Sunday, June 24, 2012

Use It or Lose It: Update

As you may (or may not) remember, I turned all my hangers around at the beginning of the year. The idea was that I'd have an easy way to mark which clothes were being used and which ones weren't. This has turned out to be very satisfying project. Even though I purge things regularly and had really assumed that I used almost everything in my closet within a reasonable length of time, it turned out that I didn't.

The beginning of this month marked the half-way point of my little project. I've gradually started to address the clothes that had not yet been worn. One by one, I tried them on. Turns out, a lot of the clothes that had not yet gotten picked simply didn't fit--sometimes not at all, and sometimes just not very well. I've gained a lot of weight since having kids, and while I'm working on toning up some things, I really have no aspiration of losing all of that weight again (I was underweight before). So it was time to let go of all those clothes. I also gave away a few things that I just don't like anymore, but the main issue was fit.

In case you're curious, my single largest category of clothes is tops (and I only counted the ones that live on hangers, not the ones that get folded). I eliminated 20% of my tops. Most were given away, but a few of the T-shirts were "demoted" to casual use (what I wear to do yardwork or sleep). The next largest category is the skirts. I gave away 20 of the original 61. That's 33%! I also gave away almost 25% of my dresses.


Through this process, I learned that even though I have a lot of jackets/blazers (we're talking work clothes, not outerwear), I hardly wear any. I've given away 1/6 of them, but I should probably do more. I'm going to wait till we get some cooler weather in the fall and winter before making a final decision. I also realized that I hardly ever wear pants, except for a couple pairs of jeans, so by the end of the year, I'll probably get rid of a lot of those, too.

At this point, I've worn most of the things that are still left in my closet. The only things that remain unworn are special-occasional items and cool-weather clothes. I plan to do another purge at the end of the year.

Besides creating more space in my closet, doing this project has helped me make broader use of my wardrobe. Especially at the beginning, I found myself purposefully reaching only for clothes with backwards hangers because I wanted to "save" them by putting them into rotation. I ended up with some new outfit combinations I probably would not have tried otherwise, and it was really fun!

I've also become more selective about my new purchases (yes, I'm gotten a lot of new things, but only a fraction of what I eliminated), going after things that I really *love*. Is anyone else trying this?

13 comments:

  1. This is so great - thanks for this update! I really admire you for doing this and for sticking to your commitment to let the underused items go. I have a hard time doing that, so my closets are jam packed. I have been successful with my Seamless Pledge (no new items purchased since Jan. 1) but have sewn a lot of clothes. But that is helping me be more aware of which garments I really love, and which I can do without. I signed up for 6 months, but am planning on extending it to 12!

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  2. I don't remember you saying you were going to do this, and I've never heard of it before, but I think it's such a great idea I think I'm going to try it. I'll need a little courage to do it, it may break my heart to see how little I do actually wear from my wardrobe. Congratulations to you for being so practical with your purging.

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  3. I really need to do this. Thank you for bringing it up again. I am horrible about wearing the same things over and over again. I'm not a shopper so it's not that I'm passing things by for new items, just that sometimes I never figure out how to put something into an outfit or that I'm plain old lazy (opting for jeans/t-shirt most days).

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    1. Toby, that was a lot of the fun of this project--having motivation to mix things up a bit and trying out different combinations

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  4. Love the update and it's re-inspired me to try this in my own closet. I give away clothes every few months to a local charity but I tend to go through my drawers rather than what's on my hangers. Next time around, I'm using our method and am looking forward to seeing my results!

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  5. I can vouch for your inspired clothing combos! You always look great! Do you think this has caused you to adapt your knitting plans in any way?

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    1. As you know, I'm working eventually going to eye the hand knits I already have and am rethinking my stash. My knitting plans haven't been changed in terms of types of things, but maybe a decrease in the number of things.

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  6. This is awesome! I do it in my own way in that I have a winter and summer wardrobe that gets switched over once a year. Anything that I haven't worn (unless it's a special occasion thing) gets donated. No exceptions. It has really helped me understand what I do and don't wear!

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    1. That is really efficient, Lina! I love it! Where I live, the winters are relatively mild and short, and it's often chilly indoors in the summer because of the air condition. I don't have such distinct seasonal wardrobe, and a lot of things could theoretically be worn all year round, which is why some of them were able to "hide" so well in the closet.

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  7. I did this, too, and find that it's so much easier to get dressed now. No more thinking that I have nothing to wear, because everything in my closet is now wearable--amazing, huh? :)

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  8. I love the variety in your closet! Was it hard letting all of those clothes go? I feel relieved when I give things away. Like you, I have to love something before I buy it these days, for a multitude of reasons. - Jerri

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    1. Jerri, there were only a few pieces that I was sad about letting go, but I was probably more sad about the idea of not fitting them than about the items themselves. If you were to ask me to tell you right now specifically what's gone, I can only name a handful of things...so I guess I don't miss them that badly!

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