Wardrobe Overhaul- Items to Get Rid of Now

Wardrobe Overhaul- Items to Get Rid of Now
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Now seems like a pretty good time to have a wardrobe overhaul and get rid of certain items as well. Toss out or donate worn-out clothing, clothing that doesn’t make you feel good, and clothing that you’re super tired of wearing.

How do you figure out what’s considered “worn -out”? Is that clothing item torn, the color’s faded, or it’s missing a button or multiple buttons? That’s when you need to decide whether this item is going to be kept and worn again or it needs to be thrown away or donated. It’s always better to donate such items if possible if it is wearable again. Being “wearable” again means that the item’s color has faded or something like that, not extremely torn the point of being nonrepairable (please be considerate and do not give away such items since you cannot repair that item, most likely others won’t be able to either). But do go ahead and give away items that are still useful. Others will appreciate it as opposed to you just throwing it away because you can.

When it comes to clothing that doesn’t make you feel good, look for items that no longer fit you well, that make you feel like you’re not the best, or simply make you feel like you’re bigger in size than you actually are (and that is not good either as super baggy clothing can deter your confidence and make you feel ashamed of the way you actually are). If a shirt has shrunk and looks a bit shorter now, that’s how you know that that shirt no longer fits you well. If your pants seem to not be able to be buttoned up at all (it’s possible that the pants have simply shrunk since you wore it a lot as is the nature of some cotton clothing), please do yourself a favor and give those away. Even if you feel like you’re going to lose weight just to fit back into them, it’s really not worth losing weight to fit into a pair of jeans that don’t fit you because you’re just putting unnecessary pressure to lose weight. Appreciate the way you are now. What if your favorite pair of skinny jeans no longer fit you? Think twice because you deserve better.

Now here’s the hard part of getting rid of certain clothing items: figuring out if you’re actually tired of a certain item of clothing. By being tired of it I mean you’ve gotten good usage out of that clothing, like you wore it every other day for the past year and now feel tired of the same old boring item. Or, you wore that party dress for every occasion possible the past few months and you know that you can’t go on wearing the same outfit. Do not get rid of that item because you’re tired of others wearing the same item or something similar. That’s definitely not the right reason to get rid of an item. Only get rid of an item if you feel tired of wearing it.

Knowing what items to get rid of during a wardrobe overhaul can simplify your life in many ways. You’ll feel good that someone else is able to use your old clothing when you no longer can, you’ll feel better about yourself because you’ll only have clothes that fit you well, and you’ll feel alright that you repeated an outfit so many times but had to get rid of it now because you’re tired of it. Prepare yourself for new clothing possibilities!

Shefali is the author of Own It! Love What You Already Have of which all book proceeds go toward good causes. She is an executive at her family’s business, and board director for two other companies. She’s an alumna of Columbia Business School in New York City and Drexel University. She lives in Dubai with her husband and continues to travel for work. To learn more, visit shefalikarani.com