Wardrobe Reset

Mary Anne Ivison  00:01

The declutter queen with Avery Cundill,

Avery Cundill  00:06

and welcome back to the declutter queen. This is the show where we tackle each and every area of clutter in your life, one space at a time, and here we go on to our clothes. Clothing is one of the worst culprits for causing clutter. Could be your closet or maybe your dresser. Is it that chair in the corner or the five tote bags of I'll get to this later, outfits in the garage. So if getting dressed feels more stressful than stylish, stick around, because today I'm going to guide you through a gentle, guilt free wardrobe declutter that actually works. As we dive into this project, it may be helpful to answer some questions. Let's start with the big one. Why is it so hard to get rid of clothes? For most of us, it's not really about fashion. It's about identity, memory and sometimes wishful thinking. Maybe you're holding on to jeans from 2012 that might fit again some day, or a dress you wore once to a wedding but feel too guilty to part with it, or a mountain of sale items that still have the tags on. Don't worry, you're not alone. I'm very sure that many people can relate to these issues. But here's the thing, every item in your wardrobe takes up mental space, even if it's not on your body. Decluttering isn't about becoming a minimalist or throwing everything out. It's about making decisions that reflect who you are right now. So let's go through the five simple steps for decluttering clothes, and we're going to break it down. These are five nice, doable steps.

Avery Cundill  02:30

So number one, pull it all out. You're going to hear this a lot on this decluttering ride. Yes, all of it, every sock, every scarf, every top, every pair of pants. Lay it on your bed or the floor so you can see the full picture. It's eye opening to realize how much we actually own.

Avery Cundill  03:02

Number two sort into three piles. The yes pile, you wear it regularly. It fits well and you feel good in it. The no pile, damaged doesn't fit, you know, you're just not going to wear it again. Then there's the maybe pile sentimental items or pieces you're unsure about. Okay, here's one of my pro tips, limit your maybe pile if you haven't touched that item in three months, I know three months, you might want to let it go. Step number three, try it on. Yes, really, if you're unsure, try on the item. How does it feel right now? Are you adjusting it, pulling at it, unhappy with it, in any way? That's your body telling you something. Step number four, set boundaries. Give yourself a limit, maybe 40 hangers, maybe one drawer for T shirts. Let this space be your container, not your emotions. If you're out of space, the items have to be limited. You I step number five, donate, sell or repurpose. So now that you've made decisions and you've got a nice no pile, give your clothes a second life. Donate it to a local shelter. Sell it. On one of the resale apps, if it's super valuable, or maybe even host a clothing swap with friends. These are just ideas, but you get the drift that stuff has to go. And if it's easier and makes you feel better, less guilty, then make a project of this donation, and then you'll feel good about it. You're actually helping somebody else with something that you might never have touched again, something powerful to remember. And this is where we're getting into a bit of a mindset shift. Just because it costs money doesn't mean you owe it your space. The money is already spent. The cost of keeping something you don't use is greater than the cost of letting it go. Also try and get rid of the fantasy self you don't need to dress for the life you wish you had dress for the life you actually live. That's where confidence and clarity comes from. Let's circle back to the maybe pile for a moment. Now it's time to investigate this pile a little bit more thoroughly. Hopefully we can whittle this pile away a bit more. Some may be keepers, but others send them to the no pile if you're looking at it and humming and hawing, I think you know where that item has to go all it all right, that's your crash course in clothing decluttering. It is very possible that you're feeling overwhelmed with this project. So what I suggest, if that's how you're feeling, start with just 10 items. Pick 10 pieces to let go of today. That's it. You don't have to do it all in one weekend. Progress over perfection, always. And hey, if this episode helped you, share it with a friend who's drowning in laundry piles, and maybe someday sweaters or better yet, declutter together. You can find the full checklist from today's episode in the show notes. If you want more practical tips, subscribe to my newsletter. There's a bunch of different levels you can get to. You can have a major subscription or a smaller subscription, but these subscriptions will send you more of what you need to really declutter well, until then, remember clear space makes room for clear thoughts and now

08:02

and now with the declutter queen.

Avery Cundill  08:07

So I'd like to welcome my very good friend, Christy, coming to the show. Thank you for agreeing to be a guest on the declutter Queen podcast. Christy, thanks

Christy Cumming  08:18

Abe. Pleasure to be here. Christy's

08:20

question was, I was

Christy Cumming  08:22

wondering if you could provide some feedback on decluttering or managing the kids, childhood mementos, special books, maybe toys or gifts that are no longer in use but need to either have a special spot or need to move on to their next place.

Avery Cundill  08:44

I'm a big proponent of making piles and dividing stuff up, and I feel like that's the best way to approach this particular project, as well as many projects. So what I would suggest is, is that this is the worst part. You kind of have to gather all of the stuff together so you find a dedicated space, and then you sort of go on a scavenger hunt in your house, and you find all of these. I'll call them mementos. I would suggest starting there with the, what I like to call the scavenger hunt. And by the way, Christy, I'll send you notes on all this. So don't worry about taking any notes. You just enjoy the chat. So once you have all of these items in a giant pile, you want to create three piles. Full disclosure, I did this before we made our big move here, and it was like spread out almost throughout my whole family room, so it sometimes can be quite large pile a is going to be your keep and cherish. Okay, so these are the items that they're either used they're being used part of a tradition. Maybe they're kind. Connected to a memory that they're high quality and you want to keep. And you know right away I want to keep them. Okay, so that's pile a. Pile B is the keep, but reduce pile. These things could be, I like them, but I have so many of them. Could be duplicates. Could be something that maybe your kids rarely accessed. And you know that, because I'm getting to that, do we need to consult the kids, but we're not there yet. Things that you kind of look at, you can kind of earmark as I don't know if I need to keep all of these things. Okay, so keep but reduce is the second. The third pile is the let go, and I like to say with gratitude, because all gifts we have gratitude that it came into our lives. But let's face it, we don't have to keep everything so the let go pile, or things damaged items right away. You know that that can go into the let go, something that you just know that your child doesn't use they've outgrown it. Gigantic doesn't fit your space anymore, causes clutter, and it's kind of hard to sort of eye in the sky it, but you'll know the let go right away. You'll go, Okay, this, I can definitely let go and that let go pile. Just remember, it's not that you didn't appreciate the gift, or that your child didn't appreciate your gift, or that it didn't mean something, but right now, it's not serving any purpose. Yes, pile B, I just want to jump back to that one, the keep but reduce pile. That's one where you may want to consult with your kids on it. Now, if you can pin them down. I know that's my biggest problem, but I found whenever I consult my kids about stuff, they're very quick to say, get rid of it. So you kind of balance that they might say, get rid of it all. Mom, I don't have time. Blah, blah, blah. And you might say, Oh, I'm going to keep a few of these things that I really think are special. So one of those things that kind of think it's special, but I don't really think I need to keep it. One of the things that is a nice way of memorializing the item is take a photo of it, and then, you know, you have a photo of the book. It's a memory. Sometimes, rather than I need to keep this thing so you can take some photos, maybe print up the photos, put them in a little file folder, which is obviously way less space than a book, and keep it in that way. And by the way, a secondary project which can emanate from this project is what I call the and I know we're getting into several topics here, but two boxes a child now, books are not going to fit into this because they're too big, but a scrapbook size box and then a photo box. And this is something that I did, and I ended up with six boxes total, three photo boxes for each kid. I have three, you'd have two, and then two scrapbook boxes, and then in those scrapbook boxes go all of those things that you want to keep, obviously, books too big, but let's say the pictures of the books that you took those can go in there, diplomas, that first finger painting that you just think, oh, I want to keep that one so the project can emanate. But once you've got these boxes, now, when you find something that you don't know what to do with, but you really want to keep, slide it into that scrapbook box and then, more importantly, throw stuff out. You know, like, I found like, 10 fingerprints that Jayden did in kindergarten. I didn't need to keep 10. I kept one, which may be too many. Do you know what I mean? So the project can can evolve. But if we're sticking to books and really special mementos and gifts that are usually bigger, I would give yourself a limit. So say, one shelf per child. Once that shelf is full, that's it.

Christy Cumming  14:01

It's great. And I think you're right. You know, kids at our kids age, are not really thinking about those cool, neat things. I just remember my mom saving some of our toys, and then when my kids were little, they're playing with that Fisher Price house that you and I had, and, you know, things like that. But you can only go so far, and I don't have a walk up attic, as my parents did, where all of that stuff lived out of sight until, yeah, and

Avery Cundill  14:29

you know, like when we say that, you know, because that's sort of the sentimental thing. And so I would say, keep one or two things easy to house. It's when you start having mass amounts of stuff that it's just going to be something that somebody is going to have to deal with, and more than likely, we're keeping

Christy Cumming  14:47

too much, right? Well, that's the way to I think that's a great way to think about it, is that if you don't do it, your kids are going to have to do it. Get rid of

Avery Cundill  14:56

give them a bot. Give them like we all want to give things to our kids. And, you know, certainly I do. But when I went through everything, and I have another friend who did this project too, and I ended up with a scrapbook and then a photo box for each child, I had bags and bags of garbage gone, and I've culled it to where I'm keeping the things that really were important, sentimental, that I really think my kids are going to want, and one box is manageable. They're not going to want to go through bins and bins and bins of stuff. So when you give it to them, it's actually more special. Agreed. I ordered them on Amazon. Shameless plug. They're not a sponsor, but I think everybody talks about Amazon. I got these two, and I can send you the link. They're great. They're not huge. They're sort of a nice size that you can fold up artwork. You can put a diploma in there. I know, for Lily, I put her little cap. I'll send you the links. It's two photo boxes, two scrapbooks. And then, you know, as you're doing the project, you might find photos that you'd like to give your parents make them a photo box, you know, just buy it's literally a box that you put the photos in. It's not something that you have to be crafty. And then you you're kind of giving things along that somebody else might want

Christy Cumming  16:13

to see, right? Sounds great. And

Avery Cundill  16:15

I'm going to send you all of my notes today so you can go through it and do whatever. And I hope that was helpful for you. It's really about gathering, having the time and just being ruthless, like, Man, I don't need all this stuff anymore. I think I'm gonna get imagine that you're moving. That's a great way to do it. I'm moving. What's coming with me?

Christy Cumming  16:37

What am I paying to move? Well, you'll you may be getting some FaceTime calls for me. Just keep on going. Keep on going. Please.

Avery Cundill  16:43

Please do I would love that. Christy love nothing more.

Mary Anne Ivison  16:48

Thanks for listening to the declutter queen with Avery Cundill for more decluttering tips and tricks, go to the declutter queen.ca. Produced and distributed by the sound off media company you.