4 Steps to Align Your Closet with Your Life
Do you really need 15 pairs of yoga pants?
Psychic or not, I’m going to guess that unless you teach yoga full time, the answer is probably no.
Too often we buy clothes without thinking about the ones already hanging in our closet. And when we’re confronted with jammed drawers or we’ve run out of hangers, we turn to organizational tips to help us find more space to squeeze in our latest conquest.
Before you tear your closet apart (again) and reorganize it, hoping to finally make everything fit once and for all, stop and evaluate what’s going in your closet against what should be in there. Scroll on, with a pen and some paper, to figure out if the proportions of your closet are actually the cause of your ‘tiny closet’ crisis.
Photo by Lisa Fotios from Pexels
Step 1: Breakdown Your Actual Need
First, map out an average week in your life. Be realistic about the amount of time you spend at the gym, out on the town, or dressed up in office garb. Then, think about the special occasions you’ve attended in the last two years.
Were more birthday parties spent in cocktail dresses or tee shirts? Did you scramble at the last minute for formal wear for the office Christmas party? How many beach vacations or days at the pool did your swimwear actually see?
Once you’ve got it all down on paper, break your life out into categories. You can be a general, but make sure the categories reflect your actual life – not your friends’ or your imagined life.
Step 2: Compare to the Closet You Have Right Now
Now that you have a blueprint of the closet you need, take a look at the one you have. Starting with your largest category, pull together the pieces you can wear for that part of your life.
Be realistic. If your favorite out-on-the-town heels technically fit the dress code at your office, but you’ve NEVER actually worn them there, they’re not office apparel.
Depending on how many separate dress codes you come in to contact with during a given week or month, your categories may overlap. As offices become more casual, the line between work and weekend-appropriate in your own closet might become finer. If your ideal night out with friends involves watching the game on the couch, you may find less use for sequins than those friends who want to hit the club on a weekend.
Of course, that’s not to say you shouldn’t have a few special occasion items. Just make sure an idealized version of your life, or a previous incarnate of it, isn’t ruling your wardrobe.
A brief note on repeating outfits:
If anyone is paying enough attention to tell that you wore that dress to the last holiday party or those slacks last week:
- Fluff your hair, fake a blush
- Say, "Oh my gosh - thank you for noticing! It's my favorite!"
- Make some kind of quippy comment about their side hustle as the paparazzi
- Wear it again, ASAP (AKA: Dare them to say something twice)
Ok, but seriously. Unless your clothing is actually wearing away from use, irreparably stained, or smelly, it doesn’t matter how many times or how recently you’ve worn it – you can wear it again. Ignore the haters.
Not convinced? Check out these boss babes who have spoken about repeating pieces:
Now that you’ve separated your existing closet into the same categories as your closet on paper, you may have noticed they don’t totally line up.
Step 3: Address Glaring Gaps
Some areas of your closet are just more fun to shop for, so you’ve probably gone a little overboard in one category or another. Take a good look at those disproportionately large groups. Are there pieces you can part with in the overstuffed categories? Consider freeing up some space in your closet by dropping them off for donation.
Next, ask which areas of your life are under-supported by your closet today. Have you noticed strain before? Are you washing the same three button downs every few days to keep up? Are any of your core pieces looking worn or falling apart? Start thinking about items you’d like to add as well as a realistic budget for wardrobe updates. If you’ve made it this far, you probably don’t need to break into the piggy bank, and you can watch for sales or new lines to come out with the pieces you need.
If you’ve found your collection of jeans spends more time in your closet than on your person, but you’re not ready to get rid of them, you’ve identified some items that can be stored in less prime spots. Think: under the bed, up on the top shelf, or even a different closet altogether. Keep a few pieces in your closet for day to day wear and rotate through your selection.
Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels
Step 4: Set a Reminder to Do It Again
Having done all the leg work and figured out what you need, as well as any shopping tendencies that don’t quite fit, you’ll be more aware of how your latest purchase fits into your closet, right?
Sure. For a little while, at least.
Switching to shopping mindfully doesn’t happen overnight. You’ll probably be more cognizant of your carefully categorized closet and put down the first few guilty-pleasure pieces you pick up. But building the habit takes practice and it’s easy to forget how much work you put in when you find a great deal.
Set your closet up for success by setting a reminder to do this whole practice again in a few months. Even if you’ve done an excellent job of only purchasing the most necessary items, another review will highlight pieces you still want to pick up and free up space when you realize you haven’t touched (or even thought about) a few more items tucked into crowded categories.
Other good times to align your closet:
- When you take on a new job or a promotion with new dressing requirements
- When you move to a new climate
- When you develop a new, frequent habit like painting, fitness, or gardening
- Every year or so, just because
Life changes – you change. Even without a specific catalyst, you may realize every so often that your closet doesn’t suit the life you’re living.
That’s because you curated it for different needs than the ones you have today.
Each time you finish, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to get dressed each day. When your closet reflects the life you lead, dressing to be the best version of yourself comes naturally.
So what categories did you come up with? What’s on your ‘need to add’ shopping list? Let me know in the comments!
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