Mental health author and ‘cleanfluencer’ Harriet Knock provides her expert top tips on the wellbeing benefits of cleaning out your closet
With April set for a heatwave, we’ll be digging out our spring to summer wardrobe a little earlier than planned this year. This means packing away coats and re-familiarising ourselves with our warm weather clothes.
But did you know that Brits have over £10 billion worth of unworn clothes in their wardrobes? Research shows that, collectively, women have 588 million unworn items, while men have 223 million items, sitting in their drawers and wardrobes. A change in season is a great time to declutter your space and your mind.
Very’s womenswear team worked with Harriet Knock, mental health author and ‘cleanfluencer’ to share her thoughts on the mental health benefits of a tidy space, and how to make organising your space less of a chore and more of a self-care exercise for the month ahead.
Less is more for a tidy space and better self esteem!
Harriet says, ‘When you have too many things it can be overwhelming… Especially clothing. Knowing what you have not only helps you in choosing outfits but also helps you to keep your space tidy- less clothes means less to organise.
If all of your clothes fit and you enjoy wearing them all, it makes you feel good picking a daily outfit! If your wardrobe is overflowing with clothes that don’t fit comfortably and that don’t make you feel good, this will have a negative impact on your mental health every time you go to get dressed. It’s time to wave goodbye to anything that may affect your self-esteem and body confidence.
Feeling overwhelmed? Tackle your tidying little and often!
“I live by the mantra “#OneTaskADay”, to keep the housework at bay and keep on top of things in a more manageable way! So for me personally, I’d tackle one section at a time. One day focus on jumpers and tops, the next day focus on dresses, then jeans, and so forth. Trying to do too much at once won’t end up being successful, you’ll just end up feeling worse and surrounded by chaos! Break it down, do little by little, and remember that small daily actions add up to big results.
De-cluttering can have a great effect on the mind
“A clean, tidy space is great for the mind. It provides a sense of calm and comfort. Your home should be a place of happiness, not a cause of stress by being a constant reminder of a never-ending to-do list. Decluttering can be very therapeutic and make you feel positive!
It’s also really nice if you’re in a position to donate those unwanted and unloved wardrobe items to charity, or somewhere like a woman’s refuge – makes it feel even more worthwhile knowing you are helping someone else at the same time”.
Once you’ve cleared your wardrobe, you may find you’re missing a few staple items. Both Google Trends and Exploding Topics show that searches for ‘capsule wardrobe’ have grown between 50-69% over the past year, indicating that fast fashion is out and great quality pieces that can transition between seasons are in.
Dresses are an essential addition to your capsule collection, but shopping online for them, particularly when you’re looking for a specific colour palette or style, can be difficult. Very’s dress selection is easy to browse with multiple filtering options to help you find the perfect addition to your capsule wardrobe you’ll wear time and time again.
