“I have absolutely nothing to wear.”

Which, when you look at the evidence directly in front of you, is clearly not true.

There are clothes. Lots of clothes.

The problem is that quite a lot of them aren’t actually helping.

All the reasons to NOT get rid…….

There are the things that don’t fit properly but we haven’t quite got around to admitting it. The things we bought because they looked fabulous on someone else. The things that technically still fit but somehow never make it out of the wardrobe. The dress that requires exactly the right weather, occasion, shoes and level of enthusiasm. The slightly expensive thing we don’t really like but can’t possibly get rid of because… well, it was slightly expensive.

And then, there are the clothes we’re keeping for a life we don’t actually live anymore (I don’t attend corporate dinners anymore and haven’t for about 25 years!)

Meanwhile, we tend to wear the same relatively small selection of clothes over and over again.

A wardrobe can become a bit of a time capsule.

One of the things I find interesting about decluttering wardrobes is that it isn’t always simply about having too many clothes.

Our wardrobes can tell quite a story.

Different jobs, different sizes, different stages of life. Things we wore all the time five years ago but wouldn’t dream of putting on now and that’s completely normal.

Our lives change.

Our bodies change.

Our tastes change.

What we need our clothes to do changes but our wardrobes don’t automatically update themselves as we do unfortunately.

So, things accumulate and eventually you can end up with a wardrobe containing plenty of clothes but surprisingly few things that actually suit the person you are and the life you’re living now.

The “I might need it one day” collection.

This deserves a category all of its own because technically, yes, you might need it one day.

You might suddenly receive an invitation requiring that particular jacket you haven’t worn since 2017.

You might rediscover your love of those trousers you’ve avoided wearing for six years.

You might need four nearly identical black cardigans. Anything is possible.

But when “I might need it” applies to half the wardrobe, it becomes quite difficult to see what you genuinely do need and enjoy wearing and that’s usually the point of decluttering.

It’s not about having the smallest possible number of clothes or creating one of those beautifully colour-coordinated wardrobes where everything is beige (unless you happen to like beige, obviously) It’s about making your wardrobe work better for you!

Getting rid of clothes can be surprisingly difficult.

There are all sorts of reasons we hang onto things.

• We spent money on them.
• Someone bought them for us.
• They remind us of something.
• We’re hoping they’ll fit again.
• We feel guilty getting rid of perfectly good clothes.
• Or we simply don’t know what to do with them once we’ve decided they can go.

And this is why I don’t particularly like decluttering advice that simply tells you to “keep what you love and get rid of everything else.”

Real life is generally a little more complicated than that. Sometimes you need to try things on. Sometimes you need a “not sure yet” pile. Sometimes you need to work out whether something can be altered. Sometimes you need to find somewhere useful to donate something and sometimes you need someone else to say:

“You’ve just given me six reasons why you don’t wear that. Do you actually want to keep it?”

Your wardrobe doesn’t need to be perfect.

It just needs to work.

You want to be able to open it and find clothes that fit, that you like and that suit the life you actually have. You don’t have to become a minimalist. You don’t have to throw away half your belongings and nobody is coming round to inspect how beautifully your jumpers are folded.

It’s simply about making getting dressed a little easier because that’s what practical changes should do.

They should make everyday life work a little better.

I have a workbook available.

And if you’ve been looking at your wardrobe recently thinking, “I really need to sort this out,” I’ve created a How to Declutter Your Wardrobe workbook that takes you through the process step by step.

No dramatic clear-out required.

Just a practical way to work through what you’ve got, decide what stays and make your wardrobe work better for the life you’re living now.

You can find it here, in the shop on my website.

Although I can’t promise you’ll never stand in front of it again and announce that you have nothing to wear – some traditions are just too hard to break.

The post When your wardrobe is full but you still have nothing to wear. appeared first on KATE TILSTON - PRACTICAL LIFE COACH.