Spark Joy: Clothing

I knew that I had a lot of clothes. And shoes. I knew that I didn’t wear it all. I knew that some of it never made it to college with me and therefore… I didn’t wear it all year. I just arrived home from freshman year (WOW!) and day one, I found myself piling stacks of old ballet flats, theater T-shirts, and grey cardigans on my bed.

A few months ago, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo aired on Netflix. I watched the first 8-episode season very quickly. I already loved organization and home improvement and simplifying life strategies. Seeing families and couples around the US realize that they don’t actually need everything was refreshing. I just HAD to try Kondo’s method.

Moving back home for the summer seemed like the perfect time to sort through the chaos of boxes. And YOU can follow along this week as I go through the process! I will be following the KonMarie method categories (clothing, books, paper, misc., and sentimental) and offering my own advice and reflections. Stop by At the Corner for all or what you’re most curious about! I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments too. 🙂

DAY ONE: CLOTHING

At first I tried to make piles of shirts, then pants, then sweaters. But by the time I had finished piling EVERY items of clothing on my little twin-size bed, the stacks were falling over. Some might say that I had a “problem” with too much clothing. Though I know I have a lot of clothing, I honestly had no idea how clothing can accumulate when you don’t see everything all at once.

Tip #1: look at the piles of items and reflect. This is ALL mine. With 3 others sisters, some wardrobe sharing is frequent. The piles pictured above are all mine though. We are incredibly blessed as a culture to not wonder what we will wear. Looking at the clothes, I honestly didn’t think it was even possible for me to wear all of it in a year. A YEAR.

Tip #2: Now it was time to determine what Marie Kondo calls the things that “spark joy.” These are items that you feel confident wearing, that look good, that you are constantly reaching for. I made a “super joy” pile picture below! These are some of my absolute favorite things to wear: my hiking socks, TOMS chestnut boots, black loose sweatpants,  loose green cardigan, “Hallelujah” Walk in Love shirt, pink Aerie shorts, and OF COURSE my overalls. These pieces have special memories and are part of my core style.

When I couldn’t quite determine if something sparked “enough” joy, I compared it to how I feel in these items. I tried to pick items from each category of clothing. This was extremely helpful for me.

**Yes, my family thoroughly enjoyed watching me Instagram-square my clothes. 😉  You do strange things for the blog!!

Tip #3: Make a list of the things you actually need to buy. For me, I’m making this a thrift list. From now on, I want to love the things I purchase. I found that when I bought things that just didn’t quite fit right or didn’t have the right cut for my body at the point of purchase, but I still bought them anyway, they didn’t spark joy. I wouldn’t wear them because they didn’t work for me EVER. Can’t move my arms in the sleeves? Too short that I’m paranoid while wearing it? THEN WHY did I ever buy it?!

I had to touch every single one of the items that I wanted to like, but just couldn’t. These lessons about stewardship are for any age. My list of items to buy is a THRIFT list. I won’t find these things right away. It will take time. I have to save money for when I might be able to buy things.

Let’s stop the glorification of instant gratification. This isn’t guilt, but truth. Stop the piles BEFORE they topple. Join me in the discipline of intentional purchasing. Having less clothes and shoes make my choices narrower. It takes less time to get dressed, giving me more time for what matters more than any “super joy” item.

This was just day one!

Love,

 

Please, enjoy my iPhone photos this week 😉