Marie Kondo Inspired: The Closet Challenge
*Disclaimer: While many of us are social distancing + inside right now, this is a great time to simply complete the “prior to doing this challenge” section! Or, if you are dressing up while social distancing [which is awesome], start the closet challenge now!
It’s officially spring + I want to finally (!) let you in on my “closet challenge” that I’ve been continuously doing for 2+ years. It’s very satisfying, + sometimes very challenging.
I want to preface this challenge by recommending that you Marie Kondo your closet prior. If you haven’t read The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up, you’re missing out! You can read my cliff notes version here.
However, if you don’t have time to Marie Kondo, no worries. Through this challenge, you will realize pretty fast which items in your closet don’t spark joy 😉😆.
Prior to doing this challenge… take out all the pieces of clothing that you haven’t worn in 8-12 months [trust me… I know you have some pieces!] + put them in a pile together. This includes dresses! One by one, ask yourself if the item truly sparks joy. If you even have to question if it sparks joy, put it in a donation pile! If it sparks joy, put it back in your closet… + get excited to wear it!
Okay! Ready for the challenge! There’s only one simple rule…
The one simple rule of the challenge: You cannot rewear a piece of clothing until you wear every single piece in your closet.
Yep! That’s it!
Pending on how many clothes you have, this might take a looooong time.
*The advanced version of this challenge: If you try something on, you have to wear it. If you don’t decide to wear it that day, it goes in the donation pile!
#1] I have three separate sections for the challenge — fitness clothes, “normal clothes,” + dresses. This means that if I wear a dress, I can’t rewear it until I’ve worn all my other dresses, + the same goes for fitness clothes + “normal clothes.”
#2] I literally only have one pair of jeans, lol, so I don’t play this challenge with my pants… but, if you have 4+ pairs of pants, I highly recommend that you do it with your pants, too!
#3] Use a “divider” in your closest to easily see the “worn” + “still need to be worn” section. It’s very helpful if you have everything (or as much as possible!) on hangers.
#4] This rule does not pertain when traveling for me — I can grab items from my “worn” section if I’d like. ++ usually do, since the clothes that I love, I wear first!
#5] Since it’s still freezing in Chicago right now + my main clothing item of choice to work is sweatshirts, I have a few sweatshirts that I allow myself to rewear.
#6] Shoes? Jackets? Jewelry? You can (+ should!) apply this challenge to everything!
#7] Items that you try on + don’t wear (advanced version 😉) — donate! BUT, once you get closer to the end, chances are there are lingering items that you just don’t want to wear. ++ you know your cue from there… donate!
#8] The goal is to end with having a closet that SPARKS JOY + that you’re excited about every piece of clothing that you have! Also! There should never be a piece of clothing that’s been sitting in your closet for months on end, since you will be wearing everything!
Sounds easy enough right? Let me know if you take on the challenge, + I’d love to hear how long the challenge takes you to complete it.
