A successful-ish decluttering session for a small-time hoarder

As I mentioned in my previous post, I had to pack and move in a rush last summer, which meant all my winter clothes were shoved in bags and -dumped- stored away in storage.

Give that autumn arrived, and I was freezing with just one thin jacket at my disposal, the change over of my wardrobe to autumn/winter was imminent. So during the Easter long weekend — I dragged giant bags of my clothes from storage to sort through them properly and declutter my wardrobe to fit the winter stuff. Yes, my life is fascinating.

Should it stay or should it go?

Because I’m all about tough life decisions, I asked myself hard-hitting(?) questions.

Q: Do I really need 30+ T-shirts?

A: No, so I donated about 10 T-shirts.

Q: Do I really need 30 business shirts now that I’m working for home two days a week?

A: No, so after much deliberation (like 30 minutes) I picked out 7 shirts to donate.

Q: Do I really need 10 cardigans for work?

A: Yes. It helps hide my wrinkly shirt. Despite ironing regularly for over ten years, I’m still not great at getting the creases out of my business shirts. Plus, the cardigans give me joy just like Marie Kondo said. Which means I should keep them, right?

Q: Do I really need 10 beanies?

A: Yes. Because they are different colours. And keeps my head warm.

Q: Do I really need 7 UNIQLO puffer jackets?

A: Yes. Because they are different colours. And makes me look like the Michelin Man.

Q: Do I really need to keep my bright red jeans and forest green jeans

A: Yeeeees? Bought them on sale and I haven’t worn them that much. To donate them is to admit I made a fashion faux pas?

As you can see, my justifications got more ridiculous as I went, never reason with a hoarder.

Single socks party

I don’t quite understand how it happens, but whenever I wash socks one always goes missing and reappear sometime down the track. It’s one of life’s great mystery.

To rectify the situation, I do a yearly single socks party where I re-unite lost socks back with their partner. It’s a very touching event I swear. I managed to match 26 pairs of socks, and this time, instead of putting the single ones back in a bag and hoarding them for next year’s single socks party, I thanked them and tossed them away. That’s an improvement, right? I’d like to think so.

What I learned

So, what have I identified out of this decluttering session?

1. It’s easier to let go of cheap T-shirt’s, but harder to let go of expensive business shirts and cardigans, even though I don’t fit in some of them anymore.
2. Need a partner/friend next time to rein in my justifications and make the tough calls.
3. It actually feels good to say goodbye and donate the clothes. Not only does it free up wardrobe space, it feels like I’ve made a small step forward to surround myself with things I love.
   

However, as I’m writing this post I just remembered I have three more boxes of winter clothes in storage. A hoarder’s decluttering work never ends!

So what’s your journey on decluttering? Leave a comment below and let me know I’m not alone!