The Ultimate Guide to Decluttering Your Postpartum Wardrobe

My body has changed in such beautiful and unbelievable ways in the past year. I went from being at my fittest, as a fitness instructor and general workout junkie, to becoming pregnant and watching my body adapt to grow a new life. Now I'm almost 6-weeks postpartum, and my body is going through a new set of changes.

It's not easy for me to watch my body go through these big transitions. As a woman who has battled with disordered eating and overexercising throughout her life, it can cause quite a bit of anxiety to feel like I don't have control over my body. My story is my own, but I know that it's not an uncommon feeling, especially after going through pregnancy and postpartum. 

As I'm getting ready for fall, and some beautiful new Devan Gregori pieces dropping later this season, I decided to do a postpartum declutter of my closet. I'm embracing my new body, this body that has grown, birthed and is now nourishing a brand new beautiful life, and my first step is to dress it confidently and with love. 

If you are postpartum, your body is going through some kind of change or if you just want to clean out your closet, here is how I declutter my wardrobe in four steps.

Take everything out.

And I mean everything. I usually do this in batches just so that clutter chaos doesn't overwhelm me, but in the end, every piece of clothing comes out of the closet or drawers and is lain on the bed. It may seem silly, but trust me, it's important to the process.

Make 3 piles - keep, sell, donate.

I sort everything into three piles, and I am very discerning. I ask myself these questions:

• "Have I worn this in the past 4 months?" - If it's a season-less piece or an everyday piece (like jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts, workout gear, etc.) and I haven't worn it in 4 months, it's pretty likely that I won't wear it again.
• "Does it fit my current body?" - If I haven't worn something because it doesn't fit, then I'll get rid of it. "Goal" clothing is not a pile in this exercise, and frankly, I don't believe in keeping "goal" clothing. I think it's much healthier to sell or donate clothes that don't fit and find a few good fitting pieces to replace them, especially during these times of big transitions in our bodies. Our goal is to feel confident in the body we have and dress for it, not to shame ourselves into a smaller size. 
• "Did this fit before I got pregnant?" - Like I said before, I hate keeping "goal" clothing because, for me, it's a toxic mentality. Now, since I'm only 6 weeks postpartum, a lot of clothes that I wore pre-pregnancy are still a little tight. I know my body is still recovering and I'll most likely get down to something close to my pre-pregnancy measurements, so I don't want to get rid of all my tight-fitting clothes yet. If something didn't fit well right when I got pregnant, then chances are, it won't fit in a month or two either, so I'll get rid of it.
• "Did I wear this last season?" - Because we're in a transition period in-between seasons, I'm also going through things I had put away for fall. If it's something I didn't wear last fall/winter, then chances are, I won't wear it this season. 

Sort everything, including jewelry and accessories

Now it's time to sort everything into piles. I also make sure to go through all my shoes, purses, scarves, jewelry, belts, and any other accessories I might have. Tip: your shoe size may have changed during pregnancy, so if you have shoes you're keeping that don't fit...move them to another pile!

Evaluate the keep pile

Alright, the last clean out step is to through the keep pile one more time to really make sure everything that's there is something I will wear. Once I'm done, I evaluate what I've kept and make a list of a few key pieces I may need to complete my wardrobe. Is it a few new t-shirt? A good-fitting pair of jeans? A new belt or pair of flats? I write down what I think you need before you shop for it. That way I stay focused and don't get carried away when I go shopping!

Next steps:

• Pack up the sell pile and the donate pile and make a plan to go to your local second hand shop (I go to Crossroads normally) and your local Goodwill or Salvation Army to drop everything off.
• I'll start looking for key pieces to integrate into my wardrobe that I've noted down. New arrivals are coming later this fall that include a classic perfect-fit v-neck t-shirt, long-sleeve t-shirt and beautiful brushed cotton button-downs that I'm excited to add to my wardrobe, so I'm holding off on purchasing anything yet!