Project De-Clutter the Closet

Last year, I spent a few months taking my masters in Sweden. When I left the Philippines, I had one duffel bag and a back pack.My life, reduced into less than 50 pieces of clothing and less than 10 items of make-up/skin care.The year away was a quick nudge reminding me that I don't really need too much stuff.But that's a year away when you have time to make profound reflections in efficient and quiet, even if quite old, first world trains.

Fast-forward to this year, I open my closet and realize that I've become a squatter: some of my clothes are in my sister's closet.Others are in an extra cabinet.Some are stored in boxes all over the house.For someone who is seldom in the mall and hates shopping, how in the world have I amassed a jungle of clothes.Answer: I have trouble letting go of my clothes.

Enter the blog that inspired my new mission to unclutter my life- Unclutterer.com

From interesting tips gathered from posts in the blog, I have managed to unclutter my closet to a manageable level:

Before everything else, pick a group/people you want to donate your clothes to when you're done uncluttering your closet.Fix a definite date for them to pick up these clothes.This will motivate you to finish the task ASAP.

1. Take out EVERYTHING in your closet (in my case, closetS).

2. Make two piles:

• Clothes I've worn in the past 3 months
• Clothes I've not worn in the past 3 months
• Seasonal clothes like jackets and swim wear.
  

3. Work on one pile at a time and divide that again into these piles:

• Keep
• Give-away

4. Now, look at your KEEP pile, take a deep breath, and tell yourself: You can do this.Because you need to let go of some of those things too.You need to let go of:

• Clothes that don't fit well.
• Stained clothes that are beyond redemption.
• Really, you're still wearing clothes from the 80s?
• Clothes that people (read: your family and friends) think are ugly. This one requires deep emotional reasoning. If people think this is ugly, why do I still wear it? (For me, sentimental reasons.I still have "pambahay" (house clothes?) from when I was 13!)

5. Now, let go of the clothes.Give it to church, orphanages, etc. Invite your friends over for dinner and maybe they want some of your clothes.Sell it on Ebay.Maybe you have artsy friends who can transform them into other useful items.

Now, set a date. Unclutter that closet jungle.May the force be with you.