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We started the week addressing how you do your laundry and then learned a lot about the fashion industry. You may be freaking out right now after learning about plastic clothes over the past few days. Rest assured, we all have polyester hanging out in the closet and I’m definitely not saying you should get rid of all of it, especially if there is a piece that you just love. But you can take care of what you have and make changes in the future. Now that you are armed with all this information, it is time to peek in your closet and see what is hiding in there. In general, the less you have in your closet the better. When you can see everything, you are more likely to wear it and you don’t end up with duplicates since you know what you already have.
Today’s Challenge: Take 15 minutes to clean out your closet and dresser.
- Work really quickly to sort into the following:
- Clothes that you wear often
- Clothes that you don’t wear often, but love
- Clothes that you don’t wear often and you hate, are undecided about, or that don’t fit
- Clothes that have holes, tears, or other damages
- Once you have your piles then you need to deal with them.
- Put back the clothes that you wear a lot or absolutely love.
- Bag up the clothes that you don’t wear, even the ones that you are on the fence about. Don’t stop to think or you will get caught up in the process and end up right back where you started. These clothes need to be taken to donation.
- Any old underwear, holey socks, or other clothes beyond repair should be put in a separate bag. Goodwill and H&M accept these clothes for recycling.
- If there are clothes that have a broken zipper or small tear, you can try to repair them yourself, or find someone else who will. Dry cleaners often will make small clothing repairs. You could also take them to a place that does clothing alterations to find a tailor to help.
- Now that you have pared down your wardrobe to what you actually wear and can see what you have, it is time to maintain it. Put into action some of the things we have discussed this week.
- Be really picky and only buy things that you need or love.
- Start with secondhand and search for quality made clothes from natural materials. You may pay more up front, but will save in the long run if you purchase fewer items.
- Wash your clothes less often to avoid wearing down the material and releasing microfibers.
- Repair any damage right away.
If you still have guilt about washing those plastic clothes and releasing microfibers, then you can do a complete overhaul of your closet and get rid of all the synthetics. For the rest of us that don’t have the time or money to replace an entire wardrobe at once, consider getting a Cora ball or a Guppyfriend washing bag. Both of these items are designed to catch the microplastics so you can place them in the garbage rather than release them into the water supply.
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