I came across the suggestion years ago that, after you purge your closet, put everything in with the hangers facing backwards. As you wear an item, turn the hanger back around the ‘correct’ way and, in time, it will be obvious what you don’t wear.
I purge a couple times a year and had never found the need to try that tactic. However, I went through menopause and my body changed a bit, resulting in my pants not all fitting comfortably any longer. Just last week, as I realized I had way too many pants and was sure I couldn’t be wearing all of them, I went through and sent to GW the ones I knew I’d never wear and then put all the rest back in the closet with the hangers backwards. Each day I’m trying to wear a pair that is still on a backwards hanger so I can make sure I only have pants in my closet that I’m actually wearing. If they’re uncomfortable, into the GW bag they go.
I agree with the idea that, if you haven’t worn something for a year(ish), it’s time to give it away for certain items like pants, tops, some sweaters and scarves but I don’t apply that rule to dresses, shoes or jackets. I’ve had some staples for years and there are some years they’re not worn but I’m very happy to have them when the need, however infrequent, arises.
Does anyone else have the sort of life that demands clothing far from what is ordinarily worn on rare occasion? I lead a very down to earth life of jeans, leggings and T shirts with a few nicer tops or sweaters for going out, and a rare outdoorsy dress. However every few years I visit someone in a big city, Europe or Asia and need nicer knits, more put together shoes. and casual elegance that is not part of my day to day, ever at home. It rather throws me for a loop, and I have an entire stock of these items. As I write, I am realizing that I need to separate these things into a separate drawer or bin, so I don’t paw through them when searching for my standard items.
My wife has taken to ripping things in half that she wants me to get rid of. More than once I saw something of mine in the garbage and snuck it back into the rotation.
I try to keep approximately the same amount of clothing. If I buy five new dress shirts, then the five ones I like least get rotated to the donation pile. Anything high maintenance gets thrown out immediately, like collars and pocket flaps that curl funny, zippers that stop working, things that don’t iron easily.
I work in a factory, “business dorky,” and only dress better about once/month. I have three suits and the “new” one is from 2003. Guy fashion is considerably easier.
I don’t like throwing out clothing unless it’s absolutely ruined and can’t be used even to sleep in. Even then, I’ll give my dad old t-shirts so he can make them into rags for his work. I’ve lost a bunch of weight and so have donated bags and bags of clothing to different organizations over the past 1.5+ year. Plus, I’ve sent clothes to Mexico (worn and never worn) with my aunt to give out to family members as my old sizes are hard to find and really expensive in Mexico.
I have expanded my wardrobe a lot and love having different pieces for different occasions. I occasionally purge (donate) my old clothing when they get too big, when I know I won’t wear it again, when I don’t feel comfortable in it, etc. I admit, I have a hard time getting rid of clothes. It’s sentimental, there are memories!
I do have some valuable pieces that I may look into selling online, although I know nothing about that!
In a prior life I had a corporate exec job. I’m still staring at all the nice heeled dress shoes that were the perfect shade for a specific suit. I think it’s about time to finally throw those away. My feet hurt just looking at them:)
I have an aversion to giving used shoes away to Goodwill.
LOVE post #6 response!- even if it isn’t the intended topic.
Regarding long term clothing issues. If you try to be fashionable get rid of the clothes you don’t wear. If that fashion returns you will want the new variation. I am not fashionable and save the few dressy items I own for any special occasion (moved to a casual area). Give away clothes that become too large/small. They outdate before your weight changes.
If we need to go up north in the winter I will have very old clothes- the few I brought with when we made the Florida move. Who cares when the only occasion will be a funeral (father 91). Never had many clothes- or shoes. Lack of funds and things in my sizes (tall women and small men often have a lot of trouble finding clothes in their size). I simply do not understand owning many shoes that are only worn rarely. For me footwear needs to be comfortable (that eliminates most, especially heels). Matching an outfit is nowhere near as important as not hurting.
Decide how large your wardrobe needs to be. You may need/want a different outfit to not wear the same thing every week, two or more. When you buy new clothes remove an equal number from your wardrobe. I’m sure there are “mistakes”- those bought but never really liked as well as others.
When we moved I got rid of many things, including clothing. You get to the point that you take a picture of many things kept purely for sentimental reasons and let go of the item- including clothing.
I wear that item that I am debating. At the end of the day, I ask myself how I felt in it. About half the time, it ends up in the give away bag. There is often a reason something isn’t in circulation - fit is off, feels out of style, etc.
I’ve made many attempts to purge my closet(s). I start by putting everything in one category (sweaters, pants etc) on the bed and then one by one decide whether to keep them or not. Somehow I find way to many reasons to keep something which I haven’t worn simply because I’d forgotten about I had it and it had migrated to a deep dark corner.
Reversing the process by pulling out all the stuff that I love and can’t live without seems like it will be much much easier. There is a feeling of safety created by seeing all the stuff you DO like and want to keep which makes moving big parts of the remainder out of my life.
Adding the idea of wearing a questionable item for a day is also brilliant. Just by thinking about this I realize there are items I’ve stuffed back into the closet and thought to myself…well, it wouldn’t be something I want on my body today but who knows…and then it again recedes to the dark corners to be unearthed yet again a year later.
Now I need to mentally prep for the job and set aside an afternoon of uninterrupted time.*
Translation…A time when H won’t walk in, look at the piles scattered thru the room and mutter something along the lines of ‘oh my god where did all the come from and why do you have it?’
Great idea to pull out all clothes from a drawer, dresser and/or closet and only put back the ones you actively will wear. Easy to miss stuff in corners.
Should do that routinely with all items out of site routinely. See the kitchen thread recently begun as an example.
Ah, I ran across an example today of clothing I waiver on. I have a winter dress coat and a rain jacket that are rarely worn. Only if I’m dressed up, and that is not very often. If I ditch them, I’ll be pressed to buy something new, so I hang on to them.
Same with some winter outdoor clothes I only use for the rare ski trip.
I’ve had some items for YEARS. If I do ski again, I’d use them, in lieu of purchasing something new.
I have emotional attachments to clothing. There’s a sweatshirt D gave me when she was accepted to her first choice university. It’s now 7 years old and the zipper has been in bad shape for about the last 3 years.
I read a suggestion a while back that encourages you to take a photo of the clothing item. It will always be with you and you can conjure up the good feelings. It just takes up much less space in your photo library.
My H is going tout of town for about 5 days. I’m going to tackle my clothes closet. I like to do those chores when I have plenty of time with a minimum of interruptions. I am going to attempt to be more brutal.
I don’t purge enough and I don’t purge often enough. I am starting to think about retirement, so I’m not buying as many work clothes, and I am getting better at getting rid of things. But some things I just have trouble letting go of. I have a black wool winter coat I’ve had for at least 12 years. I don’t think I’ve EVER worn it (I park in my harage, and don’t have far to walk when I get to work, so I often don’t wear a coat, even in winter). BUT, I may need it someday.