Lose the Clutter, Lose the Weight (55 page)

Clothes that fit you now.
You can make some allowances for items that are
close
to fitting you, especially since you're currently involved in a weight loss effort that could put you into these clothes in the near future. But if they're more than two sizes too small, get rid of them. If you have any clothing that's significantly too large, just in case your weight ever gets away from you, get rid of it, too. Believe in yourself. Why make it easier to gain weight? Commit to the change that you want for yourself and mold the spaces around you to support those goals.

If you wind up losing 30 pounds and need to replace a bunch of clothes you tossed out, so be it. I can almost
hear
a protest forming in your mind right now, so I went ahead and addressed it in the box above.

There is always a tension between what you have today and what you might need tomorrow—and changing this balance requires making a best guess. Make a reasonable decision about the clothes that should stay, focusing on those items that fit you now. When you get to the desired weight you're aiming for, if you have to invest in some new clothing, make that a gift to yourself. (Do you really want your reward for weight loss to be a bunch of old, perhaps dated-looking clothing anyway?) For now, commit to today and let all those wrong-size clothes go.

Clothes you feel great in.
Maybe it's a comfortable pair of jeans. Maybe it's the top that magically accentuates your waist like no other blouse can do. Maybe it's the suit that makes you feel 3 inches taller.

When you establish your vision for how you want to look, these are likely the kinds of clothes that make your vision real. Keep these clothes. Give them a place of honor in your closet where you'll see them and want to wear them again and again.

Clothes that bring you compliments when you wear them.
I'm not encouraging you to seek all your validation from other people. But it certainly feels great when we're complimented on our clothing choices.

So keep the clothes that get positive attention (making sure to stay age-appropriate and authentic to who you are). Since we so often speak more harshly to ourselves than the people around us do, this kind of good feedback
may distract you away from negative self-talk: “Wait a minute—I'm not unfashionable. Someone just asked me the other day where I got this jacket!”

Step 2: Do another quick and easy pass.
Grab another trash bag. Just as you did with the hanging items, move through your closet to discard items on shelves or in drawers that you can quickly and easily decide have no place in your home. Make a second pass if you're feeling empowered.

The more you practice this exercise, the better you'll be able to quickly judge what stays and what goes.

Revel in the increased open space in your closet. It's already starting to breathe just a little more easily!

Step 3: Move through your closet and place every item of the same kind on your bed.
That includes sweaters, T-shirts, dress shirts, dresses, blouses, and jeans. Discard any items that no longer fit you, that are torn or stained, or that you don't wear. These should already be pared down from Steps 1 and 2, but this gives you another way to see the clothing that doesn't belong in your closet. Place duplicates together so that you see what you're prone to buying repeatedly.

Identify the space where you're going to put each group of like items and assess how many clothing items will reasonably fit there. Your space now determines how many you can keep.

Step 4: Clean out everything that's not clothes.
I often see closets filled with tennis rackets, books, unwanted gifts, toys, paperwork, and all manner of stuff that wouldn't fit under the bed.

Grab another trash bag. If you find anything that doesn't help you present yourself to the world, it needs to go somewhere else or you need to get rid of it.

Step 5: Shoo away your extra shoes.
The record for the largest number of pairs of shoes I've found in one house is . . . 3,500. And no, this wasn't Mariah Carey's huge collection!

Perhaps you might respond like some women who looked at me with a mischievous grin and asked, “So what's the problem?”

Shoes can be hard to part with, but you're on a roll and they're next up.

First, grab any shoes that are covered in dust—signifying that you haven't worn them in many months—and any others that don't fit you or that you don't wear. Put them immediately into a trash bag and into the trunk of your car.

Next, collect all the remaining footwear in an open space in your bedroom. Put like shoes (boots, pumps, sneakers, flip-flops, etc.) together and line them up in pairs. Check the space you are assigning to shoes in your closet and
tally the number of pairs that will reasonably fit there. Now move down your line of shoes and make the tough decisions you know you must make!

Remember one of our golden rules: You only have the space you have. If stuff won't fit, it's not because you don't have enough space. It's because you have too much stuff. Cull the shoes so they fit into the space you've assigned to them.

That said, if you're lucky enough to have extra space high on your closet shelves, in a spare bedroom, or in your basement, you might consider storing shoes that you don't wear frequently—like snow boots or super-dressy heels—in one of these locations.

Task 4:

GIVE YOUR MEDICINE CABINET A NEW FACE

You'll now shift your attention to your bathroom. Empty out your medicine cabinet. Place all items on the bathroom counter and group like items together. Toss out items that are outdated or no longer useful. That includes old beauty products, expired prescription or over-the-counter medications, and quick-fix products that didn't give you the results you wanted. If you haven't used a product in 12 months, pitch it.

Decide on the types of products you'll keep in your medicine cabinet and establish areas where each type will go. Set clear limits for how much you'll keep. Only purchase new items in quantities that will fit within their allotted space. As you buy new products, try to find items that can multitask, such as a lotion you can use on your face and body.

Remember to keep items that you use regularly—like toothbrushes and razors—on the most accessible shelf so you can quickly and easily get to them.

Consider keeping your medications somewhere outside your bathroom. Despite the name, your bathroom's medicine cabinet is actually a poor choice for these products. The heat and steam in the room can cause them to break down, lose their potency, or go bad more quickly. A better choice may be a high cabinet in your kitchen that's out of children's reach and away from your sink and stove.

Now is also a good time to reconsider your beauty routine and makeup choices. If you discover that you have more makeup or beauty products than you will ever need, or that you have overstocked on items that you thought you would use, consider adopting a simpler style that requires less effort, stress, and daily product usage.