Clothes

"Hi. What is going on", I casually said while answering my friend Siya's call.
"I am so tired. The festivals are just around the corner. My parents are going to visit in the next week. My in laws are coming too. I have to clean the whole house. I have an important project going on. I have no time and energy. What should I do?" Siya almost cried.

Does this struggle sound familiar? I am sure it does. Cleaning the house is difficult if we have not decluttered. Because we waste our time, money, resources, and energy over things we do not want. In my opinion, before cleaning, we must declutter.

For us women, decluttering must start from our wardrobe. Yes, it may sound painful but trust me it is cathartic.

Open your wardrobe and empty it completely. Inspect the article one by one and place them in 3 categories: Keep, donate, and discard.

How to assign categories for each article:

• A clothing that does fit but is in a good condition: Donate, so that an underprivileged person will get to wear it and your clothes will get much deserved second life.
• An article that has a stain on it: If the stain can be washed, it is still usable. If it is not going away, say goodbye to that piece no matter how special it is. If it is not usable, then it does not deserve a place in your wardrobe. Discard it.
• An article with faded colour: Does the faded colour look good? In case of denims, it may look good, so it can be kept or donated. But if the faded colour does not look good, then let it see the bin.
• Whites that are no longer white: Well, I believe we have a lot of clothes fitting into these category. Such clothes have no place in your wardrobe and should not have a place in someone else's wardrobe too. Just discard it.
• Clothes that are not on trend: If the piece is not on trend, not timeless, and not in use, it has no place to be in your wardrobe. If you are not using it, then better to get rid of it. If it is in a usable condition, it is better to donate it. You do not need to feel guilty for donating non trendy clothes because a lot of people do not follow trends (me included) and do not mind using yesteryear's trends.
• A clothing from the glorious past or future: Clothes that sit in your closet as memories or clothes to be worn after losing/gaining weight have no business to occupy space. Better to donate them.
• Uncomfortable clothes: If they are uncomfortable because of fit, they can be donated. But if they are uncomfortable due to fabric, they should be discarded.

This way you will only have clothes that you wear and love. Your wardrobe will become more organized as well as versatile. Decluttering will not only help you but others who are not privilege enough to buy clothes.

Decluttering helps everyone and I believe it is one of the solutions to the overconsumption in today's times.

I hope you give it a try.