← Her Style Podcast | Shopping, Color Palettes, Fashion, Wardrobe, Outfits, Clothing
Her Style Podcast | Shopping, Color Palettes, Fashion, Wardrobe, Outfits, Clothing
280 | Too Many Clothes and Nothing to Wear? 5 Steps to Break the Cycle
00:16:42
Did you know the average woman wears only about 20% of what’s in her closet? That means the other 80% is just taking up space—and often making it harder to get dressed. So no wonder we end up with that dreaded feeling: a closet full of clothes and...
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Did you know that the average woman wears only about 20% of what's in her closet? And that means the other 80% is just taking up space and often making it harder to get dressed. So no wonder we end up with that dreaded feeling of having a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear. Today, we're breaking that cycle for good. I'm going to walk you through five simple steps to help you clean out the clutter without leaving you feeling deprived. By the end of this episode, you'll know why a packed closet actually gives you fewer options. Yes, you heard that right. How to set personal wardrobe goals that will keep you on track. The key thing that makes getting dressed a whole lot easier. A guilt free process to create breathing room in your closet. And how to rebuild smarter so this cycle doesn't come back. If your closet feels overwhelming and your mornings feel frustrating, then let's dive in and fix it for good. 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, friend. I have so been there. I have had the closet full of clothes with nothing to wear. And I know that it's one of the most frustrating feelings to open up your closet doors in the morning, to see a wardrobe full of options in front of you and still face the daily struggle of putting the perfect outfit together. I mean, why? Just why? There's no reason. So I want to help you move away from this feeling for good and start to intentionally curate a closet you love. So. So let's dive right in. I have five steps that I'm gonna walk you through today to help eliminate this issue and get you back on track. Step one is to recognize why more actually comes from less. We live in a culture that tells us more is better. More is more, right? So more clothing equals more options, equals more joy and freedom and creativity and all of those things. But really, the opposite is true. When your closet is overstuffed, you will start to inevitably experience decision fatigue. And instead of seeing clear outfit options when you go to get ready in the morning, your brain gets overloaded with too many choices. And every extra shirt, pair of pants, or jacket becomes another option that your brain has to sort through before you can get dressed. And the human brain doesn't like excess or confusion. It wants things to be simple and clear to give you a little Analogy. To further illustrate this, I want you to think about the last time that you went to a restaurant that had a ginormous 12 page menu. It's so overwhelming, right? And then compare that to maybe a small cafe where there's just one simple menu, one page of carefully chosen entrees that makes it so much easier to look at everything and make a confident order. And you are more likely to enjoy the choice you made rather than wondering if you'd been smarter to choose that that other meal you saw on page seven. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the Cheesecake Factory, but I will rotate my order between the same two things every single time because I cannot handle reading and sifting through all of the options on their menu. And I also don't like cheesecake. I know I said it. Don't hate me if that's your favorite dessert. It's probably the only one I can turn down every time. But I do like the ambiance, the rest of the food. It's a fun place to go. My point is, your closet works the exact same way. If you have a packed wardrobe, you are going to feel overwhelm and you're probably going to end up doing chronic outfit repeating because your brain doesn't want to make those daunting decisions every day. You're just going to default to grabbing the same things or the same formulas that you always tend to wear. And so the first step is to flip the script. Instead of thinking that more clothes equal more options, I want you to remind yourself that better clothes equal better options. Oh, snap. That's good, right? And now you might be able to fully agree that it's wise to have less but better. But if you don't have a personal why to back that up, it's going to be really easy for you to slip back into your default habits. So step two is to define your wardrobe goals. And I would love for you to pinpoint exactly what you want from your wardrobe. Maybe it's to be inspired by colors and textures that you love putting on, or to have confidence every time you put something on and walk out the door. Or maybe it's just to have a sense of cohesion so that your pieces can mix and match really effortlessly. I just want you to stop and think for a minute about the experience that you want to have when you look at your closet and why that matters for you. What is the difference it's actually going to make when you get dressed? Your goals will become the filter that every decision passes through. So this is really important step. I'm going to give you a quick personal example. I shared in the last episode that this fall I realized I didn't actually need to do a big closet purge. Instead, my wardrobe goals are about filling practical gaps like shoes, loungewear, and pajamas. Nothing glamorous, but things that I truly need to make my daily life easier and to feel more beautiful and put together when I'm just relaxing at home or even waking up in the morning. And by defining those priorities, I know exactly where to focus my energy and my budget instead of chasing trends or adding more clutter to my closet. So now when I do my fall shopping, I can ask myself, is this item on my shopping list, Is it in one of those three categories, Shoes, loungewear, or pajamas? And is it going to make me feel more put together when I'm having a cozy day at home or getting ready for bed at night? I usually take our dog out back first thing in the morning before I get dressed. And I would like to feel cute and put together when I step outside, even if no one sees me or if it's in my pajamas. My husband and I also have started sitting out back for a little coffee chat on Saturday mornings before we get our day started. So again, I don't want to feel like a slob. I want to feel put together, even when we just go out back and I'm still wearing my pajamas. And I get that these might sound like silly or frivolous scenarios, but this is really what we need to think about. I want you to think about what goals are actually gonna make getting dressed for all the areas of your life better, easier, or more enjoyable. At this stage for me, in my wardrobe, it's these little pockets that I've kind of been neglecting and that I really wanna focus in on this season. So again, for step two, ask yourself, what. What do I want my wardrobe to give me right now? Write it down and then use that to guide you moving forward. Step three is to simplify everything with your style foundations. If you're new around here, let me just clarify that what I refer to as your style foundations are your signature style, what flatters your body and your best colors, and having confidence about those three pillars is what makes it easy to get dressed every single day. This is the core of what I teach Inside Her Style Collective. And. And we have to figure this out so that you can make confident decisions about what's in your closet. When you know these three things and you feel really solid in what works best for you, Your wardrobe is going to practically edit itself. You can stop wasting time debating whether something might work for you, and you'll know if it doesn't align with your style, if it doesn't flatter your body, and if it doesn't harmonize with your personal colors, it's out easy as that. And this step is really going to create so much freedom. It's going to eliminate at least 80% of those what ifs and give you crystal clarity about what? Is that a thing? Crystal clear. Crystal clarity, whatever. You're going to feel clear about what belongs in your closet and what doesn't. And when you know your foundations, everything in your closet is going to work better for you. Once you start gravitating towards those pieces that are most flattering and aligned for you, you're not going to be trying on 12 different tops in the morning. You're just going to grab the couple that actually work with your colors, complement your shape, and align with how you want to show up. And I think the kicker is that when you shop without these foundations in mind, that's when you end up with a closet full of random options, random colors, random cuts, random styles. Everything just feels more haphazard. And it's what leads you into that cycle of having a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear. Because it's going to feel like a random assortment of things instead of a cohesive collection and one that was hand curated just for you. So before you buy anything else or even before you do a deeper edit, spoiler alert. That is the next step. I want you to take a moment and revisit your foundations or do a deep dive if you need to figure out some of those. And ask yourself, does this reflect my style? Is this in one of my best colors? And does it fit and flatter my body? If the answer is yes, then that piece earns a space in your closet. And if the answer is no, you. You might want to set it aside for now or for good. So that's going to bring us to step number four, which is to create some breathing room. And there is no guilt required in this step. This is where you're really going to get into action. But it's also the part that trips so many women up. And I am referring to the dreaded closet audit. But I want you to reframe this, because editing your wardrobe isn't about depriving yourself. It's not about forcing yourself to get rid of pieces that you might want to wear again. It's all about curation and Again, to create a collection of clothes that will truly serve you every single day. So here's a gentle process that you can try. The first thing I want you to do is start small. You do not have to audit everything overnight. Pick one simple category, whatever feels like the lowest or easiest hanging fruit. This could be your jeans. It could be your sock drawer. I'm not kidding about that. I want you to make this manageable just so you can start getting the momentum going. So pick one. One teeny tiny micro category of your closet and audit that. And then while you're doing that, I want you to ask those three questions we just talked about them. Does it reflect my style? Is it in one of my best colors? Does this fit and flatter my body? So go through all of your foundations. I have a free closet audit flowchart that I'll link up in the show notes for you. If you want to grab that. It'll help you walk you through this process. And then you can also start a replacement section. Or if you want to move it out of your closet altogether, maybe you come up with a box or a bin and you can label it as your holding zone. So if you are unsure about an item, you don't have to get rid of it right now. You can just set it aside for four to six weeks. And then if you don't reach for it within that time, you will have your answer. Even if you want to hold onto it for the entire season, that is completely fine. Having this replacement section in your closet or this separate holding zone in your home helps you get it out of your daily rotation for now and declutter a little bit without having to make a forever decision on the spot. You'll know that you can either replace it or remove it later on after you've had some time to really sit with the decision. And I think that this is what helps to take the guilt out of editing. You're not throwing your whole wardrobe into chaos or tossing everything into the donation bag. You don't have to worry about giving it away and then regretting your decision later. Instead, you can just slowly but intentionally complete this process in the time that works best for you. And remember, you're just aiming to create some breathing room. Whether you eliminate five pieces or 50 pieces, which is probably too much for your first go around. I would say start small. The goal is just to create some space between your hangers so that you can easily see all of your items when you go to get dressed. And once you do this, you will be amazed at how much lighter it feels the next time you open your closet doors. And this brings us to our final step, which might be the most fun part. It's rebuilding smarter and adding in some new pieces. But this time, I want you to do it with strategy. We're all about shopping smarter here. So this means first identifying your gaps and looking at what's going on on your calendar. What's most needed for your lifestyle right now? What suits your style? Foundations. Think about where you're missing some functional pieces, like me. Maybe it's shoes, maybe it's pajamas. Maybe it's some really great fitting pants for the office or layering pieces for the weekend. For some people, the gap is in statement pieces that will really help you to express your creativity and add some personality if your wardrobe's really neutral or feeling boring for you right now. So this is not a one size fits all. I want you to take a look at what's on your style mood board. What's the hardest thing for you to get dressed for each week? Start to notice, where are those key gaps and what do you need to bring in most? The next thing is to slow down your decisions. And I know this is where most of us fall back into that cycle. We get into impulse shopping. And so I want you to train yourself to give yourself a little bit more time between buying decisions. You could put any items that you're eyeing up onto your wish list, or you can save them to your Pinterest board and then give yourself a little time. Ideally, I would love for you to revisit it after a week or two and see if those pieces still excite you and fit with your goals. But even if you can just give it 24 hours, I think that for some of us can be a really huge win. By slowing down and shopping this way, you're going to make sure every addition to your wardrobe has a place, has a job to do, and that you're buying with clarity instead of cluttering your closet back up. So to give you a quick recap, here are the five steps that you can take right now to help move away from a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear. The first one is recognize why more equals less. Right? You want to flip that script and remember it's about having less but better. Step number two is defining your wardrobe goals. Make it personal so that you have a reason to stick with this instead of slipping back into your old ways. Step number three is to simplify things with your style foundations. Get clear on what works for you. So you can be more discerning about what has a place in your wardrobe. Once you've pinpointed those, then you can complete step number four which is to create some breathing room. Do a really simple audit, start small and just give yourself the goal of making a little bit more space between those hangers. And then step number five is to rebuild smarter. We always want to buy less but better and shop with intention. I promise that if you follow these five steps, you are finally going to break the cycle of having too many clothes and nothing to wear. You're going to save time when you have to get ready in the morning. You're going to feel more confident because again, you're going to have pieces that you know truly work for you and you're real life and you will start to love and enjoy the art of getting dressed again. If you want my help putting this into practice step by step, then come join us inside her style collective. This is my 90 day group coaching program where I walk you through clarifying your style foundations, auditing your closet, and rebuilding your wardrobe with confidence. You can head to herstylellc.com collective for all the details. Thank you so much for hanging out with me today friend. I will meet you back here next week with another episode to help you style those bulky layers in ways that actually flatter you. It's gonna be so good. Make sure you're following Her Style podcast so you don't miss a thing. Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you want to stop copying everyone 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 a two way conversation and send me 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.