Closet Overhaul

As you can see, I have quite a bit of clothes in my possession. Yes, it doesn’t seem like THAT much but when I hear about doing a capsule wardrobe or Project 333 I think about doing it for like a nanosecond but then I laugh to myself because I realize I can never pick that few of items to choose from! (although I probably can haha)

Every few months or so for the past year and a half I’ve gone through my closet to get rid of things I don’t wear or want anymore and as a result making room for new things. So if you can imagine my closet having even more in it, it used to. My last overhaul before I moved filled 4 garbage bags! SAY WHAT?!

I love to shop, but I mostly look and save for later when things aren’t so expensive. I like having a variety in my wardrobe: items that be utilized for all types of situations, color and neutral, classic and trendy.

Even though I’ve done several of these in the past year, I always find things that no longer fit into my style for one reason or another. Yesterday I pulled about 10 items from my closet to give away.

This overhaul was inspired by a couple of blog posts I’ve read regarding Marie Kondo’s Tidying Up book (posts from Putting Me Together and Modern Mrs. Darcy) in which she talks about choosing to keep things that bring you joy. I plan to read this book after hearing so many good thoughts from it. I tried to use this concept during this overhaul.

After this last closet overhaul, I’ve realized I have learned a few things about myself and my style.

• My style is ever-changing. This is a change I embrace. I have begun to add more classic pieces to my wardrobe to supplement these changes and will allow me to always have ideas for outfits.
• Even though my style has changed, I still have a sense of what I like and don’t like.
• It is hard to get rid of newer things, especially if it is a gift from someone.
• It is also hard to get of items when you have a lot of them but you wear all of them, like my shorts collection.
• There are some things that just don’t fit right and a tailor is needed.

• As a teacher, I have a lot of items that work as a part of my teaching wardrobe but don’t transition great all the time to more casual situations. This is something I would like to work on.
• Speaking of fitting casual situations, my dress collection is one of the departments. I have several dresses that are great for work but don’t transition as great for casual outings (or at least I don’t know how to transition them well).
• I want to start rethinking how to mix and match my clothes to create more outfits.

This last overhaul was a little harder because I was thinking more about the joy my clothes bring me as opposed to the use they have. I think this is something I need to try again after I start the school year so I can truly decide what of my work wardrobe can be utilized and also bring me joy 🙂

What items bring you the most joy in your wardrobe?

How do you transition work wear to casual wear or vice versa?