Leave your emotions at the door
First and foremost, tear your warm heart out of your chest and replace it with a cold one. This is not an emotional exercise, it is a practical one that will mean you look and feel better at the end. You may want a friend
present, but make sure they are one of those brutally honest friends. Then begin by emptying the entire contents of your closet - including all accessories. Sort the clothes and accessories into categories that make sense to your life ... work clothes, home clothes, weekend clothes.
Honesty is the best policy
The next step is to go through each item and ask yourself the following questions. First of all, have you worn the piece in question within the past 12 to 18 months? If the answer is no, then these are first contenders for the "trash" pile.
All the clothes you are going to keep will form your "thrash" pile. Is the garment in question old, pilling or in bad condition? Does it need repairing or dry cleaning and can you really be bothered? Does the piece still fit? And no matter how much it may hurt your ego, try it on and see if it really does.
See the wood from the trees
Things left in the thrash pile you will now really thrash because you should start to see the wood from the trees - you should be able to really see what you have and the gaps you need to fill.
If there are really good condition items in your "trash" pile, think about donating them to a charity or take them to a recycling boutique.
Systems, systems
When returning the items to your closet, make sure you take the time to create a system. Buy a set of good hangers so that your clothes are neat and cared for. Buy shoe boxes and containers to arrange your treasures into categories that make sense to your life. You may even discover some old-new favourites that were buried under the years of accumulated orphan garments. You will be able to stand back and reassess what you really need to make it sing and you are also less likely to fall victim to impulse buying as a result.
Do it now
Clothes should free you; they should make your life easier and fill you full of confidence. But if they're getting in the way right now, it means that you probably need a wardrobe audit urgently.
Got a fashion or style topic you'd like us to cover? Email Natalie at editor@simplyyou.co.nz
Leave your emotions at the door
First and foremost, tear your warm heart out of your chest and replace it with a cold one. This is not an emotional exercise, it is a practical one that will mean you look and feel better at the end. You may want a friend
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