Wardrobe Full of Clothes and Nothing to Wear!

Bronnie

Is it just me?

I'm so MS in so many other areas of my life and such a ruthless de-clutterer that when I look in those drawers and cupboards full of items I never wear/ don't fit / not quite right / don't suit me / too boring / old / don't flatter etc etc etc , I can't understand why I haven't also got an grip of my wardrobe!


The dilemma of somewhere to go and nothing to wear is such a bore, resulting probably in more unsuitable impulse buys.

Short of inviting Gok for tea, has can anyone advise how they got their clothes situation under control in a MS way? PLEEAASSEE!

Woodyrocks

You have to be RUTHLESS!

As someone that had 7 black bags of clothes picked up by charity vans yesterday, I feel well positioned to offer some words of wisdom

I am ashamed also to say that when it comes to clothing & accessories, that I am not very MSE either, I get bargains but buy so much of these blasted 'bargains' that it cancels out any savings I could have made.

Well, after 18months of not being able to see my bedroom floor, I decided that something had to give (and the fact that I had the double glazing people coming round first thing yesterday morning and didn't want them to think I was a tramp or a crack-wh*re ) so on Friday, I put my ruthless head on when I got in, and with DD's help, I started bagging.

There are things that I had never worn and knew I would never wear that just had to go, vintage items that just weren't really my style, things I had stylistically/physically outgrown, things bought to resell on ebay that I never got round to and all of DD's clothes that were destined for ebay. I just wanted them all OUT of my house.

4hrs later and we had 5 bags done and I was depressed, exhausted and vowing that I needed everything else that was left. Seeing things with tags still on just makes you realise that you are just a waster and need to deal with internal stuff! I could see bits of my floor by now but knew we still had a way to go. Returned to the task on Sunday and could see that I was still hoarding !!!!!! that HAD to go and soon had 2 more black bags packed full to the brim. Floor was by now cleared but bed was not looking healthy!

I now have things folded into the wardrobe and although I clearly don't have ENOUGH space for the things I have decided to keep, everything looks a lot rosier. I still have the banister to deal with but I will be keeping everything on there because tbh it is all I mainly wear anyway (yes, I have just admitted that I only wear 10% of all the clothes I own regularly but would you be believe that this is a FACT for us all)

I shall now be strictly getting rid of 2 items for every 1 that I bring in and if I can stick to that it shouldn't get that bad again but seriously, WHY do I feel I need anymore stuff??!!

Also I think the state of your mind is reflected by the state of your house. I used to think because every other room was fine that it wasn't that bad to have one room in such a state but I think by decluttering, I really have made myself some mind space as well. When we have so much stuff cluttering up our house, we are literally saying that we do not have room for other things/people. As if the 'stuff' is a shield to keep things from changing but change is healthy so get rid of the old to make room for the new.

Gosh, sorry for the mega-long post but I am so with you on this and I hope you also sort yours out. Clothes are just that, clothes = material things. We can let go of the material because it does not define us. We do not need to HOARD to feel safe!

newlywed

Try everything on and if you don't LOVE how you look in those clothes then it's time to say goodbye to them.

Bronnie

newlywed wrote: »

Try everything on and if you don't LOVE how you look in those clothes then it's time to say goodbye to them.

But I reckon I'll only have about 10 things left if I do that!! I think the problem is that I tend to buy things individually, so that I end up with individual garments rather than complete outfits.

sharronloves2spend

:hello:Helloooo bronnie, be back after with some of my tips!!!

Love Sharron

Bronnie

woodyrocks, thanks for your pearls of wisdom.

WOW! 7 bags full?

You're making me feel better already, I don't have a massive load of clothes accumulated, but what I do have isn't working for me, I just look at it and can't see any outfits there. I have started a sort out this afternoon.

never_enough

Not just you at all, in fact my best friend, who is really organised in everything else, has a whole large room full of clothes. Makes my overflowing wardrobe, drawers & dare I say floor too (:o) seem quite restrained. We were talking about it recently & have come to the conclusion that just as food shopping should never be done when you're hungry, clothes shopping should never be done when you're looking for an outfit for 'XYZ'. That's when you panic & buy a yellow suit or harem pants... :rolleyes: Our clothes also seem to go across several sizes to cover thin & fat days/weeks/months.
I've seen a couple of the latest Gok show where they end up with a capsule wardrobe of 24(? I think) pieces. That would be my dream, but I can't see it happening. It may be worth having a style/colour consultation if you're unsure of what really suits you (if only Gok were available!) Working from that would get rid of loads of things for most people.
Like the previous poster I also have things that I wanted to sell on ebay, but have decided to just take to a charity shop. I want them gone, especially before I change my mind. The other option is to have a clothes exchange with several friends one evening, might be fun...although of course that's not going to necessarily free up more space.

Bronnie

sharronloves2spend wrote: »

:hello:Helloooo bronnie, be back after with some of my tips!!!

Love Sharron

OOHH! Sharron, great thank you!

I'm off to work now ( What a relief! Black trousers, black tee shirt, black cardi and black shoes!) , but will be checking in again later this evening.

never_enough

Agree with newly wed too, I have loads of things that I'm not totally happy with. Lets face it, there are enough pressures on us already without wearing something that makes us feel uncomfortable, or not our best.

Oh & one of my friends has trained her kids to see anything for sale in a sale as essentially rubbish that nobody else wants! I wish I could take that on board a bit more often! :rolleyes:

FelinePrincess

Hi,

Thats some very good advice Woodyrocks and Newlywed. I have recently had a major declutter and got rid of lots of things I've never worn. This has really made me think when I go out shopping and I have cut down on my impulse buys alot. I ask myself am I really going to wear it, if I'm not 100% sure I don't buy it (well, usually :rolleyes: ) and if I do end up buying something that I wont wear I just take it back - which is very rewarding when you go shopping and come home with more money then when you went!

Don't worry, if you have a clear out and end up with only a few things left - you will probably have only got rid of things you would never wear anyway and by knowing exactly what you have got at home you will have a better idea when shopping of what you will/wont wear and what you need.

Remember when you are shopping try and only buy things that will go with other things in your wardrobe. Or, if you want something a bit different - make sure you buy a whole outfit to match!!!

Feline Princess

FelinePrincess

never_enough wrote: »

Oh & one of my friends has trained her kids to see anything for sale in a sale as essentially rubbish that nobody else wants! I wish I could take that on board a bit more often! :rolleyes:

I do that too! I wont even look through the sale stuff!