I faced and conquered a Herculean task today -- I ran my very first washload ever!
To be honest, I felt like a total idiot pretty much the entire time. I have never used a washing machine befor. I knew NOTHING, and was desperately wishing I had observed my mum more carefully during washing-machine operations at my parents' home. (But of course, I must have been reading/surfing the internet/talking on the phone or going out with friends. Present Me is shaking her head at Past Me!)
Anyhow, right from how many clothes it was okay to put in and whether I could put all kinds of stuff in together, to what kind of detergent to buy and where to put it...the process was a deep mystery.
The machine? A top-loading Toshiba. The product booklet was NO HELP AT ALL. The English section had obviously been translated from Japanese by someone with a very rudimentary knowledge of the English language -- it made no sense half the time and contradicted itself in a million places.
Anyway, by perusing each line of booklet text closely, calling up hazy memories of washloads at home, applying some common sense, and staring at the machine long enough, I finally managed to get it right :)
I used a liquid detergent (Dynamo, the pink one), figuring out that I had to put it in the little bleach container on the side. I put in the clothes firmly but loosely -- although I think my load had one pair of jeans too many. I left out 2-3 delicates and 1 shirt that looked like it would probably run a bit of colour. I set the water level accordingly and chose the regular wash-rinse-dry cycle.
And, voila! In half an hour, I was the proud take-outer of a ton of freshly washed, gorgeously clean, damp, fragrant clothes!
(Has anyone in the history of the universe ever been this excited about washing clothes? I THINK NOT.)
Organising all our stuff and getting rid of things my husband and I don't need is a top-of-mind issue for me at the moment. Our new place is really small, and I'm wondering how on earth it's going to contain everything we have and still look pretty.
Of course, the keywords in the last sentence are "everything we have". I really do think we have too much, especially when it comes to our wardrobes. I gave away bags and bags of stuff to charity before we moved to this city. Still, I think I need to be more ruthless and whittle down our wardrobes further. It's hard, but I really want to create a small yet AWESOME collection of clothes, shoes and bags that work for us!
There are a few great tips I've learned over the years/found online about how to declutter and organise your wardrobe. Simple, practical advice. I'm looking forward to implementing a couple of these as soon as I can unpack our boxes!
Top tips to declutter your wardrobe
- Sentimental-schmentimental: I love keepsakes as much as the next person. But I know I sometimes use sentiment as a way to hoard things - even clothes! ("I wore this on my six-month anniversary." "My mom made this when she was a fashion designer." "My best friend gave me that on my 25th birthday.") It's good to have keepsakes but be reasonable at the same time. E.g., my mom has given me 10-15 things designed by her - I should keep the 5-6 I really love instead of hanging on to items that are completely worn out or don't fit me well anymore.
- All together, now: Bring all your stuff out at once. You have to get messy to get organised! I did this a few months before my wedding, when I was preparing to move - and I was SHOCKED by the sheer volume of clothes I had stored and gave away a ton of stuff to my staff and to a great disaster-relief organisation in Delhi. I think it's time for my system to be shocked again.
- Repurpose: Is there something you may use more if it were altered, or turned into something else entirely? Perhaps a sari that would work better as a suit? Or a gaudy scarf that would make some great curtain ties? I had a gorgeously patterned long dress that I never wore because the pattern overwhelmed my petite frame when it covered me from top to bottom. So I cut it up: the top half became a blouse, and the bottom half became a scarf!
- Build variety: Assess items that are similar. Do you have 5 pairs of blue jeans? Or 4 yellow t-shirts? Chances are you only regularly reach for the ones that fit you well and suit you. Get rid of the others. If there are a bunch of clothes you really love but have worn ALL THE TIME over the past year, donate them/put them into a suitcase under the bed. Get out of your comfort zone and give yourself a chance to love other clothes! Not only will these methods create space, they'll also help refresh your look and style.
- Zero tolerance: Be strict with yourself. If there's a hole or a stain in something, chuck it. If it has faded patches, throw it. If you haven't worn it in 2 years but are keeping it "just in case" (just in case what? they stop making clothes we like?), bin it. Once it's thrown, don't second-guess yourself. I've debated endlessly about throwing certain items and honestly, 2 months later I don't even remember what I threw!
- The reverse-hanger trick: Put all your hanging clothes in the closet with the hangers facing one way. Whenever you wear an item, put it back with the hanger facing the other way. In a few months, you’ll get a pretty good sense of which items you’re not wearing. Get rid of these!
Okay, that's it for now. Once I complete this daunting task, I'll write another post consolidating all the best tips and advice on decluttering and cleaning out wardrobes.
Picture source: neenjames
I faced and conquered a Herculean task today -- I ran my very first washload ever!
