Clothes Old Style

floss2

I spent over 3 hours sorting & tidying my wardrobe last night :eek: ......the worrying thing was that this is the large, double sized, 1950's wardrobe in our bedroom, which houses my work clothes, jeans & shoes.....then there are my coats in the back bedroom L/H side, and woolies in the R/H side, and my weekend/going-out/posh stuff on a rail in the attic bedroom along with my boots & going-out shoes. Then my undies are in the matching dressing table in our room, with gloves/hats/scarves/pashminas, gym/sports stuff, long/short sleeved T-shirts & tights/socks in a 5-drawer pine chest in the back bedroom

I think I need to streamline my wardrobe - apart from anything else, the Ebay value of the clothes which I don't wear would probably cover my housekeeping for a month - but I don't really know how to start.

I know the principles of it & "how to sort" but when faced with the practicality of all my stuff, I start thinking that I might need it, or that it's an old friend (despite the fact that I hardly ever wear whatever it is). The fact that my shape has probably changed since it was bought, meaning it doesn't suit anymore, doesn't even get near being part of the argument for getting rid!

The most annoying thing is that the rest of the house is relatively clutter -free, and I have purged a lot of "stuff" over the last couple of years by moving into DF's home & sending 2 DS's off to Uni with all of their stuff.

But I can't seem to get my head around the clothes.....and I really need to, as I can spend far too long deciding what to wear when we go out, trying & discarding things that don't suit (but that end up back on the rail )

What does everyone else do to rationalise & thin out their clothes? And does anyone want to come up to the Lancashire coast to help me?!

Miss_Kitty_Fantastico

cant give any advice floss as i am in exactly the same situation

i have my oh and dd's clothes in one wardrobe/drawers and i have my stuff in triple wardrobe and 2 x drawers (hangs head in shame)

im scared to sell stuff/give away as i spend all my spare cash on stuff for dd and im worried i'll not have enough left to wear :rotfl:

i'll be watching the advice you get closely - hopefully it will get me motivated as well:T

phizzimum

it's hard to sort clothes as we get emotional about them - some have special memories, or if they were expensive we feel guilty about getting rid of them, even if they remain unworn.

my best tip is to box or bag up the stuff you want to get rid of but worry that you might desperately "need". Put it somewhere (loft? spare room?) and if you haven't needed anything in 6 months then you can reassure yourself that you;ll never need them.

If you're planning to ebay some items, maybe take the photos now and store on your pc. that way you don't have to waste anytime before listing them once the 6 months is up. you can always wash and iron them in the week waiting for them to sell.

exlibris

1. try on all the things you haven't worn for ages to see if they still fit!

2. find all the ones which are past their best and see if you REALLY want to keep them or they can be used for cleaning cloths. (I am still wearing the Tshirts I had at work 6yrs ago for 'scruff'

3. Match up separates to see if you have anything which you can't wear with anything else and discard.

4. look at what is left and work out the occasions you will wear them.

I know how to start but can I follow my own advice?

HTH

newlywed

Try on everything.

Look in the mirror (full length)

Ask yourself do you love how this outfit makes you look?

If yes - keep
If no - chuck/ebay/charity shop

If not sure, put in a pile for re-decision later (after you have gone through the lot).

Start with one set of items - eg start with all dresses, then all skirts, then tops - makes it easier when changing


I ditched loads of my clothes that way - some made me feel frumpy, fat, etc.

mary43

floss - your wardrobe sounds like mine was earlier this year. I started clearing it out and I'd a pile of jumpers in the bottom of it that I hadn't even seen all winter let alone worn...........talk about not seeing the wood for the trees..................lol
So I dragged them all out............tried them all on and those that just didn't feel or look right or I was really fed up with I bin bagged. Same with skirts/track suit bottoms etc. Thinned through my coats in the spare room wardrobe.............it's still home to some of them but at least I don't live in fear of the rail breaking under the weight.............lol I just kept the ones I wear on a regular basis and one for 'best' ,
I filled seven bin bags with stuff.
Then I started on summer stuff that was kept in baskets on top of the wardrobe.............at least half of that has been bin bagged and gone to the charity shop and I can now actually see what clothes I've got. I'm a great charity shopper but now I've made a promise to myself that if I buy something I have to chuck at least one thing out..............ooops..........reminds me, I bought a cardigan yesterday so I need to get rid of something..............lol

Good luck...........its a daunting task:j

beemuzed

Floss - how did you know about all my clothes???? Your post could easily have been written by me! It's just one more thing that I should get round to this summer holiday. I suspect there are at least two suitcases up in the loft with clothes I wasn't sure about last time I sorted too!
I have an oufit I bought for DS's wedding five years ago which I loved - bu since his divorce I really don't think I'd feel good about wearing it, so I ought to sell that one.... Good Luck - and I'll try to join you in ditching a few clothes along the way!

zarazara

Hi, I can certainly sympathise . one way is to go through the items and take out EVERYTHING which is too big or too small, no matter how expensive or loved. you simply are not going to wear these items,ever. So upload all of those things onto eBay first. any which dont sell bag up and offer to charity shop or freecycle.
Next, when all this stuff has gone, divide things up into sections eg work clothes,weekend clothes, nightwear etc etc
keep the best out of each catagory only.
clean iron and hang all the best stuff then enjoy wearing it.

Teria

Aside from work clothes, my partner owns 3 pairs of combats, 3 pairs of jeans, 4 shirts, 5 t shirts, 5 jumpers, and one suit and tie. I don't know how he does it. I have clothes stuffed in 4 lots of drawers, one large built in wardrobe, and the cupboard under the stairs (which I have conveniently "lost" the key to ).
All this is AFTER a huge sort out last month, during which I took 4 black sacks to the charity shop!

floss2

beemuzed wrote: »

...... two suitcases up in the loft ......

Just remembered about my winter woolies & tweedy suits stored in the attic bedroom!!

Thanks for all the suggestions.....

Phizzimum - Although we have both an attic AND a spare room, they are both usually occupied. DF's work is home-based so the attic is his office, with some storage around the eaves, and the spare room is our clothes-drying / DF's dressing room (because he travels, there is always a part-packed case on the spare bed :rolleyes:) Hence the need to sort & get rid, rather than sort & store.

Exlibris - I think one of my problems is that I can always think of an occasion, but they don't always happen! For example, I have a lovely peachy pink linen suit, along with a black & cream dress & coordinating linen coat that are both ideal for a summer wedding - but we haven't been to any weddings for ages & have no invites to any! However, the dress/coat combo is coming out for an evening do in early September.

Maybe I could draw up some sort of matrix thing - clothes down one side & occasions on the other, and see what I come out with. Come to think of it, I can do that for tops & bottoms too....a multi-function top is harder working & more worthy of a place than one that does 1-outfit only! Ooh, think I may have cracked the theory.....will keep you posted on the actual practicalities!

(btw, the pull-everything-out sessions will only happen when DF is away, for obvious reasons......"how much?", "you've never even worn that", "Ugh that's ugly", "why don't you wear that anymore?" etc etc)