The Calm of the New Year
January 5, 2024
Even though there's a little
revelry on the eve of the New Year, once it's here, there's that quiet peace that falls on nature, almost intoxicating in its contradiction to the build-up to Christmas.
This is the time when nature lies bare outside of my patio window. The seasons do this so effortlessly. They lose their lush green and their fiery fall colors and are left with the bare branches, almost as if they are naked.
My Walt is traditionally a farmer, and this time of year is about
planning. His big farm has winter wheat in the ground and is just waiting for the first bit of warmth to sprout up, and by late spring, it will be ready to reap. But even his winter wheat has stopped and won't do anything for a few months.
So, I'm looking again at what I have in my closet, and it's time for me to pare down to what I love. Part of this is because I'm settling into a new silhouette. I probably won't lose many of my old clothes, but there's
something new out there and I want to make room for it.
This newness is something we humans like, but we also need. It gives us the oomph to change; in that change, we discard what is no longer useful, like the dead tree leaves, and take on what is useful.
It's been a while since I've felt the need to do this, simply because our fashion cycle has been so messed up with the pandemic and economic mayhem. I haven't actually felt the need to. Now I do.
I see a clear and beautiful new way to look at clothes and I am excited to make some new things. But that means I have to clean out what is no longer useful. Lately, I've been thinking that there are a lot of items in my closet that are not as grand in my eyes as they once were. I don't esteem them as I once did, and it's time they were passed on to others who could use them and enjoy them as I have.
So, for the first time, in almost five years, I'm going to go through the closet, pull out what isn't useful, and keep what is. Now that I'm feeling this move into a new phase, and before the
winter gives way to the activity of spring, this is a great time to work through my closet, take inventory, and see what I need new for this year. To do that are these two favorite guides that are still great today - classic resources, like classic styles, never go out of style. I wrote these specifically to make it easier to do this and give you great ideas about what you need to keep your wardrobe working for you.
The Well-Edited Wardrobe E-Book
The Well-Edited Wardrobe WorkBook (Interactive)
Both are PDFs and should open in your browser, but you can save them to your computer and print
them or print them from your smartphone.
Happy cleansing!
