Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: Let's Get Dressed
Host: Liv Perez
Episode: I Got Rid Of Half My Closet: How I Did It And What I Learned From The Process
Date: September 1, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Liv Perez shares a candid, step-by-step account of her biggest closet cleanout to date. By enlisting a stylist friend and applying intentional organization strategies, she not only purged half her wardrobe but also redefined her personal style, fine-tuned her shopping habits, and developed a more effortless and satisfying approach to getting dressed. The episode is packed with actionable tips, personal anecdotes, and practical methods for listeners to implement their own wardrobe transformation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power and Purpose of a Closet Cleanout

• Liv begins by acknowledging a common sentiment: walking into a packed closet and still feeling like you have "nothing to wear."

• She explains her motivation: her wardrobe hadn't evolved with her age and personal style. Many items dated back to college, and she was holding onto pieces that no longer fit her lifestyle or preferences.
  Quote [08:40]:

  "It felt like my whole closet to me in general... it was there, but not truly there. It wasn’t my dream closet."

• Beyond clutter removal, the cleanout was about intentional living: aligning her wardrobe with who she is today.

2. The Preparation Process: Defining Personal Style with Pinterest

• Liv worked with her stylist friend, Thomas Christos Kikis, to get clarity on her aesthetic before starting.

• Pinterest as a style tool:

  • Instead of typing general terms, she searched for specific garment/outfit ideas (e.g., "black midi skirt" or "navy suit") and saved only pins that felt truly aligned with her tastes.
  • She built a board of 20-30 curated images, honing in on realistic looks she could replicate with her body type, hair color, lifestyle, and budget.
  • She used Pinterest's "more ideas" feature to expand relevant inspo.
    Quote [12:02]:

    "Pinterest is one of those platforms that’s really intuitive—the more you use it, the more it learns what you like. But you’ve got to get really specific."

• Liv even ran her Pinterest board through ChatGPT to distill key style descriptors and use these keywords as a ‘cheat sheet’ while getting dressed.

3. The Cleanout Day: Methods, Mindset, and Mirroring

• Thomas joined Liv for a full day, examining every piece in her closet, with a strong focus on physical interaction:

  • Each item was removed from the closet, held up, and appraised.
  • Criteria: Does it need repairs or tailoring? Does it coordinate with the rest of the closet? Is Liv actually reaching for it? Does it fit the style vision?
  • Having another person in the room was crucial for honest feedback and accountability.
  • “Hero rack” system: Assembled a rack of go-to, favorite items; new pieces were evaluated against this selection to see if they deserved space.

  Quote [19:30]:

  "Taking it out of your closet and, one, making sure that it doesn't have stains, doesn't need to be fixed, doesn't need to be tailored — all of that is absolutely crucial."
  Quote [22:51]:
  "Having a friend be like, 'No, that is not cute,' was so helpful."

4. Decision-Making Criteria for What Stays and What Goes

• Color: Used ChatGPT for color analysis (determined she's a ‘deep autumn’—maroons, hunter greens are best; pastels don’t work).
• Fit: Boxy, stiff, oversized, and heavy items that didn’t flatter her frame (she’s 5’4”) were let go.
• Lifespan: Trendy, one-off pieces unlikely to be worn long-term were out.

5. Closet Organization: Making Favorites Visible

• Discovery: She wasn’t wearing midi skirts because they were mixed in with dresses—the new system isolated skirts together, which led her to wear them more.

• Organization now by both category and color within each garment type.

  Quote [29:16]:

  "If you can't see it, you're not going to reach for it. So the way that you organize your closet is everything..."

6. The Takeaways: Less Is More

• The process confirmed that minimizing the wardrobe paradoxically increases daily creativity and confidence.

• Fewer choices mean more focus, less stress, and greater satisfaction.

  Quote [34:02]:

  "The less you have, the more focused you are on the things you love... I felt so creative and so free."

7. Smart Rebuilding: Creating an Intentional Shopping List

• Liv resisted the urge to refill her closet quickly. Instead, she created a spreadsheet ("G sheet") with three categories:

  • Current Needs (e.g., black jeans, basic tanks, unique tops)
  • Seasonal Wishlist (items for upcoming seasons, like chocolate brown shoes for fall)
  • Splurges (long-term investments worth saving for)

• Items were prioritized by real gaps, not impulse or trends, and tracked against a budget.

  Quote [40:17]:

  "Any time I've been in a store... now I actually have no choice but to look through my spreadsheet and be like, you know what? This is not on that list. It's a no. And that feels really satisfying to me."

• She mentions favorite brands for these enduring pieces—TWP for button-downs, Toteme for pants, Floor Floor, and Reformation for basics.

8. Ongoing Impact and Advice for Listeners

• Liv’s new "curated space" means every new item "has to earn" its place in the closet—she’s thrilled with the elevated basics she’s acquired.

• Major advice: Practicing your personal style is an ongoing process—set aside dedicated time to try things on, experiment, and get creative outside rushed mornings.

  Quote [53:01]:

  "You have to practice your personal style... you're not just going to find it in those 20 minutes when you're getting dressed every day. The next time you have an hour on a Sunday... go into your closet and just try things on. I promise it will pay off in how you get dressed every day."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On cleaning out with intention:
  "It wasn’t just about purging clothes. It was about redefining my personal style, intentional shopping, and then editing how my closet works with me every single day." [10:08]

• On the power of visual tools:
  "Having those visual references... was amazing homework to do ahead of the big cleanout day so that when Thomas got here, we were fully aligned on what the vision would be." [18:12]

• On discovering hidden favorites:
  "He moved all of my skirts to the beginning of my dress section... and I have been reaching for them nonstop. It’s so funny to me how those tiny shifts in your closet can alter everything." [29:55]

• On the payoff:
  "I've loved how curated my space is and now, anytime anything comes into my house, it has to earn the place in my closet." [48:12]

Key Timestamps

• 00:32 – Brief catch-up, fall fashion anticipation, intro to the closet cleanout story
• 07:00 – Why Liv decided on a deep clean vs. her routine edits
• 14:30 – How to make a realistic, effective Pinterest board
• 19:00 – Liv’s cleanout process with Thomas: piece-by-piece evaluation
• 22:00 – Building the "hero rack"—criteria for keepers
• 27:40 – Fixing closet organization for habit change (skirts example)
• 34:00 – Lessons learned from minimizing and living with less
• 38:00 – Creating a strategic re-buy shopping list and spreadsheet system
• 47:00 – Favorite finds and specific brands added back
• 53:00 – Final advice: personal style takes PRACTICE

Final Thoughts & Call to Action

Liv closes with encouragement for listeners to embrace the cleanout, practice their style, and reach out to her for support or with questions. She teases upcoming content and reminders to visit her substack for extended notes and shopping links.

Episode Tone: Warm, encouraging, candid, and practical—Liv's delivery is conversational, motivational, and rooted in real-life experience.