Having a minimalist wardrobe is
something that's really important to me
because it makes getting ready in the
morning so much easier. I no longer have
those days and I look at my closet and
think - I have nothing to wear!
No I have lots to wear because
everything is something that I love. Now
in order to create a minimalist closet - a
minimalist wardrobe - one of the most
important steps is to do a declutter
session now and again. I like to do one
seasonally. Because the seasons have
changed, I have done a declutter session
and I wanted to share 7 things I got rid
of from my closet in this video.
Hello hello! Welcome back to the Whole Happy Life! So I have to say I'm sorry for the
delay in posting this video. I have a
valid reason. First the weather has been
really bad here so it's been hard to
shoot without natural sunlight. The other
thing is I'm working on a 2019
goal-setting workbook - it became a bigger
project than I thought it would, so it's
been taking some time. If you are into
goal-setting and you're curious, I will
be posting more about the goal-setting
workbook in the following weeks, so stay
tuned. Anyway enough of this introduction -
let's dive straight into the items that
I got rid of from my closet!
Number one is clothes that I haven't
worn in two years. So two years is
actually quite a bit of time - it's eight
seasons - spring, summer, fall, winter and
then again, and if I haven't worn
something in eight seasons, the
likelihood of me wearing it in the
future is pretty slim, and it's basically
going to take valuable closet space, and
a lot of these clothes are collecting
dust, and they're not providing me any
value. So it makes sense for me to part
ways with them. I usually donate
clothes like that. But sometimes there
are certain items of clothing that you
may not be able to wear in two years but
you may wear them in the future -
for example special occasion clothing.
That's the type of stuff that I would
hold on to if I know I'm going to wear it in
the future. For everything else that I
know I'm not going to wear,
it's time to part ways. Number two -
clothes that no longer fit my current body.
I think when it comes to a functional
closet it's really important to have
things that fit our current body, not our
future bodies, and not our past bodies.
Because when you walk into a closet and
half the stuff in there doesn't fit your
current body, it's not useful. So I've
lost a little bit of weight over the
year and there are a few items that
don't fit me well and I was thinking - you
know what - I can't really hold on to
these because they're not providing me
any value anymore. I can't wear them, so
what are my options when it comes to
things like that? I could get rid of them,
I could donate them, or sell them, that's
definitely one option. The other option
is I could get them tailored - that's an
option for things that are expensive and
that I really love and I want to hang on
to, or the third option is if you have
any clothes that you know you can't fit
in right now, but you may fit in the
future, in the near future, consider
putting them in a box or a drawer
somewhere else in the house - not in your
closet. Because when you walk into your
closet, you want to have clothes that fit.
Not a bunch of clothes that don't fit,
because again that's not functional.
Number three. Clothes that don't match my current lifestyle. In a previous video
I've talked about how clothes should
ideally match your style, because you're
going to be happier with your closet that way. But I wanted to focus on lifestyle today,
because you could have clothes that are
truly your style but they don't match
your lifestyle, and therefore aren't
providing you value. As an example I used
to do a corporate job years ago and I
wore a lot of suits, blazers and pants,
and that kind of thing - and when I quit
my job all those clothes that I was
wearing to work didn't provide me value
anymore, they were still my style, I
loved them but they weren't providing me
value. So I got rid of them. Now I did
hold on to one blazer - one suit blazer - 
thinking that I would wear it, but it's
been eight years since I quit my
corporate job and I have worn that suit
blazer five times, and this is the year
that I'm going to donate it to Dress for
Success, because it's not providing me
value and it
make sense to give it to someone who
needs it. Number four: Bras, underwear,
support-wear, that is no longer
supportive. Now if you're someone who
doesn't wear these things, skip this and
move on to the next item, but if you do
wear bras and support wear, hear me out.
So I think it's important to have a look
at your bras and any support-wear that
you have once a year just to make sure
that they're still supportive - things
like bras and support-wear do contain
elastic - and elastic over time wears
down a little bit - it does not support
your body the way it needs to. So it's
just a good idea to make sure that
everything that you own truly is
supporting you, its truly working well,
and if you can make adjustments - try to
make adjustments - if you can't, maybe it's time
to say goodbye. While we're on the
topic of bras, I did want to mention
something - many women don't wear the
right sized bra. I used to be one of those
women, and I just couldn't tell what it
was, but bras were uncomfortable - they
weren't doing their job, but now that I
know what my size is, it's a lot more
comfortable. If you don't know what your
size is and you haven't been fitted
professionally, I do suggest checking out
a professional fitter, or you can check
out the links that I have in the
description.
Number five: impractical and painful
shoes. Whenever I do a closet declutter I
like to have a look at my shoe
collection and make sure that everything
that I own is truly comfortable. When I
was younger I used to love heels - I used
to buy so many. At one point I had 12
pairs of heels in my office drawer - 12
pairs....that was a lot, but over time I
realized how important it is to wear
shoes that are comfortable. My feet
had been through a lot with
uncomfortable shoes, and I just don't
want to go there anymore. So this year
I'm getting rid of my last few pairs of
heels because I know I'm not going to
wear them in the future.
number six: special occasion clothing I'm
never going to wear again. In general I
like to buy special occasion clothing
that I can wear again and again, and I
can mix and match it, and that way it
gets a lot of wear and it's not just a
one time use.
Now there are a few items that I know
I'm never going to wear again so it
doesn't make sense for me to hold on to
them. As an example my wedding reception sari -
a special occasion item that I've
worn many, many times after my wedding
reception. Over time I've realized I
don't really like wearing saris, so I
decided to get rid of it. I donated it
because it was still in good condition
and it didn't make sense for me to hold
on to because it was taking up so
much space and I knew I wasn't going to
wear it again. So if you have any special
occasion clothing that you know you're
definitely not wearing again, consider
donating it or giving it to a friend or
even selling it if it's in great condition.
Number seven: clothing that
doesn't make you feel confident and
clothing that doesn't flatter your body. 
When it comes to clothing, it makes such
a big difference your mood. Well maybe
not your mood, but it does to mine. I know
when I wear something that flatters me,
something that looks good, I feel ten
times more confident than I would feel
in something that doesn't flatter me.
There are certain types of fits and cuts
that I gravitate towards and I tend to
wear them more and there's certain types
of fits that I never wear and they just
collect dust in my closet. So I've
decided that I'm going to get rid of the
clothes that I don't wear because they
don't flatter me. It makes sense for
someone else to use those clothes
instead - so that's why I'm donating them.
Now I'll give you an example - I do not
like wearing crew-neck t-shirts. So
crewneck t-shirts that fit all the way
to the collarbone, that really tight
neckline, for some reason makes me look
at least 10 to 15 pounds heavier, and it
just looks like I've ballooned up. I
don't know what it is - it's just not
something that flatters my body type, I
prefer to wear t-shirts that are a
v-neck because it actually elongates the
neck. I have a short torso so it actually
helps to wear a v-neck. I think it's
important to figure out what it is that
flatters your body, what it is that makes
you feel confident, and keep those
clothes, because when it comes to a
minimalist wardrobe, you don't have too
many clothes, so you don't want clothes
that don't flatter you. You want clothes
that look good and that make you feel good. Now if
you're interested in learning more about
clothes that can flatter your body,
I would suggest checking out Justine
Leconte's channel. Thank you for watching
this video! If you liked it, give it a
thumbs up, and before you go, let me know
in the comments below - what is the one
thing that you have trouble getting rid
of in your closet? What is the hardest
thing to part ways with? I will see you
in the next video! Bye!
