WEEK 6. BOTTOMS UP

My camera is giving me trouble, so I won't be able to post pictures of what I've done with bottoms.  I'm also trying not to worry that I won't be successful at this project because I am not following the procedure exactly.

It's somewhat unnerving to read that the author believes “The ultimate secret of success is this: If you tidy up in one shot, rather than little by little, you can dramatically change your mind-set. A change so profound that it touches your emotions will irresistibly affect your way of thinking and your lifestyle habits. My clients do not develop the habit of tidying gradually. Every one of them has been clutter-free since they undertook their tidying marathon. This approach is the key to preventing rebound.” [Kondo, page 16]

I'm not sure exactly what her definition of 'one shot' is because elsewhere she mentions that it takes her clients an average of six months to do the entire process. There is no way I can do a whole house in one shot. I am doing each category, or sub category in one shot. Like in so many matters, I will just have to trust that doing the process to the best of my ability will eventually lead to success.

I have psyched myself up so I am now ready to face skirts, shorts, and pants. My lifestyle doesn't call for many skirts. Of twelve skirts, I kept nine, about 75%. Maybe I'm just better at choosing joyful skirts than other clothing categories.

One interesting outcome of this process is that I'm discovering how many articles of clothing I actually own. T-shirts were embarrassing and now I'm faced with thirty-one long pants. I kept twenty-two, 71%. Some are lightweight, cropped, some are jeans, some are patterned, and some are wool for cool weather. Most are black or khaki colored.

As usual I had to save something because I needed it. I kept my only pair of navy pants, not because they bring me joy. I just feel neutral about them but I have some tops that spark my joy and they need to go with navy pants so I will keep them until I find a navy pair that sparks my joy or until I've discarded the several navy tops I have kept.

Although it's very hot here, I only have six pairs of shorts. I don't like to wear them out in public, but when it's 115 degrees I can't worry about how I look. And I didn't discard any of them. I guess that's one category of clothes I buy very carefully.

Next week I hope to finish the clothes category.