← Her Style Podcast | Shopping, Color Palettes, Fashion, Wardrobe, Outfits, Clothing
Her Style Podcast | Shopping, Color Palettes, Fashion, Wardrobe, Outfits, Clothing
227 | Stop Getting Rid of These 4 Things During Your Closet Audits
00:19:38
In the last HER Style Podcast episode, I shared a handful of revelations from my most recent closet audit. We all know the value in cleaning out the clutter and eliminating the excess. So why is it that we often avoid auditing our wardrobes...
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- [00:00]
Heather Riggs
In the last Herstyle podcast episode, I shared a handful of revelations from my most recent closet audit. We all know the value in cleaning out the clutter and eliminating the excess, so why is it that we often avoid auditing our wardrobes altogether? What I've seen over the years is a lot of fear around taking on this task. We decide it's overwhelming and going to take way too much time to sift through everything. We worry that even though we might feel like we have nothing to wear, giving away a lot of our clothing will leave us even more literally with nothing to wear, we face analysis, paralysis and doubt our instincts about what to keep and let go of. I totally understand why you might be putting this off, but what if I told you there was an easier way? You don't have to dedicate hours on end to this step, and you need to get rid of far less than you think you do. In fact, there are four things I don't want you to remove from your wardrobe at all. In today's episode, I'm going to surprise you with a short list of things you've been letting go of too soon. Let's salvage your wardrobe and save you some time, my friend. Here's how.
- [01:11]
Co-host or Assistant
Welcome to her style Podcast, where we're all about empowering you to show up and get dressed every day with confidence. I'm your host, Heather Riggs, a 15 year and counting certified image consultant and color specialist ready to build a wardrobe and a personal style you love. Let's get started.
- [01:37]
Heather Riggs
Before I share the four things to stop getting rid of during your closet audits, let's back up. I want to give you a quick synopsis of my approach to doing a closet audit because it does not have to be as daunting as you might think. I have an entire module dedicated to making this a fun and easy process inside my group coaching program, Her Style Collective. But here is the quick Cliff Notes version. Do you remember those? They were like the little guidebooks that summarized literary novels that you'd have to read in school. I definitely cheated myself out of reading many a good book by relying too heavily on CliffsNotes in high school. And I guess AI is the new CliffsNotes for this next generation. But I digress. The CliffsNotes version of this is that unless you have the ability to block out an entire day on your calendar to clean out your closet, I don't really love the idea of taking everything out and throwing all of your clothing and accessories onto your bed and making a terrible mess in the process of this. I actually like to just evaluate one small section of my wardrobe at a time, whether that's over a large two to three hour block, if you can set that time aside, or just by chipping away at it a little bit at a time, maybe for 10 to 20 minutes per day until it's all done. You'll be shocked at how much you can get done when you just take it as a little baby step approach and make this work in whatever time you have available. It doesn't need to be this big, daunting full weekend extravaganza. You can just do it in small, little mini bits and pieces along the way. So anyway, as you're evaluating what is in your closet, there are four categories to sort your pieces into. And I apologize that the numbers lined up to be the same. This is not to be confused with the four things I don't want you to let go of. We'll get to that in just a minute. But the four categories that I encourage you to sort your clothing and accessories into as you're doing your closet audit are. Number one, keep. These are the things that you still love that meet your style goals. They flatter you, you are actually wearing them, or you know that you will have occasion to wear them. They're the obvious yeses that you want to hang on to. Those go in your keep column. The next thing, number two is your replace pieces. And this category is for items that are kind of missing the mark. There's something not quite perfect about them or quite where you want it to be, but you still have a need to keep them. You are wearing them somewhat regularly, but you do have the desire to ultimately up level them in some way. So they're not quite keep, but you're also not ready to let go of them because you have a need for them right now. The third category is donate or consign. And these are the items that don't flatter you. They don't align with your style, they're not in a great color for you, or you really just don't have any reason to hang on to them anymore. They are not fitting at all with your lifestyle. Maybe they're just like way too much clutter. You're ready to say goodbye and let go of them. And then the fourth category is alter or repair. And this category is for the pieces that have a lot of potential, but there's something a little bit off that could be fixed with repairs or alterations to make them work a lot better for you. I wanted to walk you through this process a little bit because the first thing that I want you to stop tossing during your closet audit are the pieces that truly belong in the replace category. So I had to go through the categories with you first because we really need to understand what the purpose is of having the replace category and not getting rid of things that actually belong there. Sometimes I see my clients get a little overzealous in the closet audit step and they end up over auditing at first. I know it's exciting and it feels so good to let go of the things that you don't absolutely love or that aren't truly serving you anymore. But this can lead you to a bit of outfit panic when you have far less in your wardrobe and to some stress and overwhelm when it's time to start making your shopping list and lining up your budget. You don't want to end up with nothing to wear. Instead of getting rid of everything that's not a perfect 10 or even at an 8 or a 9, I encourage you to hang on to it for now. If it's something that you need to get yourself through the week, don't let it go too quickly. What I would rather see you do is move it into its own replacement section of your closet or dresser. You're going to want to group these items together so that you can start to notice how often you actually reach for them. The pieces that you wear the most often are the ones that you're most likely going to want to prioritize and replace first when you start doing your shopping. We are working to build your dream wardrobe, but it usually doesn't happen overnight, so just be willing to take your time and make more strategic upgrades as you go. Hang on to a little bit more than you think at first. You can always let it go later on, either after you've been able to find the perfect replacement or if you realize at the end of the season that you really didn't wear it anyway. We need to have some real talk, my love. Are you struggling to put outfits together in the morning? Feeling tired of everything you own? Wishing you could go out and buy a whole new wardrobe so you can finally get dressed quickly and with confidence, Friend. That is not the only solution. In fact, I have an even better one that's going to help you save a ton of time and likely cut your spring and summer shopping list in half. Join me from Monday, April 7 through Friday, April 11 for a free Shop your Closet Challenge where I'm going to show you how to style what you already own so you can maximize the pieces you've invested in and start showing up at your best right now. No more shopping required. I'll be bringing you five brand new bite sized trainings each day during the challenge week and answering your questions live every single day because you know we are all about implementation and personalization here at Her Style. You're going to walk away from this week with clarity about your signature style and how to infuse it into your outfits. Even if your lifestyle feels like a mismatch, you're going to get easy ways to highlight your best features and adapt the clothing that no longer fits you like it used to. Of course, I'll be sharing tons of tips to make the colors you own work even better for you and help you put together new color combinations with so much more confidence. You're going to get expert styling tips to take your outfits to the next level and make those hidden gems in your closet look totally up to date. This free event is going to completely transform the way you look at your current closet. Head to herstylellc.comchallenge right now to grab your free seat. We're going to be giving away some incredible prizes all week long as well, so you do not want to miss out on this free five day event. If you're ready to wear what you own with confidence, then head to herstylellc.comchallenge and get registered for this free five day event right now. I can't wait to see you there. The next thing I encourage you to stop getting rid of are the pieces you wore to death and now feel tired of. I've been there. Hopefully we've all had the experience of owning those great items that we loved for a season or two or more and wore to all the events and took all the pictures in and totally played out. And you might be so sick of this piece now that your instinct is to cast it aside and make room for something new. But if it still fits your personal style and it flatters you and it's in a beautiful color or print that looks amazing and the only thing wrong with it is that you wore it so much you're really tired of it, why not just give it a breather, let it rest. You could pack it away for a while or you could tuck it at the back of your closet and just give it a little time out. Sometimes these pieces are the ones that you will look back at years later and think, oh, I love that piece. Why did I let it go? I would love to wear that again now. And friend, I am not about having Wardrobe regrets. If you have some room to store a couple of extra items, you don't have to say goodbye to these pieces forever. Just say we need a break. You can always reassess this in another six months or a year from now if you decide, nope, this is definitely too worn, it's too dated. Or I am seriously just ready to move on for good. Then fine, pass it along to someone else. You could give it a second life, but you might find yourself very grateful that you held onto it. It might not be your go to piece anymore, but it might be able to make it back into the rotation from time to time. So just trust me on this one. Do not let go of a really good thing. Okay? Number three on the list to stop getting rid of is clothing that doesn't fit you right now. This is probably going against everything that you think, and I will make one exception to this. If you have been on a significant weight gain loss journey. So either way, whether you've been working to put on or to lose pounds, if it's not serving you emotionally to keep the pieces that are way too big or way too small, you could let those go for sure. Please do what supports you best through this season. But what I'm referring to right now is if you just tend to fluctuate between sizes or if you have a history of yo yo dieting and you will lose a little bit and gain a bit back and your sizes tend to be all over the place. Or if there are certain times of the month, maybe when you don't fit into that one pair of jeans, you know the one I'm talking about. Do not let all of these items go. What I highly recommend is putting them away. I do want your wardrobe to be stocked with clothing that does fit you. Right now. You don't want to be stressed out in the morning. You don't want to be trying to remember what fits you and what doesn't fit you. So please do keep what's visible in your closet to the things that are currently fitting you. But what I would invite you to do as you're auditing your closet and seeing what fits, is to pack up the rest. If it meets the criteria of reflecting your style and being in a flattering color and working for your body's shape, proportions, scale, all of the things that are not weight determinant factors. If it serves a purpose, if it works for your lifestyle, if it fit you and you would love to wear it, then you don't have to get rid of it. You could just Again, pack it away. And I would say that most of us do have weight fluctuations, so I don't want you to feel like you have to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe anytime you gain or lose 5 to 10 or even 20 or more pounds. Again, you have to be discerning about the space that you have within your home and what it does to you mentally to hold on to things that don't fit you. But I think it is perfectly okay to reserve a few options in case you have a weight fluctuation again in the future. Just like the last category that we talked about, you can always reevaluate this. You don't need to keep these items forever, but I don't want you to part with them too soon either. It could be really smart to keep a small bin of your favorite maternity wear just in case. Unless, you know you have officially closed that door. You might want to keep pants that are a size too big or too small, even if only for one year, just to see if you ever want to go back and revisit them. You can always decide to close that chapter down the road as well. If you're joining me for the free five day shop your closet challenge next week, from April 7th through the 11th, I will be sharing tips on how you can wear pieces that don't fit you perfectly. There are ways to make them work. If you have enough other items that you can make do with, this might be less pertinent for you, and then you can simply pack them up for a time. But you could also have alterations done. Or you could try some of the styling tricks I'm going to teach you next week. Or just hold on to them in case something happens and you have a future need for them. All right, this brings me to the last category of clothing to stop letting go of too quickly. And it's items you don't have an immediate need for, but that could serve you well in the future. Don't be alarmed. I know I often tell you that we want your wardrobe to be a direct reflection of how you spend your time. We have to live and get dressed in reality. And while it doesn't serve you to stock up on lots of items that don't work for your real life, it also doesn't serve you to get rid of every single thing that doesn't. Hear me out. Maybe you've been working from home very comfortably since COVID or since you got this new job, but like a lot of my friends and clients are facing right now, you could unexpectedly get called back into the office. If you got rid of every single piece of professional clothing in your closet, you might be left scrambling to buy some new things. If you haven't been invited to a wedding in the past few years, it could seem very logical to just get rid of all of your cocktail attire. But then what happens when an invitation unexpectedly shows up in your mailbox? Of course I would probably recommend renting something for just a one off occasion, but hopefully I am making my point that you might want to hang on to a small inventory of pieces that will work for the unexpected changes and occasions that can come up in life. Yes, 90 to 95% of your wardrobe should work for regular day to day activities and the things that you actually have on your recurring calendar, but I think it is wise to keep a small 5 to 10% for those just in case scenarios. I like to have a couple of formal dresses and shoes. Unfortunately I like to have a funeral appropriate outfit for the warm and cool weather months just in case. It's smart, I think, to have one professional suit and depending on your current or former career, you may want to also have a micro capsule of workwear should the need arise to go back into the workforce or into the office. I want you to just think through any scenarios that you wouldn't want to have to rush out and buy something for. It's okay to keep a couple of items for those just in case moments so that you have what you need and don't have to scramble again. This is going to be dependent on how much space you have in your home and available to you, and also your financial situation. If you're very comfortable going out and buying what you need when you need it, or if you would feel excited for the opportunity to get to buy some new pieces and make some updates, then you can absolutely do that. The purpose of this episode is to get you thinking more strategically, proactively, and a little bit more conservatively about what you part with, and even more so how quickly you part with things. Believe me, my husband is not someone who likes to hold onto or store stuff. So if you are seeking a minimalist lifestyle and you are cringing right now at the thought of keeping things you're not currently wearing, that is 100% your prerogative. You can definitely let go of whatever you want to let go of. I just want to warn you that I have seen many women get rid of too many things too quickly and then regret it later and I don't want this to be your experience. My philosophy, especially if this is the first audit you've done in a long time. Or if you're new to this intentional style journey and the steps that I teach here and inside my program, I do think less is more. Start small. Don't over audit. Take your time going through the process and give yourself permission to hang on to a little bit more than you think you should the first time around. You can always revisit it again later. You are constantly learning things about yourself and your style and what you really want, so it's okay to change your mind and leave some space and time to be able to do that. Don't get rid of too much too soon, just let it be and overall process and an evolution that happens through the course of time. I think you'll be so happy that you did. As a fast recap, the four things I want you to stop getting rid of so quickly are Number one, the pieces you're ready to uplevel or replace. Number two, the items that you wore to death and just now feel a little bit tired of. Try taking a break instead of breaking up with them. Number three, things that don't fit you perfectly right now. We're going to do a deep dive on this in next week's Free challenge, so I would love for you to come and learn more about how to actually do that. And number four, clothing that you don't have an immediate need for, but that could serve you well in the future for those unexpected occasions that pop up now and then in life. To reiterate, I am not talking about pieces that don't meet your style foundations. If something is not flattering, if it's not your taste at all, if you know you will never wear it, it feels dated or it's dingy or it makes you self conscious, then you can absolutely say goodbye to those things. We're not making excuses to keep everything either, but be discerning about what you let go of for good. If it fits one of the four categories we discussed today, just take a pause and give it a second thought. I hope this was helpful and that you're feeling empowered to take on your next Closet audit. I can't wait to share even more tips to support you in our next episode and of course help you better maximize what you do own and what you are holding onto at the Free Shop your Closet Challenge, which kicks off one week from today on Monday, April 7th. Head to herstylellc.comchallenge to save your free seat and I will see you there so soon.
- [18:51]
Co-host or Assistant
Thank you for listening to today's episode.
- [18:54]
Heather Riggs
If you want to stop copying everyone.
- [18:56]
Co-host or Assistant
Else'S style and start dialing in your own swoon worthy signature look, head over to take my free 5 minute personal style quiz which you can find at the link in the show notes. If you've enjoyed our time together, please be sure to rate, review and subscribe to her style podcast so you never miss an episode. Finally, I invite you to make this.
- [19:17]
Heather Riggs
A two way conversation and send me.
- [19:19]
Co-host or Assistant
A DM over on Instagram eatherigstyle to let me know how I can best support you on your style journey. I'm always here for you in style and service. Until next time.