There's a section in almost every closet I've been in that doesn't get touched.
Different sizes. Different seasons. Sometimes the tags are still on.
When I ask about it, the answer is almost always some version of the same thing:
"I'm keeping those for when I lose the weight."
Said matter-of-factly. No drama. Just, that's where those live. In the someday section.
And I always sit with it for a minute before saying anything.
Because I know that pile. I think most of us do.
The maybe someday pile isn't really about clothes.
It's about the story we're telling ourselves, that the current version of us isn't quite the right version yet. That we're in a waiting room. That the real life, the one where we feel good and confident and ready, starts when something changes.
When the weight comes off.
When things settle down.
When we finally feel like enough.
And in the meantime, we wait.
We keep the clothes as evidence of the plan. As proof that we haven't given up. As a kind of promise to a future self that we're still holding space for.
But here's what I've noticed.
The pile doesn't motivate. It haunts.
Every time she opens that closet she sees it. And every time she sees it she gets a quiet reminder that she's not there yet. That she's still in the before.
That's not a closet problem. That's a SIMPLIFY problem.
SIMPLIFY is the third module in the 4S Framework.
But SIMPLIFY doesn't mean throw everything out. It doesn't mean make a decision right this second about every piece of clothing you own.
It means getting honest about what's actually serving you right now. Today. In the life you're actually living, not the one you're waiting to start.
Because here's the thing about the maybe someday pile:
It's not neutral. It has weight. Every time you see it, it's telling you something about how you see yourself.
And you get to decide if that's the story you want to keep telling.
Sometimes I ask one question.
When we get to that section, I don't ask whether she loves the pieces or when she last wore them.
I ask: how does it feel when you look at these?
And nine times out of ten she gets quiet.
Because she knows.
It doesn't feel like hope. It feels like pressure. Like a low-grade reminder that she's not enough yet.
That's the moment things start to move. Not because she throws the pile away. But because she finally sees what it's been costing her to keep it.
If you've got your own version of the maybe someday pile, the SIMPLIFY module in the Life Edit is built around exactly this. Honest questions. The difference between holding on with intention and holding on out of habit or fear. $47.
Or just try the one question next time you're standing in front of your closet.
How does it feel when you look at this?
Let the answer be information. You don't have to do anything with it yet.
With love, Ellen