Each new season gives us women a new chance to organize our clothes and plan outfits. Notice I didn’t mention buying new clothes, altho that may be a part of this project, too. The main thing for me is to go through the clothes I have and be honest.
I love that shirt, I’ve worn it regularly, but it’s seen better days. It’s fine to work at home in, but I shouldn’t wear it in public. Move it to the work clothes section of my closet. Plan to buy a similar replacement shirt.
I feel ugly in those jeans. They’re too short, they’re not at all flattering. I only wear them at home, but shouldn’t it matter how I feel even at home? Put them in the donation pile.
I like the color of that sweater, but it’s uncomfortable to wear. I wear it occasionally out of duty because I hate to admit that I made a mistake when I bought it. Get over it. Put it in the donation pile.
I like clothes. I hate to shop. I struggle to make decisions. When we decided to move across the country last winter, I had to pare down all our belongings and I certainly couldn’t take everything in my closet. And that turned out to be a very good thing. How did I accumulate all those useless clothes? One reason is that I’m a thrift store shopper and I justified purchases because they were only a few dollars. But clothes that aren’t worn are useless whether they’re $5.or $50. Bags of clothes went back to the thrift store. (Embarrassed but feeling lighter.)
When we arrived on the West Coast, some hard truths hit me. The RV trailer we’re living in while building our house doesn’t have big closets, and everything but what was in our suitcases was stored and difficult to access. We wore what we had brought in our suitcases for months. A forced capsule wardrobe!
I’d always heard that we wear only about 20% of the clothes we own. I know that 80/20 rule applies to so much of life. Now I had a chance to prove it. Sure enough, I didn’t miss much even at less than 20%. So when the warm weather season rolled around, I put away my few cold weather clothes and bought 4 tops on sale and two new jeans. It all cost me less than $100. I also bought a new scarf and a necklace. Such a small wardrobe may be a little extreme, but it was so easy to care for and I don’t have social engagements right now that require a bigger wardrobe. I’ve worn those few clothes all season except when I was wearing grubby work clothes at home. Do I dare ask my husband if he’s sick of seeing me in them?! I do wish I had just spent the money and purchased good quality sandals instead of wearing my worn out ones.
So my conclusion is that there are seasons in life when the bare minimum is a good thing. But it’s important that the few things are reasonably good quality, fit well, and are easy to wash and wear. I’m ready to go through my cold season clothes and replace a few with better fitting, new ones. I’ll have to replace some worn out skinny pants and admit a couple of tops aren’t flattering. The reality is that when you wear a few items constantly, they wear out in a couple of seasons. This can be a good thing because I get to update colors and styles.
Which of your clothes aren’t serving you well? What do you need to get rid of? By the way, I’m not suggesting everyone wear four tops and two jeans! This is just my season of life right now. I am suggesting that all of us should weed out our clothes at the turn of each season. Re-evaluating what we have and what we need is a necessary exercise. Being choosy and intentional is always a good thing.