The woman, the clothes and the wardrobe - my top 5 tips to overhaul your closet

If you read my very first blog post, back on June 1st of this year (find it here), you'll know I'm on a bit of a mission. I'm slowly working my way through doing a bunch of stuff, stuff that matters (to me anyway), stuff that serves a greater good, but serves me simultaneously. And when I say slowly, I will certainly achieve my mission much sooner than the Australian governments embarrassing carbon emissions targets! That's a whole other blog post entirely, on with the story.

From a young age, clothes have always been an outward way for me to express myself. Now, this does not mean I have always got it right, or aim too for that matter (even now, comfort over style often wins these days). There are many circumstances where I’ve got it very, very wrong (hello 90’s bike shorts and slouch socks). I don’t consider myself ‘fashionable’ in the traditional sense, no designer gear over here, I’m just a gal that likes to use clothes and accessories to tap into the creative part of my personality. It’s taken 40 years to get to a point where I’m happy to ‘do me’ in the style department, but that’s all part of the process right? Wouldn’t it be boring to look back on old photos of yourself and think ‘damn girl, you were so on trend back then!’? It’s much funner (questionably English) to have a laugh at your own expense.

Dress-ups and game show models?

I have fond memories of my little sis and I going to my Nan’s house and ascending on her wardrobe with enthusiastic vigour. We’d piece together outfits and use the hallway as our runway. Nanny and Papa would be eagerly awaiting (or not, Nan indulged us) to clap and oh and ah over our outfit combo’s. ‘I wouldn’t have thought to put that outfit together’ Nan would exclaim. Fun times indeed.

Another significant 'fashion' moment was living and breathing the 90’s, my absolute favourite! This is one era I am glad to see make a comeback, so much better than the 80’s #sorrynotsorry. This era holds such a special place in my heart. I saved up all my pennies scooping ice-creams for Dr Martens and a pair of turquoise coloured Chuck Taylors. And my sister and I would scour the op shops for Levi’s, funky shirts and velvet jackets. Aaahhh the memories. I don’t know what happened to my Dr Martens but my daughter now has to pairs to my zero, and there's something very wrong about that.

Livin the 90's dream

There was a period where I lost my style somewhat, and that was post having babies. Everything changes, EVERYTHING. Your sleep routine, your friend circle, your body shape, your budget…yeah, it all went up the shitter for a while, but as the fogginess of babyhood wore off, I got my mojo back eventually. It was around this time I started working for a fashion retail chain, I subsequently worked there for many, many, many years (11.5 to be exact). It’s very easy to get caught up in the consumerism trap when you work for these companies, and in all honesty, their ethical standards were not really on my radar at that time. I was gullible enough to believe the crumbs of information they fed us *cringe*, you live and you learn right!? One thing this experience did do for me though, was teach me about body shape, colour, accessorising & fabrication, what works for me, and what doesn’t. It pretty much set the standard for what I will and will not wear to this day.

This all brings me to now – the great wardrobe overhaul! Look, this isn’t my first mass clothing exodus, and it’s likely to not be the last. This is, however one I have poured much more thought into, and I plan to make better, more mindful choices about what I place back INTO my wardrobe, but only when the need arises.

On average Aussies buy 27 kilos of new textiles per year, 23 kilos out of that 27 ends up in landfill - textilebeat.com

I don’t know about you but realistically I only wear a fraction of my wardrobe contents. Having a big clear out will not only reduce the clutter and stuffiness quite literally, it will hopefully do the same for my peace of mind. Less choice, less deliberating, clearer headspace, happier me! #andthatshowyouadultkids

So without further ado, here are my personal 5 top tips for a closet clean up:

1. JUST BLOODY START. I put it off for too long. Once I got started it really wasn’t that hard.

2. MAKE PILES (not the constipation kind). Op shop, chuck it, keep it, sell it. I didn’t allow myself a ‘not sure’ pile this time as I’ve done in the past. It was either in or out!

3. DON’T DONATE CRAPPY STUFF. Don’t put the faded, stretched to buggery, holey, sweat stained things in your op shop pile, that’s a dick move. I unfortunately had to turf some items in the bin which I don’t feel great about. Some fabrics make great rags, but most don’t. Better choices from this point forward, that's my only solace.

4. HAVE A CLOTHING SALE. I uploaded some items into my Instagram stories and sold a few things. I do find this a little laborious so I hit my friend Amy up to have a stall at our next local market. We’ve talked about doing this forever, it’s in writing now Amy, it has to happen! Another option that's crossed my mind is a clothing swap, this may proceed the market if I come home with too much.

5. MAKE A PACT WITH YOURSELF. It’s all about making better choices from here on in, not berating yourself for past mistakes. Anything that goes into my wardrobe moving forward will have had much more thought and care weighed in on the decision. Once you know better, you want to do better.

before

during

after

Have you felt any Spring cleaning vibes as yet? Or maybe it's more than that? Maybe it's the urge to make some better choices, to purge yourself of what no longer serves you (or doesn't spark joy if you're a Marie Kondo fan) and start fresh, armed with the knowledge that you will strive to make more conscious decisions in the future. I'd love to hear from you, drop me a line sometime.

Peace out homies.

x Kara

Reading: The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan (another library loan)

Watching: Just finished watching Unbelievable, a short 8 episode Netflix series. Stars Toni Collette. Apart from the subject matter, I really got hooked on this one. Found myself binge watching from the get go. Highly recommend!

Listening to: Continuing my obsession with true crime podcasts, I've just finished listening to Black Hands. It's about a famous New Zealand family mass murder. Pretty intriguing story with two possible suspects.

Crushing on: My new indoor plants. I was brutal with my closet overhaul but when it comes to indoor plants, I have NO self control!