You’ve heard the stat; we only wear 20% of the clothes in our wardrobe 80% of the time.
So, how do you stop reaching for the same thing every day? Here is my nifty little trick for you to try out!
Step one
First up, I’d recommend a quick assessment of any obvious items hanging in your wardrobe which need to go.
Clothes you never wear because:
– they’re scruffy
– falling apart
– unflattering
– totally wrong for you
– don’t feel good in
– wrong colour, style, fit and shape.
If you don’t feel good wearing something, why bother to wear it? And please, don’t ‘save’ these clothes for the chores and jobs such as cleaning, gardening or exercising! It won’t help your mindset, so as tough as it sounds; get rid!
Step two
Next up, turn all the hangers round so they are facing the same direction.
Why? Well, each time you wear an item and hang it back up (whether worn once or after washing); turn the hanger round to face the opposite way.
This way it’s a visual reminder of what items of clothes you are wearing and also, which ones you aren’t.
You’ll begin to see a pattern emerge.
I’ve done this exercise many times myself and recommended it to my clients and always recommend it to attendees my capsule wardrobe workshops.
The result
It’s a really simple way to challenge yourself to stop reaching for the same thing every day. Think about it as a way of identifying what you’re not wearing – that’s those hangers facing the opposite way.
Be creative – I’m not talking pink tutu, striped shirt, pair of trousers and a fascinator (unless that’s really your style). You’re still you and they are still your clothes. Just try to reach for the items you’re not wearing and see if you can wear it with something else in your wardrobe.
Visibly seeing the hangers a different way makes you consciously more aware of what you pick out without any thought. We can all get lazy, bored and complacent. You might find that you’re not wearing things because you don’t like them or they don’t suit you, by which point at least you know and you can remove them!
Choose something different to wear tomorrow and the day after! You’ll soon be wearing more of your clothes and have stop wearing the same things every day.
Try it, you might surprise yourself by what you find.
If you would prefer to watch a short video, check this one out which I created on Youtube.
If you do need any help, get in touch about my wardrobe audit services.