Minimizing your closet and decluttering your life is a big trend in the fashion and wellness space currently, but it’s not a new concept for your overall mental health. Stuffing you life with things doesn’t make it more full, it just means you have more things. So just own less and things will be better, right? Well, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Crafting a minimalist closet takes sacrifice, time, personal growth, and continuous learning. This article outlines the difficulties of minimizing your closet that no one talks about, so you can better prepare yourself for the potential difficulties of the process.
What Does a Minimalist Closet Look Like?
A minimalist closet looks and feels like it works for your everyday life, is practical, makes you happy and relieves your dress when it comes to choosing what to wear. I started building capsule wardrobes years ago and will never go back, it’s the simplest way to streamline your style and effectively dress each day. You can read more about that journey in the related article linked below.
RELATED: Why I Started Building Capsule Wardrobes
10 Things to Know Before Building a Minimalist Closet
A minimalist closet takes time
A minimalist closet doesn’t happen overnight, it also doesn’t happen within a few months. Why? because chances are if you have a lot of clothes it’s hard to get used to having less, you might relapse and binge buy after decluttering and feel like you’ve failed. It takes season after season to get a good handle on it, and once you’ve been through all four seasons twice you will be in a much better place and know what to expect. The first year consists of you getting used to the change, the second year you will be more prepared, and hopefully take lessons with you from the first.
It takes sacrifice to build a minimalist closet
Gone are the days when buying everything in sight was the norm. Now you have to actually think about what style, colour, and function each piece fills so you can shop less and smarter. You also have to get used to wearing similar items and combinations regularly, for someone who is used to wearing a different outfit every day this is a huge sacrifice. Just try to remember that a minimalist closet is worth it.
You won’t get the perfect minimalist closet right the first time, or the second
Like I said earlier it takes awhile to figure this process out, just because you’ve watched a few YouTube videos, and read a blog post doesn’t mean you’ll flawlessly execute your dream wardrobe within the first try. You’ll have items you realize don’t fit in, and you’ll have styles that are missing- I like to call these wardrobe gaps. The good news is you’ll remember this for next time and fill in the blanks more effectively.
You need to have a plan
You’ll need a concrete plan before starting. Writing down what your wardrobe currently looks like, how many items you have, the styles, colours, and repeats all take planning. Throwing everything on the floor of your bedroom doesn’t always work, you need to break tasks up and create a plan of action. Like everything else in life, planning is the best way to be more efficient. It also helps create less anxiety and overwhelm during a time that can be very hard.
You’ll second guess your choices
While choosing your new items and getting rid of old styles, it’s hard to know when you’ve made the right choice. You’ll second guess giving away certain items and keeping certain ones, you’ll also second guess having such a small wardrobe once you’re finished. You’ll think “how am I supposed to live with JUST this”, what if a special occasion comes along and this is all I have to choose from. There will be a lot of what if’s and alternative thinking, this is normal and will eventually fade once you keep going season after season, but at first it’s difficult.
It’s frustrating
When you initially start this whole process it will be a lot to take in, you won’t know where to start or what the steps should look like. You’ll most likely feel that the whole idea is silly.
There’s information overload out there
You’ll likely start your journey by Googling “How to minimize your wardrobe” or “How to build a capsule closet” and dozens of articles, videos, blogs, websites, and reviews will pop up leaving you with an enormous amount of information. Try to avoid doing that. Instead, find someone you trust who has gone through this process and use their method for inspiration, the point is to not overwhelm yourself by trying to do everything everyone says to do. What works for them might not work for you.
Everyone has their own strategy
Everyone has a different wardrobe, and everyone has totally different style which means you have to curate your own strategy based off what you normally wear. Don’t follow someone else’s exact strategy because you will end up back at square one, when you see those articles with step by step guides on how to build a capsule wardrobe in a few easy steps, remember to customize it for your own lifestyle and preferences.
Have your why ready
During times of frustration, anger, confusion, happiness, sadness, isolation, excitement, despair, remember your why. Why did you decide to do this in the first place? Why will this way of life benefit you? If you don’t have a why then you don’t have a reason to continue when it gets hard- which it will. Your why could be to make mornings easier, to reduce decision fatigue and get dressed faster, or to give your partner more space in the closet.
It’s a continuous learning process
Like I said before, you won’t get it right the first year, or even the second. Building a minimalist closet is a lifestyle and takes continuous monthly and yearly practicing, re-strategizing, re-thinking, until you figure out a system that works. Even then, life pivots and you will have to as well. But that’s kind of a bonus don’t you think? It keeps this lifestyle fun and ever changing!
RELATED: My Core Capsule Wardrobe That Never Changes Regardless of Live Changes
Final Thoughts: The Main Benefit of Creating a Minimalist Closet
I hope this list of 10 things no one tells you about building a minimalist closet helps open your eyes to the potential difficulties you’ll face before starting your own. Lastly, I want to highlight the many benefits to having a minimalist closet as well. Decluttering and minimizing brings clarity you never knew you needed. A lot of the time we are so used to the way things are, we don’t realize that if changed they could actually be more beneficial. This is one benefit no one tells you, clarity comes in so many forms whether it’s less stress or less anxiety.
I would have to say knowing and feeling the benefits isn’t easy and straightforward. It’s the biggest personal growth lesson that comes from having a minimalist closet, but the amount of growth you see in yourself throughout the process is totally up to you.
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Other Posts You Might Like:
- How to Create a Minimalist Wardrobe: The New Way
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- The Ultimate Work Capsule Wardrobe Guide For Women
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