Article by Loulou Storey (above, right) of The Styling Storey.
Follow these 9 unexpected steps when you are detoxing your wardrobe. These are the insider tips that I use with my clients. The secret steps that will give you biggest success. Detox your wardrobe like a Style Coach and you will get long lasting results.
Start With Your Smalls
Organise your knicker drawer a day ahead of the big detox.
It’s the perfect way to get the ball rolling.
Doing ‘the big detox’ can feel rather overwhelming. Getting the first thing sorted and ticked off the list makes your detox day feel achievable.
Set An Intention
How do you want to feel at the end of the detoxing? What is the main goal (other than just getting rid of stuff)?
Some suggestions:
Clarity on what you own & what shopping habits you have
Create new outfits from what you already own
Review your wardrobe, identify what’s missing & create a shopping list
Work through emotions of not being able to let old clothes go
Organise your wardrobe and create more space.
Prevent Burn Out
Set a hydration alarm to remind you to drink water every hour on the hour.
Have snacks with you.
All of this keeps your energy and momentum up.
Put Everything On The Bed
You’ve got to get to sleep at night, by putting everything on the bed you will reduce the chances of not finishing the job.
Work In Categories
This is the best way to make sure you compare all the of the same category side by side. For example, jeans compared with jeans to make sure you just keep hold of the jeans that work for you.
Ask Yourself: Does It add To Your Life Or Subtract?
Ask yourself whilst you try your clothes on ‘does this add to my life or subtract?’
Subtract means an item of clothing that gives you a bad and hesitant feeling.
Examples are: It used to fit and now doesn’t/it has holes in it/it reminds you of the old you/makes you yearn for a previous life/you were given it as a as present and you feel guilty for not wearing it etc.
Adding means an item of clothing that gives you a satisfied warm feeling.
Examples are: It is useful in your wardrobe and goes with lots of other things/it makes you feel excited to wear it/you’d want to wear it this week/it fits in with your current life and where you are heading this year.
Watch Your Thoughts
If you decide that something subtracts from your life but you then hear yourself justifying to keep it, watch yourself. We will often pull back on what we want and justify holding onto clothes that don’t make us happy but keep us comfortable.
Common examples are:
‘It was really expensive/designer so I better keep it’ – Nooooooo SELL IT.
‘I used to love it but I’m over it now’ – Let it go unless you are excited to wear wear it in a different way.
‘I used to fit into it (5 years ago) I’m sure I’ll get back into it’ – STOP TORTURING YOURSELF get rid!
Be Realistic
Be realistic with the time you have to sell items, only keep the best items to sell, donate the rest.
Familiarise yourself with preloved/second hand stores. They will sell the items for you and reduce your time on selling sites. Be aware that they won’t take everything and will have requirements for specific brands and will be very cautious about the condition the clothes are in.
Everything In Colour Order
Once you have decided what to keep, as you are detoxing, put your clothes back in your wardrobe in colour order.
This ensures that:
– You can find everything you own. You know which colour it’s with.
– Each garment will always get replaced on the same hanger. Everything has its place.
– You can clearly see what colours you are buying too much or too little of.
– You are inspired everyday with how you wardrobe looks.
Good luck with detoxing your own wardrobe. It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, if you feel it needs to happen then now is the best time to start.
If you want my support with detoxing your own wardrobe, or you would like a review of what to buy then get in contact here http://www.thestylingstorey.co.uk/contact/
Or for my daily Style Lessons follow me here https://www.instagram.com/thestylingstorey/
For more of my style help, check out my Huffington Post blog posts http://www.thestylingstorey.co.uk/blog/
