A story about purging clothing

iStock.com/Kostikova

When my client opened the door, I could see the stress all over her face. With a look of exhaustion, she told me things at work were incredibly busy, she was feeling a lot of pressure and working long hours.

My client's willingness to share her struggle was so helpful in that it provided insight into her current mental state and offered guidance as to how to proceed with our scheduled closet/clothing purge session.

Throughout our mentoring session, I reminded her of her goal to streamline her closet, which helped to guide and direct her focus and decision-making abilities, and I mentored her on ways to purge her current wardrobe. We also discussed her current lifestyle and laundry-washing frequency, so we could develop a maintenance plan that works for her life right now.

As our session progressed, I could see her confidence grow in her ability to make decisions based on what fits her life right now.

Our results: my client purged nearly half of her wardrobe and had empty space on her shelves, in her hanging space and in her drawers. An added bonus was, "room to breathe," as she eloquently described it. We organized her closet in a manner that made sense for her and her busy life, and discussed ways she can incorporate time into her schedule to maintain the order.

As I was about to leave, she confessed that she had been dreading our session, but that she appreciated our focused time on a project that was completely unrelated to work. She said purging her wardrobe has given her a sense of control over of one aspect of her life when all other aspects seem completely out of control. She gave me a hug and thanked me for helping her to create a closet she was excited about.

What a lovely reminder that letting go of stuff can be such a beautiful gift to give oneself.