I got a call from a lady yesterday looking for some organizing help.
“My house is a mess!” She said, “and there are piles of clothes everywhere.”
She explained to me how she loves her clothes and they fit.
“But, I mean really. Where am I going?”
I get it, don’t you?
Another article made the rounds a few weeks ago about the post-pandemic closet purge. It seems a lot of people are wondering if we’ll ever wear our real clothes again. Dress codes have relaxed so much. My children are actually allowed to wear pajama bottoms to school as part of their uniform! What?!
I had a different, but related thought about my own clothes as the woman was talking to me on the phone. I looked down at my outfit – two comfy layers of shirts and my trusty, black, pandemic sweatpants – and thought, I’ve got to get rid of these sweatpants!
They are so ugly. I got them in 2020 because if a pandemic calls for anything, it calls for more comfy pants.
I have other sweatpants which are gray and well-made. They are as flattering as possible and I love them very much. But they were expensive and I didn’t want to “waste them” by wearing them during the lockdown where literally no one would ever see me. So I bought a cheap, black pair from Target and I have worn them many, many times in the past 2 pandemic years. They don’t fit me very well, they aren’t stylish, and I feel like a potato when I wear them.
So why do I still wear them?
Why?!
It’s a slippery slope I guess. I put them on for bed because “who cares?” then I wake up and do some yoga and they are still on my legs. Then I go for a walk. But while on the walk I grab some orange juice from the corner store. Okay. Now I am officially in public wearing the world’s least flattering sweatpants!
This is exactly why when I’m organizing someone’s closet I tell them to get rid of clothes that make them feel bad. Even if they “just wear them around the house.” Here I am as living proof because if I don’t donate these pants I will just keep wearing them.
I would like to take a little more initiative in my grooming habits (ahem) to hopefully improve my general opinion of myself every day. An easy first step will be to 86 these pants. I just need to get them out of my house! The same goes for the pajamas I wear with two little holes in the front. Just throw them away already!
Slugging through the end of this pandemic is not exactly giving me celebratory vibes. But I can help my attitude a little by NOT DRESSING LIKE A GREMLIN.
And if I find myself in need of a second pair of sweatpants, I will buy myself another pair of the good ones. Because, I’m worth it! Life is too short to wear clothes that make me feel like a frumpy vegetable!
And you?
What are you wearing right now? How is it making you feel?
Do you ever think about your spouse when you’re getting dressed? Like, “What would he think of this outfit?” Tan France (from “Queer Eye”: fashion) makes a good point about putting in some effort to look nice for your partner.
After all these years, it’s easy to forget that aspect of my appearance – the part where my husband has eyes and an opinion about how I look. And if I’m doing a little nice thing for him by looking presentable, he is more likely to do a little nice thing for me – like putting his things away. Sounds great!
In Summation:
I leave you with this verse of encouragement which I just made up:
May we all feel comfortable dressing however we want.
May we only own clothing which makes us feel good.
And may all the clothes in our closet be loved and get worn. Yes, yes!
Sincerely,