In my previous post , I was in a quandary about how to spend my completely free weekend. It ended up being the perfect mix of productivity and fun: By day I cleaned out my closet; by night I drank margaritas with friends. This photo shows the finished product (sorry, I can’t get the photo to rotate — so tilt your head as if you’ve had a few margaritas).
I got rid of six kitchen garbage bags of clothes and shoes. I was ruthless with myself. If I hadn’t worn it in the last two years — no matter how much money I paid for it or how cute it was — out it went for someone else to enjoy.
And I’ve made a pact that what’s left I will wear, even for everyday running around. No more “saving” things for going somewhere “nice.” I did the math: I don’t go to that many nice places, so if I only dress nice when I go someplace nice, then 90% of the time I’m dressing pretty crappy. The world deserves a better view of me, and frankly so do I.
I can’t tell you how much more enjoyable deciding what to wear has become. Not only because of my new Don’t Save It rule, but because the clothes are no longer jammed in an indecipherable clump. I can actually see everything I own. And everything I don’t…
Yes, the first thing I did after getting rid of the clothes I never wear was to start buying new clothes I would. At least that’s how I’m rationalizing it. Certainly I found I needed to round out my wardrobe with a few items (white pants & tees that are actually still white, for example). But there is something more to it, I know. My closet went from being a glass full of nothing I wanted to partake of, to being a glass half-full of something I enjoy. My closet is now a margarita. Sure, I’ll have another.
Julie, your closet has become the subject of my envy! I must, must do the same–starting with throwing away anything I haven’t worn in the past year. I tend to re-wear the new items and allow the older ones, no matter how classic, to gather dust. You have me motivated! I’m going to buy a giant box of Hefty bags today!
Hey Julie, that’s a great rule–wear everything. I’ve done that with my children because they get so much beautiful clothing that just sits, is worn once than passed along to be worn once by someone else. As a result, my daughter looks like she’s attending a tea and my son a golf club event most of the time (this is changing now that they have their own clothing opinions) but what’s the point of “saving” it all?
Judy, clear it out – it feels wonderful!! Kathie, forcing the “wear it don’t save it” rule on your kids will help them have healthy clothing habits as adults – or they’ll be in therapy
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Now that I’m on a clothes-buying binge, I must implement a new rule: when something new comes into the closet, something old must leave. That’s going to be tough, but necessary so I’m not in the same mess in two years.