Cleaning out my closet

Real photo of me today, attempting to tackle a behemoth

I’ll be honest, I have A LOT of clothes. I’m an avid thrift shopper, and some items are just hard to refuse. Vintage RL rugby polo for 6 bucks?!?! Sign me up. Not to mention, I still have my clothes from 6th grade. Hey, if it fits, it fits ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

But I’m talking a closet full, two dressers in my room full, and a pretty LARGE closet my dad built in the basement (specifically for my clothes), full. That’s a metric f!$# ton. Oh, I probably should mention that there are also a few random suitcases filled with clothes from 5-10 years ago that have basically been untouched, sitting in our utility room. Let me tell ya, it was so hard to move back home from college. Consolidating two wardrobes is a lotta work. #ConsolidateYoSelf (Rowan I hope you liked that one).

← Rowan's room, Madrid, circa March 2023 moments before disaster (me unpacking all my sh!t onto her desk + floor, taking up everything that wasn't the bed). And thus, was told to #ConsolidateMySelf. You can see my laptop and headphones on the desk already, along with shoes and a backpack on the ground.

Side note: it took me way too damn long to try to find pictures that would provide some context 

When the weather starts to get chilly, or when the sun finally starts to peek out after a … mild winter … (thanks climate change -_-), I change my clothes to reflect the changing temperature. So, the items in my closet swap with my clothes stored in the basement. And in this process, I try to donate as much as I can. Whatever is too small, too worn, or no longer something I fancy, I put aside in a huge pile and my mom takes it to the nearest secondhand store with whatever else she can find laying around the house.

At this point, you’re probably thinking “Auva who gives a flying eff???”. I’M GETTING THERE!!!

I recognize that I hold onto stuff for years and years after I no longer even need it. Sometimes, it’s for sentimental reasons. But usually, it’s because I’m too lazy to get rid of anything. I’m just too comfortable with it.

This summer, however, I started to get uncomfortable. Having so many material items has seriously been weighing on me (potential pun here?). I decided it was finally time to properly rummage through my belongings and get rid of whatever the hell I didn’t want or need! After many hours and deliberations and “do you want this” ‘s, I filled up two huge garbage bags with hundreds of articles of clothing. I essentially purged my closet, those random suitcases, my drawers, and I went through all of my old knick knacks that I’ve had since I was a baby to see which ones I really need, and which ones I’d like to keep for *sentimental value*. I managed to get rid of so much stuff that my room now felt like a breath of fresh air. Today, I went through my closet again – taking out everything I no longer wanted. It feels so good to have less.

Now, this isn’t exactly time to splurge my new & hard-earned money (paycheck soon 🤞🔜) on a completely new wardrobe, but I am making a conscious effort to invest in timeless pieces of good quality that I can hold onto for decades to come. My mom is a very conscious consumer, and she has taken amazing care of her clothes from the 90s and before. She’s passed down BEAUTIFUL summery tank tops, flowy skirts, long sleeve staples – anything you can think of – and I hope to do the same for my children one day.

Xoxoxoxo,