Earlier this week, I set an intention to purge my closet of clothes I do not want, nor need, to live a more minimal and satisfactory life.
The motivation for this intention came from Keltie O’Connor, but the inspiration of the act comes from, as she terms it, my “ideal self.”
Keltie recommends five steps to get you in the right frame of mind prior to purging your closet. I’m going to talk about those five tips as a way to frame this Saturday’s clothing purge!
- Research online of what your ideal self looks like. I look a lot to Emily Ratajkowski and Kendall Jenner for every day wear. They have an obvious California influence (and the kind of body that looks good in everything – a whole other can of worms for another time), with pretty, flirty sundresses, swimsuits, and never underestimating the simplicity of a well fitted pair of blue jeans and a crisp tee shirt. I used them as a jumping off point, since I tend to vary between wanting to live a fabulous New York life to a casual California life to an even quieter New England or southwestern life. In almost every picture, my ideal self wears clothes that aren’t too baggy, nor too tight. In fact, tightness is never seen. Everything is fit perfectly. There’s no loud colors, but there is an occasional pattern. There’s some jewelry, but not a lot. Everything is simple, feminine, and never outright bold. My clothes are not necessarily a statement, but rather a call to attention! Looking put together gives the illusion that your life, mind, body and soul are put together, too. ILLUSIONS.
- Write your ideal self. What does she do? Who are her friends? Where does she live? My ideal self drinks green juice and bikes when the weather is nice. She’s out in nature or on a hammock reading. She ingests plenty of vitamin C and has healthy hair. She is some kind of creative director professionally, and often manages projects and product launches. She’s high enough on the food chain that she is able to leave on time to pick up the kids once a week from school to take them to ballet/cello. She is friends with equally smart and powerful women, and goes on group dates once a month with her married friends. She goes on long weekends once a month to visit her friends that don’t live close by or within driving distance. She is well traveled, a multi linguist, and a voracious reader. She grows her own strawberries, basil, and mint. She and her husband go on two big trips a year, one with their kids, one just the two of them. She travels with her girlfriends every other year, alternating between her friends and her mom/sister.
- Based on all of this, what does she wear? She wears matching pajama sets to bed, along with the occasional nightgown or oversized tee shirt combination with sleep shorts. When she works out, she wears yoga pants and either a sports bra and a tank top or fitted athletic tops that help keep her temperature regulated in a workout (think zip up jackets for running outside in the winter). On an average day, she wears jeans and a tee shirt, occasionally a faded/vintage graphic tee shirt. She has a jacket for every occasion. On dates, she wears fun sundresses that aren’t too short but also don’t go too far past the knees. At work, she wears a fitted blouse tucked into a pencil skirt or pants. She likes a good beanie and the occasional baseball hat, and will wear big floppy hats on beach vacations. Simple, but stylish.
- Devise a checklist of what she has. BE SPECIFIC. My ideal self has a red, off the shoulder cocktail dress for special occasions. She has an olive jacket for cold weather and a pleather jacket for that step between “I need a jacket” and “I don’t need a jacket.” She has three pairs of jeans: one high-rise pair, one pair that cuffs at the ankle, and one straight leg pair. She has one jumpsuit that she pairs with sandals or heels. She has a fancy white blouse and a nice pair of black slacks to pair it with. She can tuck the blouse into the slacks. She has three or four work dresses that look like something Selina Meyer or Claire Underwood would wear (terrible people, but they run the nation, so… it’s emblematic). She has solid white tee shirts, black tee shirts, two or three graphic tee shirts, and two or three flannels/plaid shirts.
- Clear out the closet of what she won’t wear.
- BECOME YOUR IDEAL SELF.
I’m eager to see how cleaning out my closet will help me become that ideal self! I know I didn’t go into a lot of detail for item four, but I also don’t want to give myself too many ideas. The idea is to downsize entirely. If I think too much on things my ideal self would have, I’ll have a closet that overflows again, and I really don’t need that anymore!
I’ll be back with a post-mortem on the cleanout in a few days. Fingers crossed it goes well!