How to Take Inventory

11 tips, a few of my "why's", and a window into the joy

Last week, while my dad slept, I dreamed of inventorying my things. It doesn’t take much of a shrink to figure out why we crave it. And need it. The desire to count and catalog calls to many of us. Especially at moments where things (large or small) feel out of control. There is a quiet calm in taking stock. Measuring. Folding. Noting. Putting things back better than you left them before. In order there is promise and possibility … of a life that measures up to your intentions.

Since you all responded to this well on Instagram, I wanted to get into it a little bit more. Provide some more guidance. And since several of you asked, share some things I parted with recently and why.

Pro tips

1. Pick your spot — and your target. Skirts are my biggest category, so when I heard my hub was going to a football game and had early eve plans, I slotted those in … if I had only a smaller window I would have done just “black skirts” or “long skirts”

2. Put on your Golden Children. These work with anything, so they’ll shed real light. If something can’t work, even with a Golden Child, there’s an issue.

3. Try everything on. Everything. This is where most people go awry and don’t get enough out of an inventory. They gloss over what they “know” works. It’s the same reason I do a #ClockwiseChallenge when I really want to cull. Bodies change. Mindsets shift. Imperceptible things happen. We decide we love something but and then fail to see it when evaluating. So make yourself try it. I’m strict on this.

4. Make a real outfit. Like imagine where you’d go in it. Anything can look good in the ideal imaginary circumstances, with no tights even though you live somewhere cold, etc. You can put all the “ideals” in place and end up holding onto something you never wear. So challenge yourself to put together something you’d really wear somewhere you really go.

5. Take a selfie. Take a few, actually. In case you’re distracted by a double chin in one or whatever. This will allow you to evaluate after as you like, with a mental break to see things more clearly.

6. Have a way* station. Or a few of them. First, you’ll want Probation Shelf (or rack or corner or drawer) if you don’t have one already. Something you aren’t wearing gets put on “probation” and after a time if you still don’t feel like you even want to deal with it, let it go. I also have bags for things I want to try out in New England over the summer or at my parents’ in Boston. When I gather a certain number of those, I ship them off. They may still end up getting sold, but another shot in a different context helps me be sure. *thanks, Nancy

7. Move fast when an aha hits. With certain items, in spite of a continuing emotional attachment or the money you spent on them, you’ll get a flash of clarity that it’s time for them to go. That clarity is fleeting. Harness it by QUICKLY getting the piece in a bag and putting it aside. You don’t have to rush these out the door, but generally your instinct is right and this brief moment in which you let go can be so powerful if you listen.

What I let go