The cheat’s way to fall back in love with what you already own

how-tostyle
Written By Heather Hankinson

You’ve pinned everything on the internet about capsule wardrobes and how to declutter your house but still hate everything you own 😖

I feel you. 

Try this with me.

  1. Download an app

Ironically, the best way to get back to basics is to first download a shiny, new app. 

Work out which cupboard you are wanting to wrangle and then google an app. 

For example:

Wardrobe/Clothes: Whering, Indyx, there are so many

Bathroom cabinet/skincare: Think Dirty, OnSkin

Pantry/food: Smarterchef, Chef Piccolo

Everything else: Shuffles by Pinterest

Whether these apps first ask you to take a picture of everything in your wardrobe (takes a surprisingly short amount of time) or scan each barcode to reveal the toxicity of their ingredients, they all have something in common:

They force you to touch and engage with every single item systematically.

It’s like the method of cleaning out a drawer by tipping everything out rather than leaving everything in the drawer and removing what you don’t want.

When you make yourself touch every single item, you kick your brain into having a feeling and then a decision about that item. 

 
 

Let’s say you think you need new sheets, try this:

  • Pull everything out of the cupboard and take photos of each item 📸 

  • Now take photos of every cushion and blanket in your house.

  • Upload all of those to ‘Shuffles by Pinterest’ (it will cut them out for you)

  • Pull a photo from a Pinboard you already have of the mood and style you’re dreaming of 💕

  • Now you can make yourself a personalized vision board and ‘shop’ from your own things.

Is this effort? Yes.

Were you going to spend your evening double-screening anyway? Yes.

Which option is free and more satisfying? ☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻

2. Use Youtube

Find any item you used to love but isn’t as shiny as it once was.

Now open Youtube and search ‘how to clean …’

The trick here is that starting a boring-but-rewarding job like cleaning is the hardest part.

It’s not just about the information:

By watching the video, your brain already starts to feel productive, which motivates you to do the thing.

Here are some good places to start.

  • De-pill your jumper with an old razor.

  • Soak your white sheets in bleach for a few days. 

  • Use those magic eraser cleaners to scrub your sneakers. 

  • Clean your makeup palettes. 

  • Find an item → youtube search how to care for it


    3. Back yourself

My friend, you are not an idiot. 

Everything in your house came in because you bought it so there’s a better-than-slim chance that it is actually a reasonable fit for you.

So I’m going to bully you and say, sometimes you need to force yourself to use something - just for a week - before you make a decision about it. 

The last word:

All of this is to say: buying something new will not make you love what you already have. 

But you already knew that because you have style, are hella smart and you know how to use the internet for good 🤓

So go be a nerd, fall back in love with something you already own, and then tell me about it 🫶🏻

 
 
 
 
Heather Hankinson
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