Purging: Wardrobe
It’s very easy to collect lots of cool, useful things, and end up never using them. I decided the first thing to do in preparation is to make sure everything I own has a use and meaning in my daily life, and all the clutter was out. That means cleaning out a whole lot of stuff, and curating the things that I own in order to make sure I have exactly what I need.
The first thing I decided to clean out and simplify was my wardrobe. This is a good thing to start with, because it’s like a detox when you’re about to embark on a diet-it’s the thing that gives the most immediate results and gets you excited to do more. While cleaning my closet out, I had two thoughts I kept focusing on: utility, and multi-functionality. I came up with three rules for deciding what to keep and what to get rid of:
-A piece must match at least 2 of it’s opposites (tops to pants, shoes to jackets, etc.) in order to give me lots of potential mixing and matching, and cut out those pieces that you kinda like, but never wear.
-A piece has to be able to be worn in 2 different settings. By keeping this rule, I was able to get rid of a lot of old, ratty things, and also a bunch of dressy things that I’ve worn once and kept “just in case”. If “just in case” hasn’t come in a full year, it probably won’t come any time soon.
-If you don’t like it, or don’t wear it, don’t keep it. Follow your gut and be honest with yourself. That’s the easiest way to figure out if you should keep something.
I was able to clean out almost half of my wardrobe. I made $300 selling some things, and took 6 trash bags to the Salvation Army. I had to keep some things, like t-shirts, because if I got rid of them I would actually have nothing to wear. I’ll replace them, and donate them after I have replacements. I was able to see what I had left, and the cool part is I was able to see the holes in my wardrobe that I need to fill. By creating a sort of bare bones, blank slate situation, I’m now able to start building a complete, balanced, simple wardrobe. Ultimately, I think this will make life a lot easier, and I’ll spend a lot less time worrying about what to wear.
Also remember: never, every throw anything away. No matter where you live, there are people close to you that can’t afford warm clothing. Make time to donate everything you can’t sell/wear. If something’s got holes in it, or is truly worn out, then rip it up and keep a pile of rags. You can use them for everything from working on bikes and cars to cleaning up spills, and even though they’ll eventually end up in the trash, they’ll at least get used a bit more.
Total Purging Savings to Date (TPStD): $300
