Give It Another Life—What My Closet Taught Me About Creativity, Clutter & Resale
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Hey y'all! I hope this message finds you well.
I’ve been thinking about how easy it is for a closet to become a holding space. And not just for our clothes, but also our decisions.
The dress I might wear again "if the right opportunity arises." The shoes that technically still fit that "might come back in style." The bag I spent too much money on and "too ashamed to admit I don’t actually like it." Or my favorite, the piece that belonged to a version of me I remember fondly, "even if I wouldn’t choose it today."
So it stays. And stays. And stays. And eventually, enough things stay that you stop noticing just how much space they occupy. There’s an energetic weight to clutter that has very little to do with whether the area is "technically" clean. Clutter can also be a collection of things we haven’t decided what to do with yet. And every time we open our closets, we encounter those unfinished decisions again. That's why clearing a closet can feel surprisingly emotional. We aren’t just sorting through fabrics. We’re sorting through evidence of who we’ve been. And that's why we can sometimes cling to things that which have run their course in our lives. That's why I'm a firm believer in my personal philosophy:
Keep. Reimagine. Wear. Donate. Sell. Release.
Allow me to explain...
The Closet as an Archive
One reason style fascinates me is because just how easily clothing can hold memory. There are pieces connected to jobs, relationships, trips, celebrations, body changes, experiments, plot twists, and personal eras. And we keep them because the memory still matters or we think releasing the object somehow means releasing the person we were when we acquired it.
But an archive is supposed to tell a story. It doesn’t necessarily have to contain every artifact of it.
And that distinction matters. I can honor a former version of myself without giving her permanent residency in my closet. I can appreciate that something was once beautiful, useful or meaningful without requiring it to remain useful to me forever. But before I decide something is no longer useful, I like to ask myself another question:
Have I actually exhausted all its possibilities?
Before I Release, I Reimagine
I have a collection of vintage handbags that I’ve customized using things I already owned. Scarves and fabrics that weren’t getting worn now wrapped around their handles as displays or flashes of print. Enamel pins now acting as fun embellishments. Bracelets and necklaces that had been sitting untouched now adorned as charms and decoration. They’re small things, but together they've completely transformed my handbags. And suddenly, something that had been sitting in my closet feels interesting again. I think that’s also a major part of developing personal style: learning to see beyond an object’s "assigned purpose." A scarf doesn’t just have to be a scarf. And a necklace doesn’t always have to be worn around my neck.
I challenge you to think about your clothes and accessories in this way too. That skirt that you haven't worn in forever? Have you tried using it as a dress or a top, a layering piece, or even a belt? I love giving myself the opportunity to play before deciding I’m totally finished with something. And there’s an empowering energy in that thought process too—the shift from accumulation to creativity. Instead of allowing forgotten objects to sit untouched, I can bring some of them back into circulation within my wardrobe, my way.
And when I can’t? Then I know it just may be time for them to move along.
Alignment is Key
I don’t necessarily believe every crowded closet is blocking your qi or that getting rid of seven shirts will magically transform your life. But I do believe our physical spaces can reflect where we’ve stopped making active choices. And there's something beautifully empowering about opening a closet filled with things you're consciously choosing to keep. And that doesn't mean you have to be a minimalist with only five shirts and bottoms (because I'm surely not, lol). If you walked into my closet you'd think it was the wardrobe for a small theatrical production. But I said all that to say, the goal doesn’t have to be less, it's alignment.
Ask yourself: Does what surrounds me still belong to the life I’m living right now?
That question feels much more relevant to me than whether I own too much. And if you've been here for a while, you know I'm a BIG fan of "doing the most."
The Seasonal Edit
At the end of each season, I audit my closet. Because by then, I have evidence. I know what I actually reached for and what I kept passing over. I know which pieces found new life through styling or repurposing and which ones I still couldn’t find a reason to use. That’s when I purge. If I didn’t wear it, couldn’t reimagine it, didn’t repurpose it and no longer feel connected to it, keeping it doesn’t make it more valuable to me. It just keeps it still. And I’d much rather let it circulate.
Letting Something Move On
Reselling taught me another way to think about release. When I started Keesh A La Mode in 2016, I was motivated by my love of fashion, curation and finding value in pieces other people might overlook. Over the years, hundreds of items have moved through my hands and into someone else’s closet.
And I absolutely love that exchange. An item can be finished with me without being finished. The heels collecting dust in my closet might become someone else’s birthday shoes. A bag I no longer reach for might become the bag another woman carries every day. Something that has become visual noise in my space can become exciting again somewhere else. And that transforms the energy of letting go into circulation. First within my own closet, when I repurpose something. Then beyond it, when I realize I’ve done all I want to do with it and give someone else the opportunity to imagine what comes next. Space opens and the item gets another life. And depending on whether you decide to donate or sell, a little extra cash finds its way back to you too. I talk more in-depth about my online resale business in my ebook, How to Sell Your Closet & Everything In-between, if you're interested in creating your own unique resale brand.
My Challenge to You
Take a look inside your closet this week and really reflect on what's there. Notice what you reach for; what makes you feel good; and what has been hanging untouched while you continue moving it from one side of the closet to the other. But before you toss it, ask whether there’s another way you want to experience it. Style it differently. Take it apart. Add it to something else. Give it another job. And if none of those possibilities excite you? That tells you something too.
Remember: Assessing and making room isn’t necessarily about becoming someone new, but allowing your physical space to catch up with who you already are.
The Keesh Edit: Before I release something, I like to give it a chance to become something else. But reinvention doesn’t mean holding on to it forever. The most aligned thing I can do is create with what I have. Other times, it’s recognizing when I’ve gotten everything I needed from it and letting it continue its story elsewhere.
If your next closet edit leaves you with pieces that still have life—and value—left in them, my online resale ebook can help you figure out what to do next. I share what I’ve learned from nearly a decade of reselling, from pricing and photography to shipping, inventory, offers and building repeat customers.
Repurpose what inspires you. Release what doesn’t. Let the rest circulate.
Until next time.
BEFORE YOU GO: If you’re drawn to pieces like this, I share more on how I source, style, and build a resale shop around them in my ebook, How to Sell Your Closet and Everything In-between.
