Benefits Of A Smaller Wardrobe
When I moved into our first apartment with my husband, I was in complete shock as to how much clothing I owned. Once I had unpacked everything, I took up our entire closet, two five-drawer dressers, three large storage boxes that we rolled under our bed, and our coat closet by our front door. I distinctly remember feeling confused - even though I had so much, I felt like I never had anything to wear and couldn’t tell you what my personal style was.
One day I was browsing online after reading The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and stumbled upon Courtney Carver’s blog discussing Project 333. After reading her blog, my mindset completely shifted and I began to ruthlessly edit my wardrobe.
Since that first initial declutter, it’s been years of continuously creating a smaller wardrobe that I love and feels cohesive. And although I feel like I’ll never arrive at the “perfect” wardrobe, I thought I would share some things that I’ve learned along the way.
Less is more. A bigger closet does not always equate bigger style. You can still dress fashionably - even more so - with fewer pieces. I’ve found that the less clothing items I own, the more in-tune I’ve become with my style and the more I enjoy getting dressed in the morning.
Less clothes equals less stress. Nowadays, I’m never running around yelling “I‘ve got nothing to wear!”, while staring at a closet full of clothes. My mornings are streamlined and quick - putting together outfits is so easy and each one makes me feel confident. Decision fatigue in a real thing, streamlining my closet choices has given me more mental space and clarity for more meaningful choices throughout my day. Not to mention our home is a whole lot cleaner with less laundry lying around.
More time and money. Both are better spent on things that really matter. I think you never fully realize how much time is spent on consumption until you cut it all out. I used to waste hours online, filling up carts full clothing, my mind consumed with scrolling through Instagram or Pinterest for fashion inspiration. When walking into a store, I used to feel the need to look through every single piece of clothing, constantly buying more and completely disregarding that I had hundreds of pieces at home. I remember anxiously awaiting my paycheck to spend every single penny on items I now no longer own or even remember. Spend your time on something more valuable than staring at a screen or advertisements that feed you the lie that happiness can be exchanged for money. Invest your money and time into things that really matter, like being with the ones you love and saving for your future, dreams, and the things that are really close to your heart. You’ll never regret it.
My philosophy with my wardrobe has become this; find pieces that I absolutely love that’ll make me feel confident, and get rid of the rest so that I can utilize my time and money in better places.
If you’re interested in more, I’m currently doing the 10x10 Wardrobe challenge - follow along on Instagram to see some of my outfit choices and thoughts!
Chloe
