I have a 6-month rule for the closet. Any article of clothing, which I don't wear for 6 months, I assume that I will not be wearing again and it goes into the Goodwill bag. And I have been pretty ruthless so far. It helps me keep the closet clutter free, retains my sanity and works out great for me. Or should I say...worked out.
Some of the clothes that I don't wear anymore are slighltly oversize T-shirts and baggy tops. A while ago, I had purged my closet from all those and donated two bags to Goodwill. And then 3 weeks before I had to go for fieldwork for 2 weeks for my job. And the kind of work I was supposed to do there, called for the baggiest tops and T-shirts. And loose pants. Speaking of pants, since my reacent body padding, those don't fit anymore. Not that I had any fit for soil sampling. There was one, and no prizes for guessing where it went. So, I ended up having to buy baggy pants. I managed to survive with a bunch of company and conference T shirts though.
Anyway, I was decluttering my closet again yesterday. While I used to ruthlessly throw clothes into piles, I paused as I was fingering the clothes yesterday. I wondered if my mom's way made sense. She keeps everything. Even stuff she no longer wears and stuff for which I cannot think of an earthly use, she will keep. She has outfits that are 33 years old. Saris that are literally falling to pieces.
Now I am wondering if maybe it is a good idea to keep some of my less worn outfits for times like this.
What is your clothes buying and decluttering policy? That is in case you do have a policy.
4 comments:
I think I would give yourself longer than 6 months. Honestly, sometimes things just get tucked behind something else and you miss it. I would give them a year, maybe? Or, if you want to keep to your 6 month plan, don't just automatically toss out stuff you haven't worn. If you know they're something that you need to have on hand "in case", then give them their own place in the closet or dresser.
But definitely don't use your mom's system. You'll be buried before you know it.
About twice a year I go thru my closet (which is not much at this point in time!) and give away what I have not worn and cannot remember ever wearing. It has been a long time since I have been clothes shopping so the last 2 cleanings of my closet have left me with not much of anything. Maybe I need to restock....
I do get rid of things fairly frequently, but I also hang onto stuff for far too long. For example, I just recently got rid of some palazzo pants that I haven't worn in a decade or so. Why I was hanging on to them is beyond me. Usually my policy involves 1) something no longer fits, 2) it's now out of style, or 3) I'm sick to death of it and will never wear it again for that reason.
I do think you should maybe give your stuff a year, rather than 6 months. I know that around here, I have a few things that may not get worn at all (I'm thinking sweaters and wool items) because we might have a super-mild winter one year, but the next year, I need them.
This is something I am still working on...I am trying to find the perfect fix. I agree with Ewok girl that around here 6mos isn't long enough especially since our weather is so screwy.
Here is what I have found to work best. My closet is organized by seasons. So in the winter my winter stuff is at the front and vice versa. I usually clean out each season when I switch. Just getting rid of pieces I haven't worn in a couple of years, outgrown or have snags or stains. This usually just gives me a small bag to donate and I rarely give away something I regret.
My goal is to have a closet full of good basic pieces that I will replace as needed. I am trying to keep the trendy pieces to a minimum and so far those are the only things that I have had to donate. Sometimes towards the end of the season, like now. I will buy some pieces for next summer on clearance. If I do that I will get rid of a similar piece from this season ie: I will bring in a new tank top and get rid of one that is a couple of seasons old.
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