New Year, More Minimalism: Fashion & Beauty Edition

First we discussed minimalism in the virtual space, then the physical (home) one, and now we’re continuing on to minimalism in fashion and beauty. This can be a difficult one with the amount of influencers… well, influencing, you to buy specific clothes and skincare products, advertisements for a new purse while scrolling Instagram, and emails about sales flooding your inbox. But, ultimately, for me, it just feels good to have fewer items that I absolutely love. So let’s get started with a few simple things you can do to make your closet, beauty drawer, and wallet feel a bit better.

DECLUTTER

• Clothes, shoes, and bath/beauty products. Because… duh. We always start off here and do this. You’ve probably done it already. But if you haven’t, responsibly sell, donate, or dispose of unworn clothes, broken shoes, and expired or disliked beauty products. It’s okay if you didn’t like something you bought… you don’t have to keep it. You learned something new and you can let it go to a new home (or recycle bin).
• Shopping apps on phone. If you have apps for non-grocery/household related items on your phone (ex: Abercrombie, H&M, Sephora, etc.), delete them. This forces you to shop mindfully on your computer or in-person. It’s way too easy to hit “buy” from your phone.
• Marketing newsletters. Yep, doesn’t matter if you get sale codes from these emails. Unless you are waiting to buy something super specific on sale… unsubscribe. You do not need a REMINDER to shop.
• Influencer accounts on social media. Doesn’t have to be all influencers. But maybe the ones that are posting Amazon hauls all the time or are always talking about “must haves.”

OPTIMIZE

• Same underwear and socks. One of my favorite little life hacks for reducing decision fatigue and shopping trips. I have all the same underwear (Old Navy, black, cotton). And two types of socks (one for home/winter (Thorlos) and one to wear with my sneakers (Nike, white, crew)). I do not stray from these. Ever. Once a few underwear wear out, I buy a new pack of the exact same ones. Same with the socks (also, if only one sock wears out… you don’t have to get rid of the pair with this method). It also makes laundry day much faster… I literally just throw all the underwear in one drawer and socks in another. But ultimately — this keeps me from being influenced to buy anything but my tried and true.
• Find a uniform. You’ve obviously heard of leaders and CEOs who do this to reduce decision fatigue. The whole, “everyday uniform” is a bit too rigid for me… but that doesn’t mean you can’t use the concept for a specific use-case. I personally have a “uniform” for all my workout wear. In the summer, black or navy blue bike shorts and sports bras. In the winter, sub out the shorts for black or navy blue leggings. I may switch out the brand when I need a new pair but the general concept remains the same. Everything always matches and I have exactly what I need for the weather.
• Inventory clothing online. While there are fancy apps you can use to do this, I just have photos of my clothing (usually a flat lay image taken from the clothing site) uploaded to a Google Photos album. I then have this manually sorted by color/type (sort of like my actual closet). This helps me with the following:
  • Colors that go with each other. Once you inventory your clothes, you generally see a pattern in what colors you gravitate towards and have a lot of. This really helps with shopping for new clothing because you can automatically discount any colors that don’t match your existing wardrobe.
  • Favorite materials and cuts. Similar to above, doing an inventory and having a visual of it can help you figure out your favorite materials and cuts (and also what doesn’t work)… ultimately making you a more discerning shopper.
  • The “odd” piece. Having a visual of all your clothes can also help you identify those “odd man out” pieces. Some could be a great statement piece while others just don’t fit in with anything else you own. If the latter, feel free to resell or donate.
• Clothing and beauty wishlists. Now that you’ve decluttered and optimized… create a wishlist (I use Pinterest) of items you need to fill in any gaps in your wardrobe. Be mindful. You don’t need to buy everything now. But ultimately, keep a list and stick to the list. No impulse buying.

ORGANIZE

• Coats and winter accessories. It’s winter in my part of the world so this is a great time to organize all my coats and cold weather accessories. Organization is also useful in figuring out what gets used, what doesn’t, and what is redundant. If it’s summer where you are, organize your bathing suits and hiking gear.
• Clothing care items (extra buttons, fabric shaver, lint removers, sewing supplies, etc.). One of the best things you can do for your clothes — take care of them! Organize all your clothing care items in one place so that you’re ready to repair items in a timely manner.