Would You Pack it for Paris?
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This podcast episode is a taste from our 30 day program, Release and Reclaim. If you liked today’s episode, you’ll LOVE Release and Reclaim.
Transcript
Have you been struggling to declutter and let go of your clothes?
I have a question for you that might help. Here it is:
What would you pack for Paris?
I’ve just come out on the other side of a massive clothing decluttering session. Probably the most cleansing one I’ve done yet.
Ten bags went to charity. 🛍🛍🛍🛍🛍 In them were items of clothing from my past lives.
And clothing that had sat in an alterations pile for so long that my desire for those items completely dissolved. I’d forgotten about them.
I let go of clothing that I had used to hide behind. Clothing that would obscure my character and body, making me invisible as I zig-zagged through London’s bustling streets.
And I also let go of clothing that was perfectly fine, but no longer felt aligned with who I am.
Somehow those 10 bags of clothes managed to hide in plain sight, sitting in my wardrobe for months if not years. They managed to escape my previous giant decluttering sessions.
Hiding in my blindspots until… 🔮
⏰🗓 It’s January 2022.
It’s a new year, and I’m preparing a packing list for Miami in February.
I’ve got a big trip coming up! Meeting Michelle for the first time in person, and attending a coaching retreat. It’s the perfect opportunity for me to face my fears and step into that room as my Higher Self.
At first I’m totally excited - I can’t wait to put together stylish, higher self outfits! I was made for this. 💃🏽
But that excitement soon fades as I look at my actual wardrobe situation and realise, oh crap, I don’t actually have any clothes that I like.
What?! Seriously, none? How did this happen?
I’ll tell you how. Years of going deeper and deeper into survival mode, gradually. Q u i e t l y .
This just won’t do for Miami!
With little time to waste, I order clothing that feels Higher Self for me. A few shirts, 2 dresses and a well cut t-shirt.
And for the 3 weeks that I’m there, I love wearing my clothes. I feel alive. I feel as though who I am on the inside is beginning to express on the outside.
⏰ Three weeks, a retreat, a birthday dinner. Two ridiculously rich, melty s’mores, and an evening under starlight. Two community calls, a kayaking adventure through the mangroves, a handful of hikes. Painting on the beach, maaaany deep chats, masterminds over dessert and several aeroplane movies later…
I’m home. Back to life as usual.
Except… I’m not the woman I was when I left.
I’ve expanded, and I can’t fit myself back into my previous slot.
The contrast between the me who is emerging and the me who was living in this home before that trip… is striking.
And over the next 90 days, I watch myself choose my Miami wardrobe day after day. The items that feel like the me who is emerging.
While putting on my other clothes feels somehow strange. As though I’m wearing someone else’s clothes. Because I am - they belong to a past me.
I had packed all my favourites into that Miami-bound suitcase.
Meaning that almost everything that I left, is not a favourite. Which also means that I’m using my wardrobe to store clothing I don’t actually like. Imagine that. Using your home to store things you don’t like.
No more I tell you!
End of May rolls around and I decide this Release and Reclaim 30 day journey will be my line in the sand.
Surprisingly, decluttering is simple this time. Because of the work I’ve done to curate my favourites before heading to Miami, I am already clear on what I do and don’t want to wear.
Finally, I give myself full permission to release the items left in my wardrobe that feel like the me who I’ve been, the me of the past.
And I am grateful for her, for all she’s done for me. For all she’s said yes to even though she didn’t know if any of it would work out. For her courage, and her willingness to try.
I bag them up. Cry it out. Book a collection. We rip out the wardrobe. Rip out the carpet. Lay a new foundation.
And sitting on my new bed, I admire what remains. A rail and a half and one drawer of clothing that proudly expresses the me of today.
My sister comes to see my new set-up after we’ve indulged in a gorgeous afternoon tea at Hamyard Hotel to celebrate her birthday. A rebellious way to spend a Monday, and a delicious one at that!
She is shocked at how few garments are left. Because she has witnessed versions of me through the years who hoarded and collected clothing. Piles of it.
Through her eyes, I see that yes, this really is a huge shift.
She’s been craving a clear-out too.
“What would you pack for Paris?” I ask her.
In April, she enjoyed a long weekend trip to the croissant capital. An experience that is still fresh in her mind.
“You probably packed your favourite clothing, and I’ll bet you’ve been wearing them ever since.”
“Yeah it’s true!” She confirmed. “I’ve just been wearing all the clothes I actually like every day. Maybe I could let that whole extra wardrobe and suitcase go… Maybe.”
🥐✨
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