Episode 262- How Lesley decluttered 50 items from her wardrobe

For many different reasons Lesley decided it was time to go back to basics and practice what she preaches with her wardrobe decluttering. Lesley makes no secret of the fact that she loves clothes but it was time to get real and start to dig deep with her emotional connection to stuff. She learned a lot throughout the process and in this podcast we chat through her learnings.
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Transcript of this podcast episode
00:00
Recently for many different reasons, Lesley decided it was time to go back to basics and practice what she preaches in the decluttering worlds. Now Lesley makes no secret of the fact that she loves clothes. But it was time to get real and start to dig deep with her decluttering. She'll learn a lot throughout the process, and today, I'm going to find out how she declutter 50 items from her wardrobe.

00:38
You're listening to the declutter Apple podcast, bringing you tried and tested no nonsense tips and advice from the leading experts in decluttering and organizing your home. Now here are your hosts, Ingrid Jansen, and Lesley Spellman.

01:01
Hello, and welcome, listeners. I'm Ingrid. And I'm Lesley. If you're new to the declutter hub podcast, you're so welcome. What you'll find is that we try and find a fun factor in the serious business of decluttering. And if you've been here for a while, you know exactly what we mean. So thank you so much for listening. If you'd

01:21
like to get involved in conversations related to this podcast, it all takes place in our Facebook group. So come and join our lovely, warm, supportive community. To find the Facebook group go to declutter hub.com, forward slash group to find out more, or you can search for the declutter hub community on Facebook.

01:40
Well, Lesley, I cannot wait for this podcast. I mean, you're coming clean. You're sharing all of your inner secrets and thoughts, which I mean, we share a lot on this podcast anyway, aren't we? But yes. Well, that's a lot.

01:59
I know. But before we get started on our 50 items, I am a little bit nervous. I'm not gonna lie. But really, I feel like I'm going to really share a lot today. And people are gonna go Oh, wow. And I don't know whether people are going to judge because maybe I would think that I would only do that as a professional organizer, or not judge or be like that. She shared that. But anyway, anyway, before we talk about me, let's which you know, that I love. And let's talk about you, Ingrid. Because how ironic that it's 50 items, because today, you've got your own little version of fifth day, which is your 50th birthday. Happy birthday, Ingrid.

02:37
I know, I know. I can't believe it. That actually, this 50 They have to be a Friday. Because yes, 50 I'm feeling good about it, to be honest with you.

02:51
Wait till you're 55 and you won't feel good about it when the other 60 Yeah, you're still in the throes of like, big birthday. It's all about celebration and stuff like that. No, sorry. I've been waiting for you to be fifth day. I wasn't quite sure about having a business partner in the 40s. I needed to be older I. Me. So I'm delighted that you can't Well, you're never gonna catch up. Yeah, but at least we're both now in our fifth days. I know. I know. She's good. She's good.

03:19
I'm feeling I'm feeling alright about it. I've got a lovely weekend planned. I've got lots of friends and family coming from the Netherlands. And I've got a party here in where I live. Switzerland with my friends here. So yeah, I'm really really excited. I don't know how I feel about it on Monday, when I'm actually when it's kind of Oh, it's a low for now. Wow. And I'm really 50. But yeah, 50 years old. 50 items from your wardrobe, Lesley. I mean,

03:45
that is the 55th. Anyway,

03:48
exactly, exactly. So what happened? Why did you just kind of go I gotta do this. This didn't Did you? Have you been thinking about it for a while? Or was it solid, something that came up? What happened? Yeah, I

04:02
suppose it needs to go back a few steps. And so we talked about the fact that I make no secret of the fact that I love clothes. And so I'm not really a shopper, if truth be known. But what I do do is I do like clothes. And so I'm not crazy about them. And I probably you know, I'm like back in the day, I would go out shopping with regularity when I had a little bit more time. But now what I typically do is go out on a bit of a splurge. So I'll go out, I buy everything from Marks and Spencers because my husband works and we get 20% off. So basically I've very rarely veer anywhere else. But Marks and Spencers just in case. I don't think most people around the world will know that brand anyway, but they kind of have a bit of everything right? And so you can get most things there and so utilize the discount. And so I will go and of course First Things First there is that sense of oh well, it's 20% off. So I'm already into a lot of the things that I kind of, you know say that we shouldn't succumb to in the actual acquisition stage of things. I Don't buy things because they're 20% off. But it is an extra incentive. It definitely is an extra incentive is an extra incentive perhaps to buy a little bit more than I would ordinarily. Because it's nice to see that that amount, you know, and I will spend like a couple of 100 pounds, maybe 300 pounds. So to see that then come down to what would that be children 40 pounds, is quite an incentive. Right. So it's like when

05:22
you get like a coupon or a voucher for a shop that jeweler and not that I would really know this because that doesn't happen to me very often. But sometimes you do get when you when you're looking online, it's like, oh, when you order before tomorrow, you get 10 or 20%. So it adds up, you know, on on 12 pound, it doesn't, you don't really see it, but when you're doing like a big shop, it does really add up. So I understand that.

05:45
Yeah, definitely. So So basically, I will go every I don't know a couple of months, three months and buy quite a lot in one go. But then I won't do anything in the meantime. But I am very conscious, I'm always decluttering my wardrobe, I see things and I go I don't want that anymore. So I feel as if I have things generally under control, I have a quite a nice space. So I have like a walk in wardrobe. So I do have space I've got it moves around stuff like that. I have everything on black velvet hangers. But what I saw over the past couple of weeks was that I was running out of hangers, so I didn't have any more hangers. Perhaps the stuff on my rails wasn't moving quite as freely as I was, I would like it things were coming in. So I think what I worked out was that perhaps more things had come in and gone out. And so I'm normally quite on top of that. I typically don't do big declutters of my clothes, because I do them when I go on holiday, when I see things when things come out of the washer. And so I'm more of a more of a do it as you go. And obviously, I'm quite proficient at decluttering. So, so I do do that. But what I realized was perhaps things were getting a little bit more full. And maybe I needed to go back to basics. So I did I went back to basics are armed with a kind of new, fresh sense of right. Okay, I think I've been a bit static and a bit kind of stuck in a bit of a rut and things that I thought were going to happen haven't happened. And we'll come back to that in a minute. And so I think I've clung on to a few more things than perhaps I should have done. So I set myself a new goal, which was right, Lesley, everything that you teach in the declutter hub to people, every bit of advice that you give in a q&a, when people are struggling with clothes, you need to do what you would intend them to think about and do scary, right?

07:40
Very, very scary, because of course, I think it's very easy for people to think well, they're professional organizers, so their house must be a absolutely spotless, there's nothing in it. They must be minimalist. They never fall off the wagon, we kind of get sometimes we put a bid on a pedestal I think, right? You're a professional organizer.

08:04
Language you think everyone puts you on a pedestal? You're little in their little Ingrid world. I'm not expecting anyone to put my pedestal honestly.

08:17
But I mean, you know what I mean that, because that's a lot of times I think when people say Oh, I'm a professional organizer, like, Oh, you must have nothing your house, it must be absolutely spotless at all times. And I'm like, Okay, no, you know, you should have seen me recently when I was, I had lots of laundry. My irony, Bob was like, hours and hours. And I'm like, okay, maybe I should have done this a little bit more frequently. Right. So we as well, you know, we have to fit our decluttering and organizing in around our lives and our family in our home in our activities in our work, just like everybody else. But of course, because we can do exactly what you said a little bit here a little bit there. We kind of can stay on top of it most of the time, but it doesn't mean we have no stuff, right? I always say I've got stuff too. But I can find everything I know where everything is. It's very, very rare that I'm going I've got no idea where that is. I kind of always had a feeling that I know where everything is. So yeah, it's interesting. And I also wanted to come back a little bit to what you said about my stuff couldn't move freely enough on my hangers it was just getting too full. So what maybe some of the listeners don't know because if you may be listening to this podcast only recently is that we always love not having every inch of your hanger or your drawer full to the brim. We like having an 80 85% full so if you do then buy something you can actually hang it up or put it somewhere so don't have to force anything into drawers and hangers but I mean I'm sure we're going to come back to that a little bit more but I kind of want to fix blame that a little bit to the listeners.

10:01
I think, you know, it's interesting what you talk about about the perception of us then as professional organizer, I think, you know, what this has given me an opportunity to do and now talk about it stay on the podcast is to really evaluate what has happened. It's a little bit different. Because if I go back, I don't know 567 years ago, when I was, you know, out with clients most days I used to and I don't know about you, Ingrid. But I used to, if I went and did like her wardrobe, declutter kitchen, declutter, kind of jewelry declutter, I would feel this kind of energy to come back and do more of my own. And so I would kind of do that during the day and then go, do you know why it's about time, I've not done that for a while, I need to go back because there's this kind of ongoing energy, that, and I don't know whether that's because I'm not as energetic anymore, because I'm a little bit older, or whether it's because I've not got that kind of daily kind of, oh, that looks really good. And I'd like mine to look like that, which is kind of, I don't know where that came from, really. But I bet you did the same. And I know a lot of professional organizers definitely get that feeling of I've seen this transformation. And now it's time for me to go and sort of tackle on my own. Yeah. And someone to keep it keep it in perspective, as you say. So there's not really any problem I could have left my wardrobe completely as, as I could get every everything is a way is fairly orderly. You know, it's not problematic, I've not got a full wardrobe, I'm not overwhelmed. I'm not. But I just looked and thought, I know there are things in there that fall into the categories of things that we would teach people to look at and evaluate that perhaps I've not done myself. And I think, you know, certainly in terms of evaluating where I've come from, I think there's a little bit of that, but I'm not getting that kind of sort of surge of enthusiasm for doing it. I think that, you know, you and I are busier, now more than ever, in terms of trying to manage to businesses. And so I think time plays a part in that, you know, and that can't be an excuse. But I think it's an explanation as to perhaps why I'm not quite as much on top of it as had been in the past. And I think that, you know, to move in as well, from a job that was very physical into one that is quite sedentary, you know, sitting at our computers all day, has meant that there's been a quite a shift in, in what I do. And certainly, and I'm going to be really honest, I want to talk about about this in terms of weight, and what that represents over the past few years. And so it was time, it was time. I think that as well as that I think I was like, right. Okay, I'm gonna do this, I'm going to do a wardrobe Declutter. And I'm going to document it. So anyway, the eagle eyed among you will see that Ingrid and I have started to do a lot more on Instagram, which is much more visual. And so we've always had loads of sort of show rounds and things like that of the way that we do things in our membership. So we have lots of kind of explanatory videos, Instagram is completely different beast, it's much more sped up and kalou 15 seconds of activity, but I made sure that I was going to film it, there's no there's no voiceover or anything like that. So it's all gonna be very sped up. But then I had to do it exactly in the right order. And I think as organizers, we don't necessarily need to do that, because we know the process. And we can flit around a little bit more, but I didn't. So I went back to basics with it, which I enjoyed to really think through what's my goal? How am I going to plan? How am I going to prepare? Where's it going to be get your flat since I didn't kind of make it up? As I went along? I absolutely kind of followed the declutter hub cycle of success to the letter.

13:36
Yeah. And for those of you who are listening and want to know more about the cycle of success, we've done a podcast about it, and I will put it in the show notes. So if you're like, oh, this cycle of success sounds interesting. I need to have a plan to what I need to know what my goals are. And all those things that are involved in a cycle of success. I'll link is in the show notes. So you did good. I mean, you did 50 I mean, her might have been 50. Exactly. It might have been 49 or 51. But you did 50 items, which is really really good, isn't it?

14:08
Yeah, definitely. And it took me and so of course I am, you know, I can be speedy, some of the decisions are very, very easy for me to make. Some of them are a little bit harder. So I spent some time on the harder decisions. But it took me in total and I was filming. So I was like moving tripods around and lights and all that kind of stuff as well. It took me an hour and a half to do all my tops and blouses, all my dresses and jumpsuits and all my trousers and skirts. I didn't tackle my jacket, I didn't tackle my shoes, and I didn't tackle my drawers. So that's the amount of time that it took. I would have no expectation that anybody else could do that in that amount of time. Because all of those emotions and thoughts are not as readily available to you as they are to us. And the process. And the speed at which we can work is obviously practiced over the years right so you I wouldn't I actually think people should spend longer longer than that doing it. But that's how long it took me just to give people an idea. And of

15:06
course, don't forget that your wardrobe is already categorized and organized and on the right hanger. And in a flow, you know, it's not a wardrobe that's absolutely stuffed to the brim with everything everywhere that first needs to be sorted out and, and gone through. And all the old hangers need to be near all that you already had a good flowing system. So I think that helps as well, with the time I think it takes to do something like this. But

15:37
yeah, we talk a lot, don't we? Sorry, Ingrid, we talk a lot about the doing things in phases. So this is definitely a phase, I think it was the goal that was different. I think it was like my goal this time, it's not just to kind of clear off the surface a little bit and get rid of a few bits and pieces that I don't want anymore. I think it was like, right, okay, go really down and go evaluate every single one of these emotions, and what are you falling foul of? So I think it's my goal that was different this time.

16:02
Yeah. So let's take a break. And then after the break, we'll come back and we'll talk about more about the goal and about the different things you found out when you were decluttering. If you want Well, welcome back, I'm talking to Lesley about how she decluttered 50 things from her wardrobe, in a record speed of only an hour and a half. Now, let's not get hung up about the time. See, because that's not the most important thing is the fact that of course, we as professional organizers are already structured with a close, we've got everything kind of in order. So we can make a lot more speeds. But so the time is not important. But what is important is all the emotions you went through Lesley, when you were doing this?

16:44
Yeah, definitely. This there was kind of like three or four that were, I think had been holding me back from making the right decision. And so and I think it's very much as well about when the time is right. And so I think that perhaps I hadn't been ready to make these decisions until this time. And so that is something that we teach, if it feels like I'm not ready to make that decision to let it go, then you should keep hold of it until you are. And so now I feel that I've made the right decision. And the biggest one, if I'm being honest, is weight. And so I have since I started this, the job was less physical. And we have been more sedentary I put weight on right. So I've put weight on. I have tried, I've done Slimming World, I've done things I've done Joe wicks, I've tried to exercise I've tried to walk and that this is still a work in progress. But the reality of the matter is that in the five years since we started this business, Ingrid, my weight has not gone down. It's consistently gone up. And it's plateauing. Now there's loads of different reasons for that there's the menopause, all those kind of things that may or may not play a part in that. And so it's not about what am I going to do about the weight loss, it's like, but I've been clinging on to things for this long. And when do I get real enough to go, Okay, give that idea up. And be comfortable with the decision that if you do lose the weight, which I still cling on to and hope very much that I can go out and do another shop at Marks and Spencers and buy something that's a smaller size. And I think I think that that was where my head was at I think because I think you know it is something that bothers me is something whenever I look in my wardrobe every day and go, I can't wear that, and I can't wear that. And I try that on and then it makes me feel feel bad because it looks rubbish on me. And so it was like, it's time to do what you encourage other people to do, and only have things in your wardrobe that are going to make you feel good and only have things in your wardrobe that you're going to be able to wear. And so that was one of my first criteria is like it's time wisely. And you've got to let these things go and know that there isn't, you know, and I'm lucky enough that I've got the opportunity and the option to go out there. And if I do want to switch up my wardrobe and you know, I do want to get rid of clothes that are too big and a couple of years, then that's available to me. So why then cling on to those ones that are too small. And I think that I've been doing that for a little bit longer have got rid of a few bits and pieces along the way. But I think there was a few little things at the end just clinging on in the hope that but I really really love that. And I would love to be able to to get into that at some point and weights a big one. Not for everybody but for many, many people and I think that you know, it was my time. I think that's that's the thing is what I learned about it was not that you need to get rid of clothes if they're too big for you. That's not what I'm or too small for you or whichever way around it is because it works both ways. But that there is a time and it was my time to make that decision. And now I feel 100% confident with that decision. So many of those 50 items, probably about 12 1314 of those items were related to weight.

19:55
Yeah, big emotional barrier for people, you know, especially people will fluctuate or people who are poorly. And a lot of changes in the weight as well can be a massive big barrier to decide what you're going to do with this item. But I think it's so right what you're saying, you have to be ready. Because the thing is everybody is always banded around, if in doubt, throw it out and be like, No, don't do that. You have to be mentally ready yourself to stand behind this decision. Otherwise, you're gonna regret the items you've let go of. And we're not saying that decluttering will be 100%. Perfect. You know, you might have out of the 50 things in a while thing. Yeah, one or two of those things, would it be really helpful now, but I mean, you can't change the past either. You can't, you have to step a little bit out of your comfort zone, don't you when you're going through a decluttering project. But if your gut is telling you, I'm just not sure I'm not sure if this is the right thing to let go. You need to keep it if you're just not ready to let it go. But you need to put it somewhere where you can see it, where you can test it out where you can go. Actually, I haven't had not tried this on for a while. Let me try it on again now and see if I can fit it or I still can't fit it. Uh, let me now remake this decision.

21:10
Yeah, definitely. No, I think it I think it was an interesting one, too. So why why was it different now than it was before? You know, to me, and maybe it was because I came with this renewed goal. I don't know whether it's just my time, whether I feel ready, but it's not easy. So, and neither do we say it's easy to be when we're talking about these things. We're never saying this is what you have to do. We're saying this is a tough emotional journey that you're going on, whether that's that things are too small or too big. And it's tough either way. And it is hard, because you do have aspirations. And I think you all must feel sometimes. And there are many other examples of this kind of thing. Where you're letting go to that aspirational feeling that you've got that you're kind of giving up, almost, there's a sense of that, that while you cling on too close to a smaller size for you, that you still hold in that kind of idea that that's going to happen in your mind. And I think I was kind of clinging on to that. And that's when I had to dig a little bit deeper for that realism to go a little bit further with it. So it was quite it kind of interesting as to you know, as I said, it's not something that I learned. It wasn't like, Oh, my word. This is like a thing that I've never experienced, I wouldn't expect from somebody else. But it was just about the fact that it was the right time for me. Yeah, I think the other the other thing that it's what it was all kind of related was basically kind of related to that one of the things because of my kind of body shape and stuff. I think that one of the things that always and you and I will joke about this all time, English, like well, she's just gonna have a dress on because I always I don't know, when I'm working, I don't have a dress. So I've got a lot of tops and stuff like that, that we kind of wear on line, all that kind of stuff, but I dress doesn't typically let me down. And so because I've kind of got quite short legs. And because I've got a bit of a kind of Jelly Belly, you know, a dress somehow, for me feels like the most flattering thing. And everybody's got different body shapes and sizes, right? So there's gonna be something different for everybody. So I feel that in my head, I feel like a dress doesn't typically let me down. So then I have a ridiculous amount of dresses. And so if I go out shopping, I'll always buy a dress, maybe two dresses, you know, I mean, for that reason, because I think that they are the most flattering thing on me. For whatever reason, it might not be the case. But I think that in my head, that's what I think. And so what I realized that I've got a ridiculous amount of dresses. So I was like, That's too many dresses. I was like because you're never gonna be able to wear all those dresses. And then we talk a lot about your go to items don't Yeah, yeah. So you know, when we're talking when we're doing our wardrobe challenges when you know in our membership to bosses about hanging clothes and things like that, we talk a lot about our go to item which is that you've got your thing that doesn't let you down now that might be a pair of black trousers, a pair of jeans, it might be a little tap, it might be a camisole for some people, it could be a little black dress, it could be anything right? That's the thing that you think I like that it might be a cardigan or maybe a jumper or whatever. So everyone's got their own version of that. And then you buy more of those because you think it's not going to let you down so you think it's sort of failsafe almost right? Yeah. I think that I have succumb to that with dresses but I think the thing is with dresses is that you've got dresses that you can wear every day. You've got dresses that you can wear on a on holiday, you've got dresses that you can wear around during the day, you've got dresses that you can wear out in a dressy where you've got dresses that you might wear on a really elegant night out. So dresses for me cover a lot of different social occasions. But nevertheless, as I looked and evaluated in my wardrobe, and there was no in my dress it I've got a section for dresses in my dresses section for my wardrobe. There was no flow at all. It was packed, right and I was like, I want to be able to see the dresses. And so I need to dig deep on those and I think one of the problems is I remember looking good in that dress. Do you know what I mean? And I think what I was doing was keeping things when they're actually I've got nicer ones that I've bought since. And I was going for the newer ones, and never get into the older ones, but had these memories of how I felt I looked in the older ones. Does that make sense? Yeah,

25:17
two or three dresses. I don't have many at all, unlike you, but two or three come to mind that maybe I need to listen to what Lesley's saying here. Say, Yeah, you went in for a certain location that special or a fantastic night out, that still makes you laugh when you see the pictures, or you felt like a million dollars, because also that day your hair is looking really good. You know what I mean? When and you're feeling in top form. So I think that all contributes to a special feeling that you have for certain types of clothing. Yeah, exactly.

25:51
And I think that, so I think there was a little bit of that. So a little bit of sort of sentimental attachment to things a little bit of go to item. And then I think that I've looked at this dress, I thought, well, that's a really lovely dress. Why would I get rid of it? But I know that I'm always choosing the more the more recent dresses that I bought. Yeah. And so in terms of where that would sit on my choices, I'd never get to it. Because I'm not wearing the dresses that often. You know, I might wear a dress once, maybe twice a week, if I'm lucky. So when am I ever going to get to dress 27? Yeah, that's me, I'm not going to get that because I'm going to choose the one that I've bought recently, that fits me really well. Now, because I bought at the right time, I'm not going to go back to a dress that I wore 10 years ago, unless it's a very special dress. I'm not saying that anybody should get rid of subject because there are some dresses that are timeless. But there are many, many dresses that are not timeless, I think Yeah. And so that was one of my learnings yesterday that I'm a little bit obsessed by address that they definitely are my go to item. And actually, there's a whole load that I'm never ever going to get to because I'm going to choose my favorites or the newer ones, or the ones that fit better first. So I got rid of a lot of dresses, I got rid of a lot of jumpsuits a little bit jumpsuit as well, for the same reason. And so they were really on my hit list. And so there were some things that have been hanging around in my wardrobe for many, many years. Some of those things maybe 1012 13 years old that I got rid of yesterday, and it was hard to do that was really hard because I love these things. You know, I love that dress and it's going into a bag, but it felt like the right thing to do. Yeah,

27:26
yeah. Were you emotional when you were declaring yourself? Or could you stay quiet calm?

27:32
No, I was calm. I was calm is part of the job, isn't it? Is it? It's more of a inner dialogue, right of like, come on, Lesley, come on, you're saying these things and you know what the right decision is here. But you've just got to push yourself out of my comfort zone. So it's, it's that it's willing to learn anything in terms of new things, new concepts or anything like that, or so it wasn't some sudden lightbulb moment, but there was a kind of a renewed desire to push myself slightly out of my comfort zone. And I feel good retrospectively that I did that.

28:02
Yeah, yeah. So no regrets so far. Then about anything you put in there in your bags,

28:08
no, Nate, no, all gone, all gone. And I didn't you know, and the other thing was, there are things in the past before before my Marks and Spencers things. There are some things in there that are probably a little bit more expensive. Okay, so there are things in there that will be like Karen Millen which might cost I don't know if he bought them now, maybe 150 pounds, you know, a little bit more expensive. And I did look at some of those things that were a little bit more timeless and think should I be going on to vintage and selling these things? So there was a slight so that was another thing that I was like, No, you know, the primary motive today is to declutter these items. And I would rather let them go to somebody who can really enjoy and use them, rather than kind of hold myself back by putting them on vintage and gained two pounds 50 for them or whatever that might be. Yeah, at the end of the day, a lot of these things were old, you know, they're old, you know. So. So yeah, that was another thing that did cross my mind, albeit very briefly, because you know, we're big advocates of putting the decluttering first Yeah, and sort of selling of items as a secondary, a secondary goal. That doesn't mean to say that nobody else can shoot that you shouldn't make money out of it, but I kind of resisted the urge. And for that I wanted to be happy with the decluttering because I feel really good that I got rid of 50 items because it's been a long time since I've done a big call like that on my wardrobe and got rid of a lot of things. And boy does it feel good. Now that I've got the flow back in my wardrobe. I've recategorize everything I've got everything back I've made sure that all the hangers are in place. You know my dresses section is no longer chakra because I got rid of so much stuff out of there. And it feels good.

29:41
I know that I think that's the thing that we know above everything else is how good the decluttering feels right? How good it feels to have everything again a place for everything, everything in its place and how you can find everything and see everything and and easily go through your items and just See everything in there you love it fits you, you're happy with it, you can wear it. It's an amazing feeling. And I think people know that decluttering can be so good for your soul to so to say. But I think we as professionals, we still get that buzz from having a lovely decluttered space and how beneficial it is for your whole well being.

30:26
Yeah, it just feels like and I've still got more to do. Right. So I've done three sections, and I've got another Well, I wouldn't say it's hard. I've probably done three quarters of it. Now there's little bits and pieces leftover but it just inspire me. Yeah, well, I've got some I'm we were going out yesterday afternoon. So I couldn't do more otherwise it would have carried on. But it will inspire me to do more. So we'll we'll go. To be fair, I do keep quite well on top of my shoes a lot. Because they're very visible and out and I make sure that I don't because I've got like rails that pull out. And so I make sure that I've not got more shoes than I've got rails. And so I do keep those quite under control. But I've still got to do my jacket. And I know there are things in my jackets where I've kept those for years and years and not worn them. So that's kind of a new criteria. You know, though, so yeah, and I need to do my drawers again and things like that. So I will I will relook at it because it feels nice, you know, to go back and sort of to do and I feel like I've I don't think I've neglected it. But I think out of all the things that I need to do. I think that's been lower on my list. I think I've spent a little bit of time looking at my kitchen. I've done my bathroom more recently. But I've not done my clothes to that level for quite a while.

31:31
Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, we're, we're always plugging away, aren't we also because like you said, We're filming as well for for Instagram for a membership. We do a lot of filming inside our homes as well. We do our challenges within the membership where we film and we declutter, but I think to really focus on one area makes such a refillable. Thank you for sharing. Lesley, I really thank you for your honest comments and your honest opinions and a hope, of course, that everybody who is listening to this is thinking, wow, even professional organizers find it hard as well, sometimes to declutter items, and it's not all just plain sailing. So is there anything else you'd like to share? Or do you think I've got everything I wanted to say off my chest?

32:13
Do you know what, Ingrid, what are the biggest things that I did yesterday that perhaps I've not done too much in the past is trying on? So I felt that it was important to kind of confront myself a little bit with the reality of that. And so, yeah, so I really anything that was in doubt in terms of size, whereas before I would have gone yeah, probably okay, or maybe okay, if I lose couple of pounds, you know, that kind of thing. I was like, if I don't know whether that fits I if it's not been on my body for a long time, I'm going to put it to one side. And I'm going to just try everything on in front of the mirror. And that's what I did. So, so yeah, within my hour and a half there's a training session on a product it was mostly jeans, if I'm honest. Yeah. So it was because a lot of the things to be fair, I jeans are going to be the thing dresses probably do kind of fit even if you have a size and tops kind of do fit but jeans and trousers, other things that are probably the least forgiving. So it was jeans, most of that I tried on and I would say over three quarters of them went so if I thought they needed to be tried on once I tried them on I was like no, that's not happening. So they went so yeah, trying on was a big thing. And so when should you try on, you know, when we're working with clients, sometimes we'll do try and on while we're working if the client feels comfortable to sort of strip off in front of us and try on them often they will when they're working with us. But I would probably recommend not to just to take like a kind of maybe try on power put it to one side carry on working through your normal stuff, then do you try on and then put the stuff back at the end? So don't get too wet? What do you think? Or do you think you should get waylaid along the way in the middle? It depends on whether you're going to like focus I think sometimes if you start to try on it takes you away. Yeah. decision making process even I did it separately. Focused, right because I know what the process is. But I think that my suggestion would be keep all the things you know, if in doubt at all, put it in the tray on pile. Yeah. So that you know for definite whether it where it's where you sit there doesn't mean to say you have to get rid of it. But it means that you know, everything that you know about that item in terms of what the fit is like on you.

34:28
Yeah, there's a lot because most of the time you do know the stuff that you fit. Yes, you notice things and there's no chance I want to fit in that. But there's always just maybe five or 10 or 15 things you like I have no idea it's been this long in my wardrobe but I can't even remember the last time I wore this. I think I would put them in a separate pile when you kind of pick them out of your wardrobe and you start to categorize them. But I would not go oh here's what I might try. Let me try this on the I would make a trying on pile as well and then try them all in one go.

35:02
Yeah. And definitely make that part of the decluttering project. So that's definitely part of the finish stage. Right. That's part of the decision making it needs to happen on that day. It's not like well, I'm going to leave those two uncertain. I'm going to try them all on the weekend. Definitely, that definitely needs to form part of that day's decluttering project, right? Yeah,

35:19
yeah. And this is why as well, if you've got a lot of clothes, and you're feeling very overwhelmed, this is why you need to break down these projects, Lesley can do and dresses and tops, and all of those things, because she is already categorized and organized. And she can do to try and on at the same time, if you've got, if you're starting from scratch, then you have to go okay, I'm just going to do my talks today. And I'm going to do the three or four tops that I'm not sure if I'm going to try them on. And tomorrow, I'm going to do my blouses in the after I'm going to do my trousers and etc, etc, you have to break it down.

35:54
I did it, you know what I'm good, I did still break it down, because it's broken down like that in my wardrobe. So I did all of the cycle of success with my tarps, put them all back did all the cleaning, finished off back things up, took the hangers out, then I moved on to the so it was almost like, I didn't know how many of those things that I would do yesterday, because I knew I was a little bit tight on time. And because of the filming and all that kind of stuff, I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me. But I definitely did it in three separate projects, even though it was one after the other. So I suppose the big lesson is that goals can be changed over time. You know, and as you go through life, and as you go through the different phases, then you can push yourself slightly more in slightly more, slightly more. And to really think about when it's the right time to make that decision, I feel completely in control of decisions that are made, you know, and ultimately I do that, knowing that, you know, particularly with the weight thing that we were talking about, and I don't want to overstate that, because you know, this, this is not a huge weight issue that I've got here. But it's pushed me over sizing clothes, right. So that's what it is. And that might be for some people, it might be three or four sizes, you know, whatever. But it is a bit a very real problem for a lot of people. And but you've got to know when you feel comfortable to make that decision. So we'll say, Well,

37:06
I'm sure that lots of people have actually loved listening to what you had to say about this, Lesley. And if you've been inspired, please let us know. Leave us a comment in the show notes. email to us share it in our Facebook group. Or maybe you're like, actually, you know what this has made me realize that I need to get cracking with my house and I need to do my wardrobes and then some come and check out our membership and find out how we can help you as well with decluttering your home not only your wardrobes, but your whole house. So if you'd like to have more information about that, please email us on support at the coffee shop.com. So thank you so much for listening, and we'll be back next week.

37:53
Thanks so much for listening to the declutter hop podcast. Don't forget to subscribe to us in your podcast player so you don't miss an episode. And we'll see you next week.
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Recent Posts
Episode 389 – Overcoming mobility challenges when decluttering with member Rory

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Episode 387 – Our 2025 year in review – the big Declutter Hub round-up

Episode 386 – 10 Tell-Tale Signs that you need to Declutter your House

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SuzDK says:

8 October 2023 at 5:55 AM

I quite liked this episode. Thank you Lesley for walking the talk and sharing your thoughts and emotions as you decluttered 50 clothing items👍💕.
I thought I had done clothing on the roadmap but now realize I had only done a member clothing challenge, with great success. I’m now looking forward to clothing in the roadmap and I do plan to replay the YouTube of this podcast for the motivation and inspiration when I do so.
You’re a rockstar in my eyes, Lesley, but I also love that you’re real!

Reply
1. Lesley says:
  
  8 October 2023 at 3:44 PM
  
  Aaw thanks Suzanne – glad you liked it and best of luck!
  
  Reply
Episode 262- How Lesley decluttered 50 items from her wardrobe

Episode 389 – Overcoming mobility challenges when decluttering with member Rory

Episode 388 – Start as you mean to go on – plan 2026 for decluttering success

Episode 387 – Our 2025 year in review – the big Declutter Hub round-up

Episode 386 – 10 Tell-Tale Signs that you need to Declutter your House

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