I know we've talked about organising wardrobes before, but...

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I know we've talked about organising wardrobes before, but...

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Started 1 year ago by ozegal
Latest reply from SunshineR
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ozegal
Member

This week I started a new job, and today I got fitted for my uniforms (yes, plural!). Next week I will have 4 pants, 10 shirts, anorak, 2 vests, 2 jackets, raincoat, and 2 pairs of boots to fit into my wardrobe that I share with my husband.

I do know why we have so many uniforms. 1. in rural Australia we have a lot of temperature fluctuation, so might need summer and winter uniforms on the same day. 2. it is shift work (sometimes 13 hr days with travel) and with 2 babies, sometimes doing laundry is not an option even in the space of a week to meet the fatigue management policy in our workplace. 3. We are required to wear a clean uniform everyday and this is an outdoor job.

We do 'recycle' half dirty clothes on an airing rack at the foot of the bed to reduce laundry, but I am constantly running out of decent items anyway. I want to make some more space in the wardrobe to fit uniforms in. I know there is a lot I can throw out but I am scared if I do, I might run out of clothes.. There are 'sweaters' etc in there I wouldn't be caught dead in, but don't throw out cos they're okay for around the house - even if i don't wear them.. I recently lost 20kgs and even keep the ovesized stuff.

How do I let this feeling go and just throw them out?

Posted 1 year ago #
trillie
Member

Yay for the new job! :o) And yay for the lost 20 kgs, wow! :o) Also, yay for uniforms -- this way, you don't have to wonder about what to wear for work ;o)

I really think that there shouldn't be anything in your closet that you don't like to wear or that doesn't fit, so don't be afraid and do a major clothes purge. After that, you can reassess what is there, try everything on again, and figure out what pieces might be missing. It really is so much better to have just one week's worth of clothes that acutally FIT and that you LIKE than a closet full of blah/shrug/meh.

If you're not entirely ready to really throw anything out yet and there are feelings connected to the clothes, how about doing the clothes purge but taking a big box and putting all decluttered clothes in there? Label it with a date and store it somewhere, and if after a year (or less) you didn't miss anything, you can easily throw it out :o)

There are quite a few topics on this forum that might be interesting for you, if you didn't see them yet:
* Impossible task! is about holding on to clothes for a different weight, and at the bottom there are a few links to "how to"s for clothes purges
* Minimalist wardrobe/personal uniform is mainly about how to figure out a personal uniform, your style, and about basic pieces
* Clothing Clutter - How much is enough for you? contains opinions about work uniforms vs. own clothes
* Clearing the closet after/during weight loss contains a few links to clothing swap sites

Also, if you search for "clothes" on Unclutterer.com, you're going to find some excellent articles by Erin on the subject, for example
* Let go of the past from your wardrobe about how past feelings are connected to clothes (do read the comments!)
* Basic wardrobes can end clutter in the female closet contains a basic wardrobe guideline
* Ask Unclutterer: Managing a wardrobe of many sizes is on how to manage clothes when your weight is fluctuating

Posted 1 year ago #
JuliaJayne
Member

Those sweaters that you wouldn't be caught dead in and don't even wear around the house should go. Keep the most comfortable over-sized big shirt for now, and get rid of the rest. Think of it as a celebration after all your hard work. I know it's hard to get rid of clothes, it the second most difficult thing for me to get rid of, but it is very liberating once you do get rid of the stuff you no longer wear.

The clothes we get rid of helps others who need them. Even if something doesn't sell, cottons are recycled, wool is chopped up and used as stuffing in blankets for people in impoverished countries.

Posted 1 year ago #
SunshineR
Member

Thanks for the links...I hadn't seen those before...and yes, the money is already spent whether I am using the items, or whether I help someone else (instead of hoarding unused items).

Posted 1 year ago #
djk
Member

I just read through some of these great links, Trillie, thank you!

And Ozegal, congratulations on your weight loss! and aren't uniforms fabulous? I loved wearing uniforms in the past. I lost a lot of weight a couple of years ago and got rid of most of my clothes except for ones I had tailored to fit. I bought a few pieces along the way to fill out my work wardrobe as needed. Then I quit smoking and all that weight piled back on. Now I have begun the downward journey again, hopefully permanently. So I have some lovely new clothes I don't want to get rid of, but they are between 10-20 lbs away still. I boxed up everything that doesn't fit yet. I only kept the ones that I really love and don't want to have to replace as I lose weight now. I don't want to forget I have them, so I organized them by size. I am now able to wear some I couldn't one month ago, and if they were all mixed up by size and season I wouldn't have a clue what I have.

Shoes are hard for me. I love shoes but so few are actually comfortable and stylish at the same time.

Posted 1 year ago #
trillie
Member

You're welcome for the links (I can't resist!) ;o)

@djk, on comfortable, stylish (and expensive, but great cost-per-wear) shoes: Try Trippen. Comfortable, enough room for orthopedic insoles, classic cuts or fun details, oustanding quality. I own four pairs, look after them regularly, and the oldest pair ("Elfe", 6 years old) is just now starting to show the first signs that maybe, it will only survive one more year.

Posted 1 year ago #
djk
Member

very cool shoes...very cool...

Posted 1 year ago #
Anita
Member

@ozegal -- congrats on the new job and the weight loss!

I second everyone who said "only keep what you love" -- I'd rather run out of clothes entirely (and go buy more, tee hee) than run out of the clothes I like wearing and have to leave the house in something less than flattering just because it's there. Not sure about you, but the way my clothes fit has a pretty big impact on my self-image for the day, and wearing something that's uncomfortable or unflattering does not make me a happy camper.

(Now: can someone please come to my house and repeat this to me when I'm doing my own wardrobe purge?)

I'm personally not a big fan of uniforms, but they can be useful in trimming down your wardrobe. Think of it this way: if the time you get to wear YOUR clothes is limited, wouldn't you want those to be your nicest ones?

Posted 1 year ago #
camellia tree
Member

@trillie, great post and thanks for those links. @ozegal, I have a "half-way house" for clothes that *probably* aren't right for me anymore but that I can't get rid of, yet. Jeans that are worn out but otherwise good for weekends (I wear jeans a lot during the week to work, but they have to be relatively new. And I really only need one pair for the weekends. But it's hard to part with well-loved jeans.) If it's clear plastic you can see what's inside, and sometimes it's just easier to part with something after you've lived without it for a little while. And putting things in a box clears your closet/drawers (mine are small) for the things you use. Sometimes I fish stuff back out, what can I say. But 90% of it goes after a few months in the half-way house.

Posted 1 year ago #
trillie
Member

Another new and brilliant idea is here: ways and means of purging a closet

Posted 1 year ago #
candy
Member

The blog Simpler Living just wrote about "going on a fashion diet":

http://blog.timesunion.com/simplerliving/going-on-a-fashion-diet-would-you/24256/

It's about a challenge of living with only 6 items of basic clothing. I think that if I had a job that required me to wear an uniform I would easily get by with a system like that for my "private" clothes.

Posted 1 year ago #
ozegal
Member

So it only took me to tell you I had a problem with throwing out my clothes to give me the push to do it. This mornng I have discarded clothes that don't fit and that I don't like.

This has resulted in me having very few clothes left! my motorbike gear, 2 jeans (one doesn't fit perfectly since extra weightloss since March when i bought them, but still decent enough to wear until I buy more), 1 sweatpants, 3 sweaters, 3 coats/jackets, but more than enough shirts, 4 dresses... With my first pay day coming in 2 weeks, I feel like I will be able to cope until then.

I just decided, since i don't have a uniform yet, and none of those items were decent enough to wear to work this week when i didn't have any uniform, they are just giving me a false impression of what I really have and shouldn't be there...

Clutter clothes have been sorted into:
*Broken/Damaged/Worn out (for the rag bin or bin bin)
*Decent but not for me (for the donation bin)
*Clothes to cut up for sewing projects (only 2 items that I can make shorts or pants for the kids cos they're still really good, and have sentimental value, so seeing my babies in the fabric for a little while will be cute until they grow out of them, and that will give me time to get over it - there were a couple more, but i didn't want to overload myself - after all I'll be working now and will have less time for much loved sewing projects)

So thanks everyone for your advice and great links!

And your congratulations (on job and weight loss) are gratefully accepted :)

Posted 1 year ago #
irishbell
Member

ozegal, I just did this with my 14 yr olds closet, with her help.
She looked in her closet after we took all she didn't like/wear out and filled it back up with what she would deem worthy to wear, she says"oh my gosh, where are all my clothes????" she still had enough clothes to wear for several weeks without having to wash! It does give us a false sense of what we have.
now she can put her clothes away without huge piles spilling onto the floor! Afterwards she said thanks for helping, Mom. Yay!

Posted 1 year ago #
djk
Member

OK, now I can't find the thread/link, but who was it who wrote about writing up a grid for coordinating outfilts? Kudos to her/him!

I just tried it for my upcoming holiday packing and it is simple and brilliant!

It also makes perfectly clear what is missing (for example, only one pair of the shoes I was planning to pack goes with enough to warrant bringing them. And it is so clear what I need still (I don't have very many clothes, operate on a sort of uniform system, which has to cover all weather, from upper 30°s and humid, to -10° and windy. So I wear mostly black, white, and tan, then use a million or so coloured t-shirts and scarves and accessories for interest and colour for work. So red, or brown shoes (apparently my favourite colours for shoes, judging by what I own), match pretty much NOTHING. Insight, who knew it can hit so late in the day. (bangs forehead against wall repeatedly)

However, the iPhone app "stylish girl" is also very useful, but I hadn't ever used it to assess my wardrobe, rather, to make sure I don't wear the same outfit on the same day of the week too often. High school students and colleagues NOTICE and COMMENT. Thank God for summer.

Posted 1 year ago #
bandicoot
Member

i would love more info about the grid system!
i am always looking for anything that will help streamline my packing.

Posted 1 year ago #
Periwinkle
Member

I've not heard of the grid system, but I'm imagining a large grid with items of clothing written down the sides (like a multiplication table). Then you would blank off the ones that are the same (so if you have a purple cardigan, you blank off where it meets itself, like 6x7 and 7x6) then shade in the items that go together and indicate the ones that don't. So if you have a white shirt that goes with your brown trousers, you could tick/colour it green/draw a smiley face in that square. And if it doesn't go with your green shoes, you cross/colour it red/draw a sad face. At the end, you can look across the rows and see that your green shoes only go with one other thing you're going to take so you can decide not to take them, whereas your grey trousers match everything so they're much better.

Posted 1 year ago #
djk
Member

Pretty much, Periwinkle!
whoever it was who suggested it here used tops on one axis and bottoms on the other.

I used one symbol for one pair of shoes, another symbol for pair 2, etc. Then could see what could go with what.

Posted 1 year ago #
trillie
Member

Yay, ozegal! Doesn't it feel great to declutter and to have clothes that fit and that you like? :o)

That grid system sounds like I should do that sometime soon, it's probably one of those things that lets you find out THE TRUTH (da da duuum) about your clothes ;o)

Posted 1 year ago #
djk
Member

it is killing me that I cannot find the link. The original poster had a very good way to explain it. But she did it on Excel, I think. I did it at a sidewalk cafe table with a scrap piece of paper and a leaky pen and quite a good glass of wine.

Posted 1 year ago #
SunshineR
Member

@djk: a good glass of a favorite beverage is a good motivator....

This afternoon I had a job interview. Thankfully, the dress code is business casual. So I am getting even more motivated to pare down and donate away. I already have 2 prs of black slacks and 2 prs of flats which I like. Buying some summer tops in bright colors will be my treat...Jeans are OK on Fridays, but the pair I have is really ugly, imo. I was hoping to hold off on buying a new pair until I lose a size. I like tote bags. No to scarves and bangle bracelets.
I should know soon if I will get a second interview. It will be so great to be working outside the home once again.....yay!

Posted 1 year ago #

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