I. Have. No. Idea.

I always pride myself in my workouts and pulling together something to wear for working out is simple – make sure the pants won’t ride down when I squat, tops won’t ride up when I lift overhead, and sports bras won’t lead to a “wardrobe malfunction” during a burpee.

But, the moment you tell me to dress myself for real life… sweat happens.

For as long as I’ve remembered, I would open my closet and just stare.

“What am I going to wear today?”

I was met with a bursting closet that was full of stuff. Clothing from high school, shopping sprees, college, a brewery life and more was all mixed together staring me down every morning.

Instant. Panic.

I know I’m not the only one that looks at their closet and thinks the same thing.

I had bought the book “The Life Changing Magic of Magic of Tidying Up” in January to attempt this. I got a couple chapters in, and the book is now safely hidden under a pile of stuff. I didn’t quite connect with it, and I don’t think I was ready then to tackle the project of de-cluttering my closet.

Fast forward to now.

I have been a fan of the clothing company, Brass, a local company that focuses on classic and staple pieces. Their Ponte Pants are magic (and no, I’m not paid by them). So, when they released their “Closet Kit”, it caught my eye for a few things:

• You would buy 3 pieces, a top, bottom, and a dress that will become the corner stone of your closet
• You would get a bag to send your clothing to be recycled
• You would get a little “how – to” on how to go through this process.

So, I decided, “what the heck”, clicked purchase and it arrived shortly after.

Then… the box sat there, unopened, for almost a month.

Every morning, I would stare at my closet and then stare at the box, and put “start closet clean out” on my to-do list. Every night, I was “too tired.”

Well, this past Sunday, it was TIME.

I took EVERYTHING out of my closet.

I got to work.

I looked at pieces that haven’t been worn since I was 17 – prom dresses from when I lived in Zurich – to pieces that I bought last year, but never wore. I made 3 piles, just like Brass instructed.

1. One pile for seasonal things to put away for the winter.
2. One pile to keep.
3. One pile to donate.

I went through purses, shoes, dresses, shirts, sweaters, and pants. I caught myself in a familiar pattern. Telling myself “ohhh but it’s so pretty. Maybe I’ll hold onto to it.”

So, how did I get rid of 4 bags of clothing to donate?

I didn’t let myself hold on to things that didn’t serve a purpose.

This also lead me to take the clothing that I had been trying to sell on a closet on Poshmark, and donate it. Clutter is clutter. Seeing a big tuppawear full of clothing sit in a corner for over a year, was just another crutch I was using. Since I had proven to myself that I didn’t actually MISS any of that clothing that had sat there, I decided to close my Poshmark closet and donate it all.

So – how does it feel?

Well, I can now see EVERYTHING in my closet. I have it organized by color and type of clothing (dresses, shirts, sweaters, pants), and all my shoes that I actually wear have a spot on the shoe rack. I can clearly see what pieces will go together.

I’ve started trying to plan our what I’m going to wear the night before – something I have done for my workouts for the past couple years. I put my workout clothes folded neatly right next to my bed, so I have no excuse to NOT put the clothing on. But instead of folding my clothes, I’ve started writing it down.

Yup, I’m now that person.

I write down the outfit, and then I’m trying to make myself stick to it. If I don’t like how the outfit looks, I allow myself ONE change, and I write down a little note on WHY I’m changing. Maybe it’s that I’m bloated, or maybe it’s that the piece just DOESN’T work.

My goal is that after a couple months, I’ll be able to pare down my wardrobe even more – by focusing on the pieces that are REALLY useful, and which ones will probably end of collecting dust and taking up space.

I am working on being honest with myself and being more mindful every single day. What we wear is a HUGE part of who we are, no matter what you want to think. How you present yourself to the world is often a reflection of how you feel inside. For awhile, I wanted to just be EVERYTHING, and my wardrobe definitley reflected that. I wanted to be cool, trendy, hip, smart, sophisticated – if there was a buzzword for it, I wanted to be it.

Now, as I’m less than a month away from 30, I’m more sure of myself than I’ve ever been. I don’t need flashy things. I don’t need to be the center of attention. I’m looking for a way to showcase my true self to the world – and sometimes I need a pair of lululemon leggings and other times, a pair of Ponte pants are needed.

It’s been about 5 days since I did my full closet clear out, and I feel lighter. Maybe it’s because physically I have less stuff. Maybe it’s because I took a big chunk of decisions out of the mix. Who knows.

But, I do know, if I can do this. You can do this too.

Give yourself the opportunity to let go of the emotional ties we have with our clothes, because the real thing is – clothes don’t hold the memories of the girls nights, the first dates, the vacations, or the swanky nights out.

You do.