tough love
I’ve spent much of today being immersed in my Weekend Wardrobe Declutter course and it took me back to when I decluttered my own wardrobe. I’m quite proud of what I achieved when I did it, because I’d been guilty of every possible wardrobe error:
- I’d spent a fortune on clothes that didn’t fit me, because I was going to slim back into them.
- I had clothes that I’d bought and never worn. They still had the label on!
- I had clothes that had travelled through four house moves but had only ever been worn once. I kept the outfit because it had been expensive to buy at the time.
- I kept a green jumper because it was bought on the last time my sister and I went shopping, the week before she passed away.
When you read about these error, you can also read the emotions attached to them:
- hope that I’d lose weight
- shame that I’d spent so much money on an outfit only worn once
- shame on wasting money on things that never got worn at all
- sadness and the memory of our last shopping trip
To be able to declutter your wardrobe, you need to reframe some of the emotions attached with the clothes that you’re hanging on to:
- when, and only when, I lose weight will I reward myself with new clothes
- I bought the outfit for a special occasion, and it’s time to let someone else have the honour of wearing it
- I have wasted money in the past, but I’ve learnt from the experience and will be more careful in the future
- my sister would want me to be happy, not sad.
It can be really hard letting go of things from your wardrobe that have emotions attached to them, but with a bit of tough love, mixed with some self-compassion (you deserve to treat yourself better), and you can build a wardrobe of clothes for every occasion, that look good fit well and make you feel a million dollars!
Take care for now
Karen x