I did a lot of decluttering once I decided to start dressing somatically. Depending on how lazy I was feeling, I either donated or sold things (warning: you will not get most of your money back).
I mainly focused on what I call my performance pieces. These are the items that quietly ask me to perform something or send a message.
Do I need to be “somebody” in these clothes?
It turns out I had a lot of these pieces in my closet.
If I was undecided about an item, I asked myself a few additional questions:
- When I get home, how soon do I want to get out of these clothes, or can I move around my place naturally?
- Could I take a nap on the couch in these clothes? That might seem odd, but I’ve easily taken a nap in cords and a sweater. If you can’t rest in it, you’ll eventually resent it.
- Would I reach for this if I was tired, stressed, or in a hurry?
- Do I feel slightly guilty or regretful when I look at this item?
Those questions cleared out most of the closet pretty quickly.
I did keep a few “performance” pieces. There will be moments in life that ask something from me. A job interview, a funeral, a formal event.
Those are infrequent occasions but they also have a clear objective and a time limit.
I’m okay with that.
More importantly, the items I kept are still comfortable and dont trigger any hot zone areas.
The difference now is that performance is no longer my default setting. The clothes I wear the most don’t ask anything from me.