About a month after Baby Boy was born I remember looking at my closet in complete disgust. It was full of maternity clothes that still fit... sort of. If I didn't mind drowning in my shirts and hiking my pants up every third step. All of my pre-pregnancy clothes were stuffed in a box on Husband's side of the closet, and I made a daily practice of trying to avoid eye contact with that box. Eventually I worked up the nerve to try a few things on. It was surprising! Sometimes, pleasantly so. Most of the time it was a shock how much my body changed. Between every article of clothing I tried on, I had to remind myself that God used my body to create another life. What a blessing to be used by Him as He knit Baby Boy together inside of me! (Psalm 139:13)
Trying to maintain that positive mindset was, and still is, a delicate balance, with all the postpartum hormones and depression bouncing around in my brain. What all that left me with, practically speaking, is a closet bursting at the seams with two full wardrobes worth of clothes. And very few of them fit. Whether the chaos in your closet is due to the beautiful new babe in your arms, or due to life and all its changes, or a little case of being a pack rat, here are the four things I did to tame my closet. Hopefully they can help you, too.
First of all, I seriously suggest that if you're 4 or fewer weeks postpartum (maybe even longer), don't try to wear anything with a zipper. Take a nap instead.
The next thing I did was invest in some big plastic bins. These things are seriously awesome. I use one bin to pack away the "other season" clothes so that my closet isn't cluttered with cold-weather shirts and warm-weather shirts. Another bin can hold maternity clothes when you're not pregnant and vice versa. Stack these bins to the side of the closet and you won't even realize they're there.
This might be the most important thing: only have out clothes that currently fit. This one is so, so hard. Clothes can be emotional. Sometimes it's not just a shirt. It's the shirt you wore on your first date with your husband. The only thing is, it doesn't fit and hasn't fit in years. So why is it still in the closet, taking up space? Or maybe it's not a particularly special item of clothing, you just wish you were that size. So it hangs there, making you feel bad. Why do we do this to ourselves? Don't let those clothes have that power over you! Take back control of your closet and only.hang.up.clothes.that.fit.
I'm not saying you need to completely get rid of everything that doesn't fit. Some things you save and treasure forever, some things you donate, and some things you put in one of those awesome plastic bins because it will fit again one day soon. But please, mama friend, only hang up clothes that currently fit.
I made sure I had enough, but not too much, using the Rule of 1.5. The Rule of 1.5 is a little formula I created, like the nerd I am, to use as a guideline for how much of something is an adequate amount. In the closet things can get a little tricky. I know I can’t be the only one who has different categories in their closet. My categories are: weekday shirts, then nicer blouses, and church dresses. You'll have to use the Rule of 1.5 for each of those categories, and go from there. Most of the time this rule works really well. Sometimes, however, the rule needs to be combined with a little common sense. For example, I only wear a dress once a week to church. If I apply the Rule of 1.5 then I get 1.5 church dresses. Sorry minimalism, there's no way I'm only having 1 or 2 dresses in my closet and wearing the same dress to church every other week. My vanity wins that battle. So, my suggestion for those infrequently worn categories is to have a maximum of 5. Variety is nice, and I completely understand that emotional need but let's keep it in check.
Trying on clothes after having a baby is hard. Some days it's too overwhelming to think about and I just reach for the stretchy pants. And ya know what? That's ok. Throughout this process I've realized that my feelings about my closet mirror my feelings about my body. The times I'm disgusted with the clothes in my closet are usually the times I'm disgusted with my post-baby body. I'm learning to love this new body, one that's been made softer and stronger. And you know what else? It's a good feeling, knowing that whatever I pull off the hanger in the morning will fit. I can worry about those "not quite yet" clothes later.
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