Closet Diaries: The Move

You'd think that after starting this project and gong through another move just a few months ago that my closet would already be pretty lean and stripped down. Yeah . . .  that's what I thought too.  But somewhere in between packing my kitchen aid mixer the night before our move and staring at the wall of clothes in my walk-in closet, I suddenly realized that a) I have a lot more clothes than I realized and b) my new york place didn't have any closets.  I mean, I kinda remembered seeing some free-standing ikea-like wardrobes, but there was no closet space to speak of.  Major Panic Sequence/Meltdown Initiated.

After a bottle of some wine to calm my nerves, I faced the cold hard truth.  Despite all the talk about only buying/keeping clothes that I feel great in, I had somehow managed to talk myself into keeping a lot of items that I really didn't wear or need.  I mean, did that denim pencil skirt that I only wore on casual fridays really deserve a "4" on my rating scale?  Or, did I maybe bump it up from a "3" to a "4" because I wasn't ready to part with it yet?  And that dress that seemed so cute on the hanger but was a major stain magnet, was I really ever going to wear it again?  No. So why had I held onto it?

Short answer? Call it frugality or stubbornness (or addiction) but it's hard (for me) to toss out clothes. These are some of the most common ways that I rationalize keeping something.

Guilt--"I spent good money on this and it's barely worn." Isn't it wasteful to donate it? You can see my Calvinist upbringing in some of this. 

The "Just-in-Case" or "I'll need that someday" syndrome--"I should save this ratty pair of jeans in case I ever decide to paint a house one day"  This usually follows my feelings of guilt.  As I've mentioned in the past, it's easy to pretend that you'll find a use for something, someday . . . but if it's been more than a year and that someday hasn't come? Most likely it's time for that item to go.

Selective Memory--Ummm, I'm kind of forgetful sometimes and I don't remember why I stopped wearing those jean short shorts (hint: I'm 28 and it's no longer appropriate) or why I never wear that top (hint: it's polyester and I sweat "glow" when I wear it).  Sometimes you don't wear clothes because they fall to the back of your closet and sometimes it's because they really aren't that great in real life.

Nostalgia--Second to guilt, this is the worst and let me give you a hint, this is how it goes: "I can't get rid of that dress, it's the one I wore on my first day of college (seven years ago)"  I'm sorry sister, no one wants to see you in something from 2003.

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Please tell me I'm not the only one making these types of excuses? So, what's a girl to do?  Admittedly, deciding to go through your clothes in the midst of an extremely stressful move while uprooting your life and quitting your job, is probably not the best idea.  It went kind of like this:

Stage 1: Furious purging--analytics, shamalytics--there was no time to think through my decisions and I just had to go with my gut.*

Stage 2:  Second guessing self--maybe I really do need that denim pencil skirt.  Initiate internal back and forth.  Take 4 items out of the purging pile.  Put 3 back.  (Hint: The denim pencil skirt didn't make it to NY)

Stage 3: Exhaustion. And the realization that I still hadn't gone through a quarter of my closet.  At this point Mr. C intervened and pointed out that I should a) probably get some sleep and b) I could always do this once I was settled in NY.

Stage 4: Realize Mr. C is right (as usual) and cram the rest of my items into some suitcases and hope for the best

Stage 5: Upon getting to New York, realize that in my packing frenzy I only packed one of my pointy-toed black flats and forgot my colander.  On the plus side all my clothes fit in my closet.

*Going with my gut in this situation was actually pretty effective because it forced me to make snap decisions.  On the downside, I didn't really have time to donate or consign these items so they're still sitting in our DC apartment.