Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Nest cleaning

Just some minor contractions today. I guess I'm not giving birth yet! So I took some time to clean up my closet. Boy, do I have a lot of clothes! I have been sewing for myself and my family for more than 10 years. About 60% of my wardrobe were made by me. I find it really hard to part with stuff that I made. They were well loved and used over so many years. But how much clothing does one really need? I'm still continuing to add new clothes that I sewed and refashioned to my closet. I think I should take the advice from those organization gurus: take one out before you put a new one in.

But how does one part with a nice wool suit that one has made and worn at work, and received compliments for? Or that special occasion dress that one made for a wedding and worn a couple more times to various Holiday parties? I can be much more cold-hearted in donating shoes that I haven't worn but clothes/accessories that I have made.......I guess I need some professional organizer help with this!

Do you have any suggestions/ideas for me to purge some of my me-made clothing/accessories? I have already given some of my creations to friends/family whom I knew would enjoy those items. But I still have a lot. What should I do?

2 comments:

  1. Put those things in a box, seal it and date it. If you haven't opened the box to retrieve something out of it in a set amount of time, say 6 months or whatever time limit you want to set, then donate the box. The key is to NOT REOPEN THE BOX unless you absolutely need something out of it! If you reopen it and see those things again, or especially if you touch the things again, you'll be right back where you started. The theory here is that you're more than likely going to forget what's in the box, the separation helps break the emotional/sentimental bonds you have, and if you didn't have to reopen the box to retrieve anything then you must not have really needed any of the items in there anyway! I also allow myself one (realistic sized) plastic bin for my sentimental "keepsakes", those things I just don't want to part with. But, I have to keep it to ONE box. If the box gets full and I have something else that goes in there, then I have to decide what's more important and either cull something out or not put the "new" thing in there. It's brutal at times, yes, but when you live in a very very small place, it has to be done. Besides, my mother is a hoarder and I've afraid if I don't make myself do these types of things now, I'm genetically inclined to follow her footsteps! :)

    Congratulations on the new baby!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks so much for your suggestion. I think I may start that in a few months' time, after my body has time to get back to pre-pregnancy shape.I'll have to be strong though! Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete