Today I'm going to share the steps to declutter your clothes and create a minimalist capsule
wardrobe you feel great in.
Stick with me until the end for a fun way to organize your closet, which will make you
feel like a million dollars, even though it's free.
If you want to love parenting and parent from love, slam on the subscribe button now, and
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The Parenting Junkie.
I'm Avital, a mindful parenting coach and mother of four.
I've been blessed to help thousands of parents reclaim presence, peace, and play for their
family.
In this video I'm going to share the steps you can take to have a wardrobe you love,
even if you're a very busy mother.
First of all, what is a capsule wardrobe?
It's just a very small, curated collection of clothes that fit you and look great on
you right now.
That way you can feel better about your body, you can look better every day, you can get
dressed quicker.
Hit the like button now if all of that sounds good.
Number one, take out all of your clothes.
You want to bring all of your clothes out of your wardrobe, out of your storage, dump
them on the bed.
It's not a pretty sight and it can be slightly overwhelming, but sometimes it helps to realize,
visually, just how much we have.
Now, a lot of these tips are also inspired by the KonMari method, so if you want to go
deeper into this then I definitely recommend her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying
Up.
But, let's get back to it.
You take out all of your clothes and you see them all in front of you in a pile.
Next, you have to make sure you have storage bins for the clothes that aren't going back
into your wardrobe.
So you're going to have to decipher what the right storage bins are for you, and I've put
together a resource sheet and a list that will help you.
So just check out the description box to download that free PDF cheat sheet.
Basically, mine were maternity winter, maternity summer, nursing winter and nursing summer,
which I'm actually wearing right now so that's going back in my wardrobe, but you might also
have work clothes.
If you're not working now but you're a nurse then you want to put your scrubs away, you
don't need them staring at you in your closet.
Perhaps you have ski clothes or some kind of sport or gear that you're not using right
now, you'll want a storage bin for that.
I prefer more smaller storage bins rather than bigger ones, but it's up to on what you
have.
You're going to want to label them clearly so that they're so easy to get out next time
you need that round of clothes.
You're also going to need a large bag or bin for donation, for all of the clothes that
you definitely do not want to keep and that you're going to want to get rid of ASAP.
Expert tip is that once you've made that donation bin and filled it up, please get it to your
donation location as soon as possible.
If it sits around your house you're going to find yourself regretting certain pieces
and migrating them back into your closet, which defeats the purpose.
So what goes into that donation bin?
The following.
Any clothes that don't fit you and likely never will.
Let me know in the comments below if you also hold onto pieces from forever ago, hoping
and thinking that maybe one day you'll wear them.
If you haven't worn them for years now is the time to say goodbye and let them go to
someone who will.
This can be an emotional process, as you're letting go of stories, hopes, narratives and
dreams that you may have once held and kind of stepping into your new skin and owning
your new life with great joy and pride.
I personally let go of anything that is stained or ripped.
If it's something that can't be easily fixed or a stain that won't come out, I don't want
to hold on.
Now, I know that might sound wasteful to some but, for me, showing up to my life means wearing
clothes that fit me right and that aren't ripped or stained, et cetera.
So if you relate to that, put those clothes in the donation bin as well.
Definitely put in the donation bin any clothes that you don't like anymore.
Sometimes they're clothes that you bought really recently, you thought they might fit
your lifestyle, you thought you might enjoy them, but you just never reach for them.
So, clothes that you just don't like or you don't wear for some reason.
If you find yourself going to your wardrobe and thinking you're going to wear that piece
and just never wearing it, that's probably something you'll want to put in the donation
box.
Also, put in any clothes that just don't fit your lifestyle.
Like I had this pair of stilettos that I absolutely never wear and have zero cause to wear, I
just don't need that taking up space and energy in my home.
I believe that everything we have in our home, which is our sacred temple, holds a vibration.
And if it's something there that is misaligned with the direction that you want your life
to go, pass it on, bless it, thank it for being in your life, and let someone who does
align with it enjoy it.
Next is to get clear on the look and feel that you want in your wardrobe in this season
of your life.
Remember, we're just taking it season by season.
So if you are currently pregnant and it's the fall, then you only want things that fit
you for pregnancy and that are suitable for fall in your wardrobe at this time.
That's the joy of it, that you open your wardrobe and you could wear any of the pieces there
happily.
I know this is a little weird to make a look book or a vision board, but you can make a
Pinterest board or even just think about it in your head.
Get clear on what your style is, many of us have never really thought what our style is.
Are you more bohemian or vintage?
Do you like a more modern look or Scandinavian or Japanese?
Maybe you like a monochromatic pallette or you actually love vibrant colors.
Get clear on what your look and feel is, at least for the season ahead, and make sure
that the things that you're choosing to put back in your wardrobe align with that look
because you want something that's cohesive and that always feels like you, like you're
projecting yourself into the world.
I am no fashionista and I spend very little energy thinking about clothes, and one of
the reasons that usually works for me is because I have pretty much clarity on what I like,
what works for my body type.
I know that if it's got very bright colors and very bold prints it's probably not going
to be me and I'm not going to go for it, just by way of example.
So just knowing what you like and not getting confused.
Now, this will also help with impulse buys, because sometimes I can go to a store and
see something that's so beautiful and just buy it, but then realize that it's not actually
very me.
And then that thing sits in your closet and every time you reach for it you end up putting
it back because something isn't quite right.
We can love a very wide variety of styles but still not feel that it's the right thing
on our skin, with our body type, or with our lifestyle.
So just take a moment to get clear on what is right for that, at least in this season
of your life, and then start to put those things in your keeping pile, in the pile for
your current capsule wardrobe.
Another way to do this is to start to visually organize your wardrobe by color, right, so
kind of gradients or areas of color that go together.
So that way, when you see all of those pieces together, you can see if this works together
or if suddenly there's a color that's an odd one out and it doesn't fit with everything
else.
Because one of the things you really want in a capsule wardrobe is flexibility.
You want fewer pieces, that go well together and that can be worn in a variety of ways.
For example, a white button down shirt can be worn with so many different bottoms and
in so many different ways on top, with different jewelry and different hairstyles, it's very
versatile.
So you want fewer pieces, that are more versatile, and then you can mix and match those pieces,
and also add in the accessories that really take it in different directions, so that you
can feel fresh.
Like I said, I'm not going to give you a fixed number for your capsule wardrobe, but the
key really is just for it to feel like a manageable amount.
Like you have the right amount of clothes that fit the different needs in your lief
right now, the weekend, the workday, the weekday, et cetera, but not so much that you feel overwhelmed,
and not any that you can't currently wear.
As you might already know, one of my passion projects is helping parents to love parenting
and to feel their very best.
You have to enjoy it and feel like you're at your highest energy and your A game if
you want to be the type of parent that you want to be.
So give me a "LOVE" in the comments if you're ready for a wardrobe makeover and to feel
your most energetic, best self.
Now, I would love to see your capsule wardrobe or at least a picture of you decluttering,
so head on over to the Love Parenting with Avital Facebook group and share those with
our guilt-free community there.
We can champion each other on and compliment each other on our amazing mom looks.
Now, you're going to want to subscribe and hit that notification bell because next week
we're talking about minimalist, non-materialistic birthday parties and how we can celebrate
our children without all of the clutter.
And if you're ready for even more decluttering, like toys, for example, then download my free
Childhood Design Guide, 10 steps to transforming your home into a play-inducing haven.