Maybe it’s because our house is small, and we’re still trying to integrate the possessions of three households (my mother-in-law’s, whose house this was; my partner’s, who had his own place before we moved in; and mine, since I had my own place too). Maybe it’s because my working days are full and I’m feeling the need for a little more emptiness when I get home. Maybe it’s because we’re in the middle of a renovation and the contents of the room next door are crammed into the one I’m sitting in. Maybe it’s because having less means having less to take care of. Whatever the reason, I just need less, and I’m starting with my closet.
It now contains, including shoes and bags, 37 things.
I’ve written before about my search for an efficient and sustainable early morning practice (that phrase makes me think I’ve been reading too many Strategic Mandate Agreements) that will let me get out the door looking professional and presentable in the least amount of time. I finally figured out the hair thing–turns out I didn’t need to change my haircut, just accept the fact that my hair is actually (gasp) curly. Aimee has her go-to boots and her back-of-the-door blazer and her Serious Person Glasses (me too!). Erin has her Fluevogs and gorgeous big scarves. We all think about how we present ourselves in our classrooms and offices, and we’re all pretty fluent in the grammar of clothing so that we can make deliberate statements with how we dress. But I was thinking about it too much. Like the strategic deployment of my academic credentials, I know what to wear to make people take me seriously at work and to make me feel like myself. It’s always my uniform: a pencil skirt or sheath dress + blouse + cardigan + funky shoes. Imagine Joan from Mad Men in 2014, and you’re headed in the right direction. And yet getting dressed became a chore, an over-long deliberation and a Sisyphean struggle to keep my wardrobe (and, okay, sometimes floordrobe) from exceeding the confines of my exceedingly tiny closet. Being efficient in my morning prep has become extra important of late, since I’m now on an adjusted schedule at work so that I can write more in the morning, and I’m trying to cram in all the words I can before I have to leave for the office.
I didn’t realize how much this clothing conundrum was bugging me until I stumbled across Un-Fancy. (The capacity of the human mind to internalize habit and fail to see inefficiency never ceases to amaze me). Caroline’s style is nothing like mine (okay, we do have the same glasses), but her concept of a capsule wardrobe was so appealing. Every day she wears something different, but that something different is simply another combination of the 37 things she chooses, and then wears exclusively, for three months. I’ve long known that exceptional creativity often emerges in response to arbitrary restriction (I’m not a reader of the Oulipians for nothing), but here were those principles applied to a closet. I was immediately sold, and I packed up my extra clothes the same day. The fact that it took me all of 10 minutes to create an inventory of the 37 things I wanted to keep told me that this was just what I needed to do.
My closet now contains: 15 shirts and sweaters + 7 skirts and dresses + 2 pairs of jeans + 3 jackets and blazers + 7 pairs of shoes and boots + 3 bags. C’est tout.
It’s only been about a week, but I’m glorying in fewer choices. Getting dressed takes all of 3 minutes, because I can see all of my choices at one glance and pull what I’m going to wear from the back to the front before I go to bed. I’m wearing things I haven’t worn for ages and love, because I’d forgotten about them amidst a wealth of choice. I’m not staring down clothes that don’t fit well or that I don’t love, which is a depressing way to start the day. I’m being more creative in the ways that I combine the things I do have. I’m not wasting my finite daily decision-making capacity on which sweater to wear. Truly, this is only the illusion of a lack of choice. If every outfit I make has three elements (top + bottom + shoes), I’ve got the ingredients for something like 5000 unique outfits here. Oh, and the other benefit? It’s an easy way to limit the amount of shopping I need to do. I’ll wear these 37 things until the end of December. At that point, I’ll keep some of the things I’m wearing now, pull others out of storage, and perhaps buy a few things I’m missing or that need replacing. But then I’ll live with those 37 from January to March.
Now that I’ve got the closet under control, I’m moving on to the kitchen–it’s time to put a hiatus on grocery shopping for a little while and see what we can make out of a half bunch of spinach, some cornmeal, and an egg. I’m feeling inspired already.
What about you? How do you keep your closet under control and your mornings simple?
Hook & Eye 