The Joy of Less, a Minimalist Living Guide (15 page)

An article of clothing
that fits you
has good reason to stay in your closet. Conversely, if an item doesn’t fit, you can’t wear it; and if you can’t wear it, then why keep it? Don’t torture yourself by storing different clothes for different weights. If you keep “fat clothes,” you keep the expectation that you might gain weight; if you keep “skinny clothes,” you’ll be depressed that you can’t fit into them. Instead, reward yourself with a new wardrobe
after
you drop those pounds. What great incentive to skip dessert and hit the gym! Save only those clothes that fit you
now
, and shop for your new figure when it makes its appearance. (If you’re pregnant, you’re off the hook; but if you haven’t returned to your pre-baby weight by your child’s first birthday, it’s time to declutter.)

Items
that flatter you
are also welcome in your wardrobe. Learn which colors and silhouettes suit you best, and you’ll avoid crowding your closet with “mistakes.” Do you  look better in fitted or flowing clothes? Pleated or plain-front pants? Mini or maxi skirts? Crew or v-shaped necklines? Decide which sleeve length makes your arms look sexy, and which skirt length best shows off your legs. Determine which colors complement your skin tone, and which ones wash them out. Base your wardrobe on your body, not on trends: just because hip-huggers or cropped tops are in fashion, doesn’t mean
you
should wear them. When considering an outfit, question whether you’d feel comfortable being photographed, or running into your ex, while wearing it. If the answer is “no,” out it goes!

We also have good reason to keep clothes that
suit our lifestyles
—and to get rid of those that don’t. List the activities for which you need apparel—such as work, social functions, gardening, housecleaning, and exercise—and evaluate your pieces accordingly. Resist the temptation to hold on to “fantasy” clothes; a closet full of cocktail dresses and ball gowns won’t make you a socialite. Devote your space to what you’ll wear “in real life” instead. Furthermore, consider if a recent life change has altered your clothing needs. For example, if you’ve left your corporate job to work at home, you can banish those business suits; or if you’ve moved from Minnesota to Florida, you can shed that sheepskin coat.

Finally, let’s examine a
poor
reason to keep an article of clothing: because you paid “good money” for it. I know, you’re wracked with guilt when you even
think
about tossing that cashmere sweater, or those designer heels—no matter how long it’s been since you’ve worn them. You reason that if they’re still in your closet, you haven’t wasted your money (been there, done that!). There’s two ways to deal with such clothing—and no, one of them is
not
keeping it. You can sell the item in question, and try to recoup some of your cash; or you can give it away, and think of it as a charitable donation. In the latter case, at least the money “spent” will go to a good cause!

When you’re organizing your clothing, remember that your wardrobe is a zone unto itself. Therefore, everything you wear should be contained within its furnishings—be that a closet, dresser, armoire, or shelving unit. Don’t let your apparel stray into other parts of the room, or other rooms in the house: your sweaters shouldn’t be draped over a chair, your socks shouldn’t be piled in the corner, your shoes shouldn’t be lounging in the living room, and your shirts shouldn’t be holed up in your spouse’s closet (at least not without permission). Keeping everything together gives you a better handle on the size, and contents, of your wardrobe—and prevents you from running around half-naked, looking for your “missing” pants!

Within your wardrobe zone, give everything a place; it makes dressing in the morning so much easier. Dedicate certain shelves to t-shirts, certain drawers to underwear, and certain sections of the closet to coats, suits, and dresses. If you’ve decluttered thoroughly, and still run short on storage, consider some “space-saving” solutions. Although I rarely advocate them (preferring to pare down further instead), they can be quite useful in such a tight area. It’s better to store your sweaters in a hanging organizer than in a mound on your closet floor; or drape your pants on a multi-trouser hanger, instead of stuffing them side-by-side.

Assign your clothing to your Inner Circle, Outer Circle, and Deep Storage. Devote your Inner Circle to those items you wear on a daily, or weekly, basis: your socks, underwear, pajamas, work clothes, weekend clothes, exercise clothes, and around-the-house clothes. This is where your “favorite 20 percent” belongs. Keep these workhorses easily accessible, in your top drawers, middle shelves, and center section of your closet—not only to save you time getting dressed, but to make them easy to put away. If returning them to their spots is a hassle—requiring you to bend over, stand on a footstool, or move a stack of items—they’ll likely end up on the floor, your bed, or a nearby chair.

Reserve your Outer Circle for those clothes you wear less frequently—from once or twice a month, to once or twice a year. This group will likely include your dressier clothes and formal attire. Why keep them if you so seldom wear them? Because chances are, you’ll be invited to a wedding, holiday party, or other social function this year; and it’s less stressful to have something on hand, than to have to go shopping. Now, that doesn’t mean you need three tuxedos or five fancy dresses at the ready; keep just the minimum amount that meets your needs. Because such occasions are few and far between, you can usually get away with repeating an outfit; unless you’re a social diva, it’s unlikely anyone will remember (or care) what you wore to the last one.

Your Outer Circle may also contain specialty and seasonal clothes, like your ski pants and bathing suits. In fact, you may find it convenient to store out-of-season clothes in your Outer Circle (such as on the top shelf of your closet, or under the bed), and switch them with your Inner Circle at the appropriate time of year. Your heavy sweaters will then be tucked away in summer, but accessible in winter; and your shorts and sundresses will be out of the way when it’s cold, but within reach when it’s warm. When you’re making the seasonal switch, take the opportunity to do some decluttering.

Very little (if any) clothing should be in Deep Storage. Sentimental items (like wedding, christening, and communion dresses) are potential candidates, should you decide to keep them. Deep Storage may also be used for outgrown children’s clothes that you’re saving for a younger sibling. Just be careful where you store them; attic, basement, and garage spaces can be harsh environments for fabric, and may speed them into your Trash pile. If possible, find a remote, but climate-controlled, spot inside the house.

Don’t let stuff from your closets and dressers spill out onto the surfaces around them; strive to keep these spaces clear. Hang up everything, or put it in the hamper, immediately after removal—don’t dump it on the floor, plop it on the bed, or pile it on a chair. Storing your clothes properly will keep them cleaner, prevent them from wrinkling, and make them easier to find when you need them. At least do it out of consideration for your partner; no one likes to see someone else’s dirty laundry strewn about! A “floordrobe” can quickly ruin the ambience of a romantic evening or relaxing weekend morning.

Likewise, make every effort to keep the floor of your closet empty; a jumble of items down below makes it easy for “intruders” to hide. Try to accommodate all the contents in vertical storage—like shelves, shoe racks, closet rods, or hanging organizers. Modular systems can be particularly efficient, and configured to fit your space. Such organization keeps the clutter from creeping in, and keeps your clothes in better condition. When you’re getting dressed for that job interview or first date, the last thing you want to do is pluck your blouse or blazer off the closet floor.

Finally, if you have an armoire, don’t pile stuff on top of it. I know it’s tempting to use this high, out-of-sight hiding place as a storage spot of last resort. However, the surface is typically overlooked on housecleaning rounds, so anything you stash up there will soon be covered in dust. Besides, it’s no fun to drag out a stepstool when you need to access something. Worst case—you may forget about the stuff up there entirely. Treat it like any other surface in the house, and keep it clear.

Consolidate your clothing into modules, just like your DVDs, office supplies, and kitchen gadgets. The results can be eye-opening! You may discover (perhaps to your great shock) that you have ten pairs of black slacks, twenty white shirts, or thirty pairs of shoes. When you see them all together, you’ll quickly realize you have
more
than enough. The idea is to
keep
them consolidated, so you’re never tempted to add to your collection. Hang all your skirts together, pants together, dresses together, and coats together. Keep pajamas, workout clothes, and sweaters stacked on their own shelves, and socks and underwear stashed in their own drawers. Be strict about keeping things in line; once your yoga pants cozy up to your business suits, or your tank tops take up with your tights, you never know what chaos can ensue!

If you’d like, you can further break down your “category” modules by color, season, or type. In this scenario, you’d store all your navy pants, brown blazers, or khaki shorts together. Similarly, you could break down your shirts into sleeveless, short sleeve, and long sleeve, and your skirts into mini, knee-length, and ankle-length. You can divide your dresses into casual and formal, and your suits into summer and winter weight. The more specific your modules, the easier it is to take stock of what you own. You’ll see what you have too many of, what you have just enough of, and what you still might need—making it much easier to plan your wardrobe.

Do the same for accessories; just because they’re small, they shouldn’t be forgotten. Consolidate your scarves, and divide them into seasons. Consolidate your shoes, and divide them by activity (how many pairs of sneakers do you have?). Consolidate your jewelry, and divide it into earrings, necklaces, brooches, rings, and bracelets. Consolidate your handbags, and divide them by color, season, or function. Have a designated spot for each category, and make sure its contents stay there. Accessories tend to wander, and can end up in far-flung places—as anyone who’s ever searched the house for a purse or pair of earrings knows too well.

Once you’ve gathered everything together, it’s time to cull. If you discover you have too many items in a single category (like two dozen button-down shirts), keep only the finest and most flattering—that’s probably what you’ll end up wearing anyway. Having some multiples is certainly understandable; few people can get by with a single shirt, or pair of pants. Even Buddhist monks typically have two robes! The problem occurs when we have so many similar items that we barely wear most of them. Often, such excess is the result of chasing “perfection”: the perfect pair of black pants, the perfect white shirt, the perfect handbag. We keep buying and buying and buying, and end up with more than we’ll ever need. Choose your best and most beautiful, and declutter the rest.

After consolidating and culling your items, contain them as best you can so they stay in order. That doesn’t mean you have to run out and buy twenty plastic bins. “Contain” can just as well mean “keep on a certain shelf, in a certain drawer, or in a certain section of your closet.” It can mean that all your navy slacks are on a multi-trouser hanger, all your jeans are in one stack, or all your ties are on a single rack. Small items, however, are best corralled in actual containers; use trays, boxes, or baskets for things like pantyhose, scarves, watches, and jewelry. It’ll keep them organized, and keep a lid on their accumulation.

In this era of mass production, clothing is inexpensive and readily available; we can nip down to our local mall and come back with a carload, if we’re so inclined. Furthermore, fashion is always changing; what’s “in” this season is “out” the next, only to be replaced by a new set of must-have items. While our great-grandparents could only afford (and obtain) a few new outfits each year, we have no such restrictions. No wonder our closets are bursting at the seams!

That’s why limits play such an important role in our minimalist wardrobes; they keep our apparel and accessories to a manageable level. Without them, we’d surely be buried under an avalanche of clothes! In the largest sense, then, we should limit our clothing to the available storage space. If our armoires or dressers are overflowing, we must stem the tide—and prevent the contents from pouring into the room. Yet even if we can hold back the torrent, we don’t want to teeter at the breaking point. The idea is not to stuff our closets as full as possible, but to remove enough items to create some breathing room. It’s not good for our clothes (or stress levels) when we have to wrestle them out of the closet or squash them into drawers. With that in mind, I’ll revise the above statement: we should limit our clothing to
less
than the available storage space.

I certainly can’t tell you how many shirts, sweaters, or pairs of pants you should own—that number is up to you to decide. Some people have no problem wearing the same trousers all week, while others won’t feel comfortable with less than a pair per day. Determine what’s enough for
you
, and prune down to that level. Your limits may be well considered, or completely arbitrary. When I moved overseas, I could only fit four pairs of shoes in my luggage; hence, that’s what I kept. When I bought a hanger that held five skirts, I capped my collection at that number. I’ve limited my coats to one per season, and my socks and underwear to a ten-day supply. Your limits will be different than mine, and depend on your personal situation and comfort level.

Additionally, set limits on your nightclothes, your exercise clothes, and your “messy work” clothes (the worn out items you save for when you’re gardening or painting). Depending on your laundry and activity schedules, one to five outfits will generally suffice. Limit your accessories as well—scarves, ties, handbags, and jewelry can multiply when we’re not keeping tabs on them. Calculate how many you wear in a typical week, and set a reasonable maximum number; alternatively, limit them to the container in which they’re stored.