On the “eve” of the eve of spring, while a snowstorm was brewing outside my window (March was apparently going out like a lion, too), I decided to jumpstart spring on the inside. First I put “Moves Like Jagger” on repeat on iTunes, before dumping all my clothes onto my bed. Then, category-by-category, in between dancing like no one was watching, I went through each item.
I’m usually mot
ivated to tackle this annual event when hit with that first tickle of warm weather. But with only snow and sleet outside, I switched to my Plan B Motivator. My sisters. I’m heading home to Cape Cod this Friday and, as usual, my sisters and I have a standing “Hand-Me-Arounds” ritual each spring. As the oldest, my clothes were usually the ones passed down, but for the last decade, when the three of us have been roughly the same size, we’ve done this swap.
In preparation for this one, instead of asking myself, “What should I get rid of?” I asked, “Do I love it?” If I did, I kept it. If I didn’t, it went into the “Buh-bye” pile, and if I wasn’t sure, I left it out with the intention of wearing it this week. Then after wearing it I’ll know one of two things: either I’ll love it and put it back in the closet, or I won’t and then it goes “Buh-bye.” This year my “Buh-Bye” pile was filled with 16 tops, 2 skirts, 4 pairs of pants and a few pairs of shoes.
Most of us wear 20% of our clothing 80% of the time because we gravitate to the things we love. So then why have things we don’t love taking up space in our closets? Sure, at one point we may have loved it, but that’s why it’s important to do a Closet Clean Out at least once a year. Not only do our bodies change, but our likes change as well. Not to mention styles. So, like gardeners, we need to weed out the “unwanteds” to keep them from choking the “wanteds.” This also ensures that every time you get dressed, you’re going to feel good.
The best part of our Hand-Me-Arounds party has nothing to do with the clothes, really. Sure we each walk away with one or two new items, but there’s always a pile of leftovers none of us want, and we really feel good bringing them to Goodwill.
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