’t have a pair of dress pants that I love or really even like that much that I can use for interviews or other dressy functions. I could just get rid of the pairs that I do own but that would leave me without a single pair of dress pants, hence my dilemma. What would Marie do? What would you do? As I reread, her book I am reminded that she has her clients do all the discarding first so that would mean that I should get rid of all the pants now. “Do not even think of putting your things away until you have finished the process of discarding” (Kondo 2014, Chapter 2, Section 1, para. 4). She reminds you also to not think about what you are throwing out but to rather focus on what you are keeping. Why am I keeping things that I don’t really like? She asks that you go through each item or article of clothing and ask yourself if it sparks joy for you (Kondo 2014, Chapter 2, Section 3, para. 9).
For in the end, what is the point in keeping things that I don’t actually like. When I keep everything and anything, I end up with all the clutter that I am trying so hard to get rid of. Back to my dilemma and the pants: I think that it makes the most sense to discard all those that I do not like but that it would be ok to keep the pair that fits but later replace it with a pair that I love and works better for me. I think that this is a better plan as it not only will allow me to finish sorting and discarding my clothes all at once but will also give me a clear and desired purpose for my closet. I want all my clothing to not only bring me joy but to also fit well and serve a specific purpose. I am ultimately a big fan of minimalist wardrobes with a neutral pallete where you can mix and match many of the items to create several different outfits. For myself, a pallete of grey and white white with a few other colors mixed in would be ideal. Once, I finish all the discarding my plan is to slowly bring in a few pieces to create this ideal wardrobe and continue to discard as needed. I will add a new blog post once I reach this point as I think it will be fun to watch the process unfold. Until then, happy discarding.
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