Do This One Thing All Year Long (Instead of a January Closet Purge)
It’s the first full week of January. Are you tired of strangers on the internet telling you what you should be doing right now to have your best year ever? I’m not about to add to the guilt you might feel for not having done those things yet. So breathe a sigh of relief, and carry on.
Why I Stopped Making New Year’s Resolutions
A long, long time ago, I begrudgingly made New Year’s resolutions. More often than not, they were weight-loss related, but that’s another topic to unpack another time. I stopped making resolutions because I found them to be gimmicky and pointless, but then I found myself working for a company that, at one point or another, encouraged everyone to choose a “word” for the year. And by encouraged, I mean forced, because we would all talk about it during a meeting (which could’ve been an email). I know a lot of people like the idea of a word for the year, and if that’s you, no shade. It’s just not for me.
In recent years, I’ve much preferred a very slow start to the new year with no real expectations. Just ease into it. Though I know myself well enough to know that I truly am my best when I’m in a routine, when I have a good schedule. So I don’t need to drag out the holidays excessively long, but I do enjoy easing into things nonetheless.
The One Thing I’m Not Doing This Year: A Big Closet Purge
Not everyone eases into the new year. In fact, a lot of people on the internet are telling you what you should be doing right now to set yourself up for success this year, and no doubt one of those things involves your closet. Edit your closet. Purge. Get rid of anything you haven’t worn in the past 1-3-5 (choose your timeframe) years. Etc.
As a personal stylist for women in midlife, this is where I politely—but firmly—disagree.
I don’t subscribe to big, overwhelming closet clean-outs, nor do I prescribe them for my clients. Candidly, it’s been years since I took every single thing out of my closet to edit it. (One exception: when we moved from Austin to Berlin last summer, and I had to take everything out.)
Even when my clients work with me through my Seasonal Wardrobe Refresh, we only edit in-season pieces in their closet. Because really, who can think about summer clothes in the dead of winter?
What I Do Instead: Ongoing Closet Editing
Instead of an annual closet edit, I edit my closet continuously throughout the year.
I wish I could tell you there was a real strategy behind it, but for me, there really isn’t one. No color-coded bins or labels. No rules about timelines. When I decide something no longer works for me, I get rid of it.
Fortunately, much of what’s in my closet is more or less timeless—because those are the pieces I gravitate towards these days. So I don’t typically feel like any item of clothing in my closet is going to make me look or feel wildly outdated. Still, like most people, sometimes I just get tired of a certain item. Or it needs to be updated one way or another. For example, I desperately need new black trousers. Why? The pair I have is showing signs of wear, and they don’t have belt loops or pockets! (Not sure what I was thinking when I bought them. Lesson learned.)
Learning What Actually Works For You
I’ve also learned over time and with experimentation what styles work for me, and which ones don’t. And by “work,” I mean I like it, and I feel good in it—not because someone said I should wear it based on my height, shape or age.
For example, if you’ve been around a while, you might recall that I really don’t care for t-shirts on me. I don’t like how they feel, and I don’t really like how they look, either. Younger me used to force myself to hang onto the ones in my closet and admittedly, sometimes I’d even forget how much I didn’t like them and would accidentally buy more because they seemed like an easy, obvious choice—even a “must-have” back in the day when I subscribed to the “5 things every woman needs in her closet” mentality.
Sometime in my early 40s, I decided to mostly stop wearing and buying t-shirts because I really just don’t like them on me. And over time, I removed them all from my closet. To date, I think I have one white t-shirt and one black t-shirt that I layer things over, but that’s about it.
No dramatic closet edit required.
Why Editing Your Closet as You Go Actually Works
This is how I approach everything in my closet now: when I put something on, and I don’t like how it looks or feels, I decide in that moment. If it’s something I consistently pass over when I get dressed, I don’t put it back in my closet “just in case.” I let it go.
Editing your closet on an ongoing basis is easier, more realistic and far less overwhelming than pulling everything out once a year. Over time, what you’re left with is a wardrobe that actually reflects you and what you like.
Want support with this without the pressure and overwhelm of a massive purge? My Seasonal Wardrobe Refresh was designed exactly for that. We focus on what you’re wearing now, intentionally edit and make getting dressed easier immediately.
