Monday, March 15, 2010

Kiss winter goodbye.


She would love to pack winter up in a little brown parcel tied with a bright pink ribbon and send it away. This seems like a big feat but it's time for some freshness in the stale air that has been surrounding her...gathering a sense of heaviness that almost chokes her when she tries to speak. She wants to be caught in the rain on a warm spring day - to feel the wetness on her skin as it washes away everything that is old.

Let's do some SPRING CLEANING starting with our closets.

"Closets are supposed to be a place to store the clothes, accessories, and shoes we wear. Many that we see look like archeological digs, filled with layers of stuff from days past. Others are more selective; they remind us of scrapbooks documenting a woman's life. You accumulate and hold on to all that stuff in your closet because of emotions, past attachments, or present challenges. - Judie Taggart & Jackie Walker

Go to your closet and look inside. What are the emotional reasons you hoard stuff? Memories? Potential? Ego boosting? Fear? Aspirations? Comfort? By acknowledging this, it makes it easier to get rid of things you really don't need. I used to have a difficult time getting rid of old clothes. I'd always think...what if it comes back into fashion...or what if i need it one day... you know what? that day never comes.

This is a huge exercise in learning to let go which we can also apply in our daily lives. I go through my closet once or twice a year(usually more often when i feel my life is in a transistion) & ask myself if everything hanging in your closet is really ME? Can I wear this NOW? Not, I can wear this when I'm 5 pounds lighter again...etc. After clearing out my closet and donating my old clothes, I find it so much easier to put outfits together. I dont have to go through a whole bunch of emotional clutter. When you get rid of things that no longer serve you, you make more room for positive things that align with what you want and who you are.

Here is a exercise you can do to help you along the way. It's from the book "I Don't Have A Thing To Wear":

Step1. Take a piece of paper and draw a circle. From this circle you are going to create a pie chart which will be divided into sections. Each slice will be based on your life's activities.

Step2. On a separate piece of paper list he activities you preform on a daily basis. Example: Work, Weekend, Evenings, Social, Casual, Exercise. Under these categories, write what you wear while you are preforming it. For your Exercise slice write what you wear to the gym, or to yoga class. For your work slice write down what you wear to work...etc

Step3. Determine the time you spend on each activity in a month. Return to your circle and divide it into slices according to the percentages you spend on each activity



Step4. Now take your circle and go to your closet. Separate the clothing you actually wear into the categories that correspond to the pie slices. Create a different pie for the items that either dont fit into one of your categories of items that you can't or don't wear.

Step5. Now compare the percentage of clothes in each pile you have created with the percentages of your circle. Do the percentages match? What percentage of the clothes in your closet do you actually wear? 20-40%? If you wear only 20-40% of what is in your closet, how can you dress 100% of your life? Get it?


18 comments:

  1. i love the color of your eyes !
    what contacts you use ?
    thanks much for the comments dear !
    visit - follow - comment me back at..
    glisters and blisters

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  2. You're so pretty! I love that pink lipstick on you too.
    Oooo I wish my closet looked like the picture on the left above with the pretty chandeliers :)
    I know, I have a difficult time getting rid of old clothes too :\ It's terrible really. But that pie chart analogy is a good idea.

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  3. I love those photos! I'm cleaning oot my closet in a week, this will definitely come in handy! Great tips xx

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  4. I just realized that my entire closet is mainly of "school attire" which means: jeans and shirts- the other half is corduroys(?)I don't know how or when it happened but, it did/has and now I feel down -___-;; MUST NOT BE DEPRESSED~! I really need to go back home and get my "clothes-clothes". I hate GRAD SCHOOL!>_<;;

    Other than that- great post! I never saw it that way, haha~ And you are looking hot with those sparkling eyes and luscious lips~ (Don't tell me: you look that good when cleaning out your closet?!)

    Miss. P

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  5. dear misscindee:

    i hope this doesn't sound weird... but i felt a bit honored when i got a comment from you! i remember stumbling across your blog (i believe from a different domain) and how amazing it was! i loved your fashion creations, your sketches! and inspiring words. i even bookmarked it but since then forgot about it after reformatting my computer so many times.

    so yeah! the feeling i got was almost like meeting a celebrity hahahaa!

    these photos... i die! so beautiful. i love these kinds of posts, they're so helpful and make me not want to be lazy. such a clever idea! :D


    <3 have a wonderful week!

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  6. I've got a wardrobe full of clothes with nothing to wear. I've even left half of my clothes at my family home and still the hubby is complaining that my clothes are encroaching into his wardrobe space. My wardrobe back then: 4 doors all to myself. Our wardrobe now: 4 doors shared by the hubby and me. Of course must encroach his space!

    I can't adopt the pie chart manner. It doesn't work for me. Rather, I'll clear my clothes in batches. If after 2 seasons of wardrobe clean ups and I still don't wear them, out they go. I used to sell my good condition clothes on yahoo auctions and a bunch of friends and I would have clothes exchange sessions too. The clothes go off to better owners and we all wind up being very happy getting rid of our clothes even if we don't get any in return. If I manage to fork out the time for flea market, I'll sell them there too. And no, I'm not a complusive shopperholic. I just keep wearing the same few clothes I feel comfy in, leaving myself with so many unworn or seldom worn. =)

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  7. About 2-3x a year, I have to do a massive clean out of my closet and it's always still full or still has things I won't wear! I'm a total minimalist so I'll clean multiple trash bags out with no regrets which is good.

    I haven't done spring cleaning yet which I have to do soon to make room for some new fashions. :)

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  8. haha michelle, i will post very soon =) and my contacts are from Fresh Eyes: turquoise.

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  9. hi karen. thanks for the lovely comment =) the lipstick shade is chatterbox from MAC. and yes that closet looks so unique. it makes me want to revamp the look of my closet and make it into a secret little treasure looking room. haha.

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  10. thanks for your comment, cindee (i am SO late ahha)

    cute blog you have over here :)

    -alli

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  11. hi miss P. or should i call you miss corduroy. hehe. its ok, school attire is comfy. =) sometimes choosing what to wear takes too much thinking that i have default pieces that usually pull on. i end up wearing the same things. lol* so sometimes when you have other things on ur mind..like grad school its so much more convenient to dress casually and comfortably =)

    and no i dun look like that when i clean my closet. my hair is usually untidy and i dont put any lipgloss on unless i decide to preform a little lipsync infront of my mirror. lol*

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  12. hi Christine. wow that is a very unexpected and flattering comment you left me. my blog is just an outlet where i get to express my thoughts and my creativity so when i come across ppl that express themselves to me also it makes my heart smile inside. you're words are so sweet. It definitely made my day. thank you for that =)

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  13. jo: yea this pie chart might not work for everyone but it definitely helped me sort things out and made me realize what types of clothes i should stop buying bcos i barely do those activities. wow, it seems like you have a lot of clothing. feel free to pass it over to me if you dont wear them. hehe =P

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  14. thanks for sharing this little closet cleaning exercise! hehe I will put it to good use whenever I get settled into a place of my own! hehe (right now I share a room with a roommate for college and i'll be moving back home after while I look for a job so it's all temporary!) WOW! some girls just have crazy pretty closets! I want the one in my future home to look like the lilac one--so cute and it makes me just want to stay in there almost all day and play dress up! I could sleep in a closet that cute and inviting...surrounded by my pretty clothes and shoes. haha! I lovee your fashion blog, Cindee! it's just so unique, bright, and cheerful~really refreshing :)

    <3 caroline

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hi luv. speak your mind...whisper your secrets...kiss your words as you blow them into my ears

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