This is not an easy task for me as I need work suitable clothing and casual. Plus, with true four seasons where we can have below freezing temperatures for weeks as wells scorching days in the 90's, there is a need for entirely separate clothing types. My targets?
- Enough work clothing to make it through eight work days without repeating my ensemble, even if I would choose to earlier. This does not mean eight separate full outfits, but enough combinations between tops bottoms, and dresses to create variations.
- To accomplish target one with both fall/winter and spring/summer in mind. Because I work in an office that is usually over air conditioned in the summer, I can get by with most of the same bottoms pants and skirts, year round, either wearing with tights under neither or bare legged.
- Whittle my casual clothing, for which much of my work clothes can do double duty depending on the weekend or evening activity, to four pairs of pants, four pairs of shorts, and two pairs of capris that fit really well. Same with tops-perhaps not more than four for winter and four for summer.
- Have just enough work out/lounge pants and same for work out shorts and tee-shirts, to get me three days from doing a load of laundry. I do not need a stack of t-shirts 10+ high
- Streamline my work/casual dress tanks and t-shirts to just those with decent stretch and shape. Purge those that look rumpled, too short, or sloppy at the neckline.
- Organize my shoes so that I can find what I need/want when I want them. Purge any that are uncomfortable and bought purely for style. Get rid of worn out pairs that I have been holding on for no reason other than laziness.
- Organize my under garments into those that are decent and toss those that have seen better days. This applies to tights and socks as well. Determine what is needed for a future restock at low prices.
Dang-my list is long and it might be a work in progress today and over the next several nights. I read above and it sure sounds like I'll still have a bursting closet, which is what makes this such a necessary task. I don't know if adult clothing sells very well, but I have a couple dresses that I believe could be put to use by someone else and it would be nice to see a bit of a return on what I spent on them. I might post on the Facebook site and see if any takers. Who else is in a paring down mood with their clothing? Has anyone had any luck reselling items or do you just donate?
Good look with the closet weeding! I am not sure the restraints of an actual capsule wardrobe work for me either, but I think I want to try my version of one for my summer wardrobe. We need 2 separate wardrobes here because our winters (though not cold like yours) are still cool for our summer looks. Summer here is a good 5 months of highs in the upper 80's - 90's so it requires a lot of cotton flowy things. Due ti weight loss I gave every single summer item I owned away, (Less some knit athletic shorts that are easy to take up, but I only wear those around the house) so I will be starting with nothing. I have a 300 dollar budget for this summer. (I also hope I will be able to get rid of my fall/winter duds. Right now everything I wear is a little too big, but hope springs eternal that by March it will be entirely too big.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping to have the same problem as Anne soon - everything will be entirely too big - but don't hold your breath. At the end of my working life I had probably 5 pairs of trousers that I wore all the time and plenty of tops but to say I'm sick of all of them would be an understatement. Now, of course, I can live in sweat pants and jeans but I really want to lose some weight as I like nice clothes. Just haven't bought too many of them since I piled on weight at menopause. Onwards and upwards (or downwards rather) as they say!
ReplyDeleteI can wear jeans to work, so I'm lucky in that my clothes can do double duty for weekend/casual wear. I have a variety of jeans (several lengths) for different shoes. My work "outfit" is a cardigan or sweater over tops of varied thickness (dressy sleeveless top in the summer, tshirt, long sleeved shirt). I try to mix & max necklaces, to change up the look. I pretty much wear only black & navy &/or what matches it. I own almost zero patterns or colors. It's not great, & is pretty boring. But, any time I've tried to deviate from this, it's gone to waste & sat in my closet.
ReplyDeleteI also have a few summer dresses & a few dressy dresses.
Workout clothes - this is where I have the most. I do, however, have everything rolled & fully visible inside my drawers, so everything is well organized & easy to find.
I'm reasonably satisfied with my closet right now, but I'm sure there are a few things I can get rid of.
I do well with shoes. I have a couple of dressy pairs I keep in my closet. We have a bench in our garage (we don't wear shoes in the house) & the bench has shoe baskets. I have: flip flops, running shoes, a pair of sneakers for weekends, & two pair of flats. I wear all of them often.
I bought a much of new tops and pants this past Fall after losing 30+11 lbs. in the last 18 months. Most everything bought was long sleeved stuff to replace what I got rid of in my Winter clothing.
ReplyDeleteI'll wait until Spring to go through the Summer stuff and see what no longer fits and come up with a replacement plan for all that. Maybe I'll actually do some sewing and make myself new Summer stuff and not buy it since I have enough fabric here to outfit everyone I know with new duds. What a concept! lolz
It' closet day here too....I'm just taking a break for lunch at the moment! My husband and I started to watch the Marie Kondo series on Netflix so my dear husband is now determined to implement it around our house. LOL
ReplyDeleteJust wait til you retire and then you'll need a whole new wardrobe! The biggest section in my closet is leisure wear and I love being comfortable all of the time. When I retired I rid myself of 2/3 of my clothes, mostly work wear. I've learned that you need one outfit for funerals. I have a few "going out type outfits" but I rarely, if ever, need to wear one. So it does get very simple eventually and I LOVE it!
ReplyDeleteI donated all of my clothes because of my weight loss, and was left with nothing. Most of my 'new' wardrobe is made up of second hand items, with a few new ones. I now wear everything I own, because I like everything, and feel good in it.
ReplyDeleteGosh, all you ladies getting rid of clothes because you lost weight - can you please wave your magic wands over me!
ReplyDeleteWhen I left the work force, I kept my work clothes for a good many years. Some I gave away to friends still working. Others I donated in bits...first the skirts, then the blazers, and silk shells. Finally, the shoes. Not sure why I kept them as long as I did. I had moments of wanting to return to work, but reality set in. Several years ago, when I stopped teaching dance, I gave all my dance wear but my tap shoes (oxford and character) and teaching flats away. I also kept my last pair of pointe shoes, but eventually tossed them. (You can't give those away) I don't know why I kept my tap shoes...Anyway, I just donate clothes I don't want. We have several donation bins in convenient places around my area. When my kids fill a bag with discarded clothing, I insist that it immediately gets driven to the bins so another kid doesn't drag stuff back in the house. They are good about offering things they think a sibling will like before they toss it. As we the bulk of our wardrobes come from thrift shops, where we all the clothes we can stuff in a bag for $5, I have no desire to do the work to resell.
ReplyDeleteMy clothing now consists of denim skirts over leggings with boots in winter, with bare legs and sandals in summer. I like 3/4 length t-shirts and cardigans. I have two pairs of jeans I wear, and 3 black skirts. I wear skorts for running, and nightgowns to sleep in. Besides, undergarments, shoes and outerwear, I have about 30 articles of clothing I wear regularly. Once I purged my stuff, I told myself that for every new item I acquired, one would have to leave. I have one or two decent things to wear to a formal function, but if we were to go, say, on a cruise, I'd have to do some shopping! I LOVE having only things I wear in my closet. JUST DO IT!!! I have never regretted getting rid of anything.