Is it a Need or Greed?

WE JUST WEAR 20% OF THE CLOTHES WE HAVE IN OUR CLOSET!!

This is something that I’ve previously mentioned in my blog about sustainability, whether it's our need or our greed to just keep buying or hoarding things in the closet. Over the spring I realised how little of our stuff we actually need. I kept asking myself, do I really need so many spoons in the house or so many pots? How many pans do we really need to cook? With every question I donated most of my stuff, I'm sure it made someone really happy.

Then came my closet- sweaters, a lot of night wear, I think the most under-utilized garment for me is a sweater. Looking at the weather in India where the winters are just for 2 months, how many jackets, sweaters or woollen shawls do I actually wear, hardly. And high heels? Sure they looked good, I even had several clients who had over 40 pairs of high heels that never left the house.

My turning point was when I completely lost control of the house and closet, decluttering was the newest goal I had for myself in life for the year, from closet to my kids’ toys to spoons and plates, I recalled that it's best  to not  have things in the house that don’t inspire you, don’t even have the books that don’t inspire you. The more clutter, the more negativity in the house. Anything that has not been used for 6 months just goes out. This made me feel so much better.

I know we all get emotionally attached to our stuff, it's tough for me to part with them. It's completely out of my comfort zone, which was why I created just 1 small memory box. Just a small one. So that I don’t see it every time I open my closet.

As we grow our style needs also change and so does our closet. In our 20’s it's different clothing in comparison to what we’d wear in our 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. Milestones like every 2, 5, 10 years are great opportunities to reassess your needs and clear what isn’t serving you.It's important for you to decide what clothing you just love and fits fabulously.

Determine how much clothing you need based on how often you do laundry. For example, if you do laundry every two weeks, you need 14 days of outfits. And think about your weekly, monthly, and seasonal clothing requirements. Work wear, workout wear, downtime, playtime, going out with friends? Try to look at your life from a bird’s eye perspective and design your own requirements. I can help you work on your colour, style, personality, body shape and give you advice with regard to the clothes that need to be in your closet and that need to go. Get in touch with me on the website (www.HouseofWasabi.com), let me personalise your style for you.