Some years I can make it until May until I change over my clothes for the seasons, but this year autumn has felt much cooler, so I needed to make the change sooner.
I started keeping a simplified wardrobe back in 2016. You can read the post and see the photos about how I made the changes for the first time here. While simplifying your wardrobe may seem like a small change, it has had such a huge positive impact on my life in the following ways:
- I save so much time as choosing what to wear is much easier
- I save time from not having to organise and keep tidy a bigger selection of clothes
- The simplified nature of my wardrobe is calming
- This calming effect of my simplified wardrobe continuously motivates me to simplify other areas of the home
Simplifying and decluttering your wardrobe is also a task that really doesn’t take that long. The process below took me less than an hour and that was with stopping to take photos and chatting to kids as they came in.
The above image is what my wardrobe looked like prior to decluttering and changing over clothes for the change of season. The first step I take is to remove any clothes that I know I will not wear for the next six months.
There are some items of clothing that I will wear all year round. For example, I always have my denim jacket in my wardrobe, a pair of jeans, a warm hoodie and a couple of plain t-shirts. Melbourne’s weather can be inconsistent, so have found I need to have these items always.
The clothes I was left with are shown in the photo above. It is then moving on to getting out the super large plastic tub where I store my winter clothes. Originally I was annoyed at myself for selecting such a large and cumbersome tub for my out of season clothes, however it didn’t take long for me to actually appreciate it.
I keep the plastic tub on a high shelf in the wardrobe. I have to get a stool to stand on to access it and it is really difficult to place upon the shelf without hitting the light or hurting myself by dropping the tub on myself!
As I noted Melbourne’s weather can be inconsistent. If the tub was easier to access, there would have been times when I would have retrieved clothes from the tub. As it is such a pain to access the tub, I just make do with what I have and everything is completely fine!
This tub does contain some items that actually never come out. One day I might let go of these items but for now, I want to have them even if I am not wearing them. They are my collection of running event t-shirts and other group t-shirts I have been associated with over the years. They hold good memories for me and I don’t want to part with them.
On top of my t-shirt collection, there are some random clothes that I am not going to use this season. I am not going to donate them to charity as I do still wear them some seasons depending on what I feel. If they stay in the box more than a couple of changeovers, then I know it is time for them to go.
The pile of clothes at the end of the box fitted into that category this year and I will donate them to charity.
The above photo shows the end result. I am now ready for the colder months. My fave black Patagonia jacket is missing from the photo because I had it on.
In terms of my drawers they hold underwear and socks and running gear. I added back some long leggings but keep the shorts as I don’t really like running in long leggings, so will still run in shorts on most occasions through out winter.
Do you change over your clothes for the change of season?
March monthly review
| Habit | Connection to goal - Simplify daily life to spend more time with family and friends | Quote - “A simple lifestyle is good for us, helping us to better share with those in need.” ~ Pope Francis | March Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simplify our evening meals (make one meal a week meat free) | With five kids, two being older teenagers and one being an adult I need to cook a lot of food. These three also have who casual or part time jobs, so having family meals with everyone eating at the same time is becoming increasingly more difficult. The types of meals I cook now need to cater more for different sittings of meal times and also larger volumes so they can eat left overs for other meals as needed. This can be time consuming and I want it to take up the minimal amount of time, giving me the greatest chance of eating a family meal with as many kids as possible. I need to simplify some of the meals I make to make this happen and I also want to reduce meat intake in the house, so want one meal a week to be meat free as well. | "If you want to change the world, go home and love your family." ~ Mother Teresa | I will talk more about this in my newsletter tomorrow, but I am putting this habit on hold for the time being. If you aren't on my email newsletter you can sign up here! |
| Simplify our home cleaning routine | We have the kids involved in doing work around the house across the week, but it isn't as streamlined and as simple as I would like it to be. We also have a different system of contributing to the housework once kids leave school, so I need to work on simplifying how we all contribute to keeping the house clean and tidy. | "The objective of cleaning is not just to clean, but to feel happiness living within that environment." ~ Marie Kondo | We are currently working on this together as a family now we are all at home so much, there is more work involved in keeping the house clean and tidy. It will be easier to build it into our school term routine rather than when are on stay at home school holidays. |
| Simplify my exercise routine | Running will be my focus for 2020 but I would still like to keep up strength training and do some yoga. I need to work out a way to fit this into my life without taking up too much time or feeling like I have too much to do. Both the strength training and the yoga help my running, so I need to find a way to simplify how I can blend them into a routine. | “An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day." ~ Henry David Thoreau | I am missing running with my friends a tonne :(, but I feel very grateful that I can still run outside and hope that this remains an option. I am running six days a week and trying to stick to my usual plan of two workouts a week, a long run and one day of no running. We are lucky enough to have a small home gym set up so I do three sessions a week using that to keep up strength work. The yoga studio I go to has now moved online so I actually have access to more classes than I usually would which is exciting! I am going to try and do at least two classes a week in April. |
| Declutter one item a day (can be averaged over a week / fortnight) | There are cupboards that are too full, bedrooms that look a little messy because they have too much stuff in them. I find I am spending too much time on managing the stuff of the house. I want to work slowly over the year to really pare back the belongings we have in the house. I feel much calmer with clear surfaces and minimal mess. | “Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity. From discord find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” ~ Albert Einstein | As detailed above I worked on my wardrobe. My decluttering habit is going along nicely and it is something that I actually look forward to doing at the moment! |
| Spend an hour outside each day | Being outside is so good for me in so many ways and good for the kids too. I find the pace of things slows down when I am outdoors. With my running I do spend time outside everyday, but often in winter this is when it is still dark. I want to spend time outside in daylight hours and also use this time to be with the kids where I can too - who also benefit from more outdoor time. | "Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” ~Lao Tzu | This habit is well and truly established. On top of my running outside, I also eat lunch outside when I can, take the dog for a walk daily and play outside with the kids. Not being able to go to different places far from home has actually made me yearn to spend more time outdoors. I would love to walk along the beach or be in my original home town and be running by the river. I hope I don't ever take these simple things for granted ever again. |