The Mom Files

Well, if you put it quite bluntly. Just own less. But honestly it’s not that easy! I used to work in fashion, so keeping up with trends was something that was kinda obligatory. I was surrounded by beautiful clothes all day, which made me always want more. I no longer work in fashion, and own less and less clothes the older I get and getting dressed is getting easier!

Okay first things first, why would you want to own less stuff? These are my reasons:

1. Clothes are really wasteful.

The production of the raw materials, the dyeing, the waste when cutting, the fact that you buy too much you will probably never wear. And please don’t think your favourite sustainable brand is “good” for the environment. Best case they are less bad, worst case they are just lying. And believe me they do! I shop at H&M and Zara but reduce my footprint by buying way less.

2. I live in a small space.

We don’t have tons of storage space, my closet is 1mtr/3.2ft wide. I mean it is manageable but it’s not a lot! I also have one big bin in our tiny attic with the other season. Which includes winter shoes and summer beach towels!

3. Clutter

Clutter stresses me out! It actually stresses most people out, research has shown. Less clutter means less stress so that’s what I aim aiming for!

4. Money

Plain and simple. The more items I own, the less money we have! Also when I have more clothes I have the need to have more. When I was surrounded by clothes everyday I wanted EVERYTHING. Now? I just buy 1 or 2 pieces a month max.

Okay, so now lets go to the info you came for. How to own less clothes! Or how to be more minimal when it comes to your clothes.

1. Realize what you wear on a daily basis

Chances are you already have many items in your closet that are simply not worn. Whether they are too big, too small, too fancy, too expensive to declutter, you name it! Make a mental note. Make it a mental note when you are shopping what items you had to declutter, because they did not “fit” you. Maybe even add up all the prices, really realize how much your unused clothes has cost you. This might take a while before you learn and adjust, but trust me once you learn you will change your ways forever.

2. Do laundry every day

Well maybe not everyday, but everytime you can fill up the washer! If you wash your clothes immediatly when needed, they come back into your closet and you will not have the “I have nothing to wear”. Even better, your favourite items are almost always clean!

3. Stick to the basics & what you enjoy

No more random prints, or glitters, or whatever. Just stick to the things you enjoy wearing! In winter (now) I basically wear a flared legging with a turtleneck. I own 3 flared leggingish pants and 4 turtlenecks. And often I will take my husbands turtlenecks, I get cold quickly so a low cut V neck shirt will not come into my closet! I would simply not wear it enough.

I used to own quite a few cocktail dresses, which I bought on sale often. They didn’t cost that much but I also just wasn’t wearing them that often. Years ago I decided to stick to my favourite fuchsia dress for weddings, and that worked fine! I only have like 1 wedding a year, with almost always different people. One time the dress code prohibited fuchsia so I added another dress, less formal but perfect for weddings still. I now own 2. Which is PLENTY. Also I used to own 5 work-out outfits, but I only work-out at home and usually do so in my pyjamas. So now I own 2 pairs of shorts and a sportbra.

4. Have a closet that reflects your life

Realize in what kind of outfits you spend your time. If you never go into the office, why would you need 10 office appropriate outfits? If you work-out once a week why would you need to own 5 outfits?

5. Reuse special items for special occasions

Well I kinda went into that with the wedding guest dress part of this blog post, but normalize reusing clothes. Clothes are not meant to be only worn once! Also I would never care if someone repeated an outfit, so why would I think anyone else cared? Also realize that of someone judges you for such a thing their values and priorities in life just don’t align to yours. Their problem, not yours.

6. Realize that if you have enough outfits for 2 weeks that you probably have enough

Yeah I mean, you could say any amount of time. For me it’s two weeks. It’s probably the longest time I will go to a hotel on holiday, so that’s all I need! I don’t need more than that, it’s plain and simple. When we visit family abroad, which basically is our holiday nowadays. I will just wash our clothes (almost) daily and offer to do theirs too.

7. Have one bin for winter/fall and one bin for spring/summer.

So that’s basically 1 just one bin for your spare clothes (the other season). When it’s full it’s full. No more adding without subtracting. That way you know what fits into your closet, and it’s not too much to handle

8. Stop caring about other people’s opinions

Whah, that’s probably the hardest one. But really, imagine if you would look at your best friend and think “what a slob, she wears that outfit every week!”. That’s horrible. You wouldn’t think or say such a thing (I hope!) so stop assuming others might think such a thing. And once you realize good people don’t care, you stop caring too. If you get what I mean. Dress the way you like, how you are comfortable! The opinion that matters is your own…

I hope these 8 tips help you with your journey, whether you want a less cluttered closet or save more money each month. Just know it will take time to minimise your closet and be content with it! Just take things slow, but trust me it will change your life!

With love, Romina

Ps: you might also like this blogpost I wrote about the gentlest decluttering method ever!