The time has come for me to do a closet purge. For too long, I've held on to items that were either very worn out, or I simply didn't LOVE, because of a fear of having "not enough clothing." However, I've been able to purchase quite a few things over the past couple years, and I now feel that I have more than what I need, and then some. I can already visualize at least 2 items that will go, one of which being a bridesmaid's dress I never wore myself, but someone gave to me because she knew I have a knack for sewing and thought I might be able to make something of it...

I've read several of Angie's posts as well as many of yours, so I feel somewhat prepared. The ones I found most helpful were the Six Piles of Closet Editing and Revisiting Your Personal Wardobe Essentials. I know that the biggest barrier for me to overcome will be the emotional one - the "oh no, but what if I don't have any clothes left??" which is ridiculous, and is why I'm attempting to plan this out in advance, with clear concise parameters. Plus, it soothes my inner psycho to have very defined boundaries. No joke.

Starting with bottoms, here's what I have and what I plan to get rid of:
Jeans: I have 2 dark skinnies - one is darker and in very good condition so I use those almost exclusively for work, and one is a bit worn so those are for weekends. I have 3 good bootcuts - 1 pair is a recent purchase in light wash which I will keep for the upcoming 70s flare trend, and then I have 2 pairs of Joe's. I've been meaning to let the hem out of one to make them longer. I hate to part with them because they fit perfectly when I'm at my higher weight (for example, where I'm at right now), and are (to me) very expensive. They also were gifted to me from my in-laws so there's a bit of emotional attachment there. Lastly, I have about 5-6 that could fit into the category of "play" jeans for gardening, hiking etc.so those will be the first to be edited out. I really only need one! I also have one gray pair of straight leg jeans I would like to replace. Undecided if I should pitch the pair I have yet... I've repaired the inner thigh area by sewing a patch into the inside to stop the fraying from where my thighs rub together.

Leggings: While I do have quite a few, they are mostly lower quality and so I don't plan to get rid of any unless they have a wear issue, which none do yet. They don't take up much space either, and I wear at least one each weekend plus often during the week after work as loungewear.

Colored skinny pants: I have one each of black and red denim, coral khaki material, olive cords, brown with a metallic bronze cast really not sure what material, grey trouser material, and cream stretch. Not getting rid of any of those. I will however, put on my list for "replace with quality" the olive pair, as those have some wear issues. Additionally, I would like a second, better quality pair of black skinnies, the ones I have are going to get worn to death pretty quickly.

Work trousers: I don't even know how many I have. At least 4 black, dark green, gray, and tan pinstripe. These could be edited down, the black pairs if nothing else.

Pencil skirts: I have at least 5 maybe 6 black ones, and I know at least 2 of them don't fit and/or are ripping in certain areas, so those can be edited. I also have a few colored pencil skirts, I think I need to get rid of at least 2 for wear reasons.

Dresses: almost all my dresses have been purchased in the last year, and each is still in very good condition and/or unique, so I won't be getting rid of any of those. As part of my new style and wardrobe planning strategy I wear a dress every Monday, and I just went through all of them after having been at my new job for almost 3 months. Oh, well, there is that bridesmaids dress. I haven't done any actual sewing projects other than to mend a hem in almost a year, and we are running out of basement storage. I think it's time to let go of that one, I've had it for at least 2-3 years now.

And then the tops.... hoo boy! I have so many it's difficult to even know where to start!

Button downs: I have at least 20. Most are long sleeved, but a couple short sleeved... all different colors except for multiples of black which I need to evaluate. I haven't worn each of them yet, so I want to give each one at least two wears before deciding. Most of them were thrifted at 3/$1, so I'll not be wasting much money if I get rid of a few! Fit and quality should be my deciding factors here. There might be one I would get rid of for style reasons, it is a dark burgundy with a wrap front and I think it's too big, but I haven't worn it yet.

Tank tops/camisoles: Again, far too many, and several I haven't worn in years, some with holes or seams coming apart etc. Out they go, at least half of them if not more. If I need better ones once summer rolls around, I can get a couple for $5-6 at Target. Done. I mostly wear t-shirts in the summer anyway.

Sweaters/cardigans: I don't have any duplicates here, but I do have a couple that are not worth keeping - a very ratty grey one, and a dingy tan/greige monstrosity. I should evaluate for wear, I know all of them fit.

Loungewear: excluding the aforementioned leggings, this is an area I could definitely edit down. I have 4 pairs of loose, pajama style pants. Two are actually from my father in law, and are far too big. I have 2 complete sets of pajama tops/bottoms now, (one is fuzzy and cozy, the other is a Star Trek set) so I think I can finally let go of those. The only thing that REALLY irritates me, is the newer ones don't have pockets at all!!! But, I only wear them at home, and really - if anyone needs me and I don't happen to have my phone, it would most likely just be my husband and he can yell through the house Haha! I also have far too many tshirts in this category. They were put there because of wear issues, but considering I have about 50 band tshirts (at least) I can certainly get rid of the ones that are stained or have holes in them!

Shoes: this is going to absolutely be the hardest. Having worked at 3 different shoe stores in my 20s, I used to have an impressive collection of shoes. Most of them wore out eventually and were thrown away. I now have a decent collection, with the essentials covered. For my sanity, and to help me really see what I have vs what I don't need, I'm going to list them.
KEEP:
Black high shaft combat boots
Brown riding boots
Black suede stiletto booties
Black zip up block heel ankle boots
Black flats with gold stud detail
Cognac oxford detail flats
Leopard flats
Black peep-toe lace up oxfords platform heels
Brown round toe pumps with bow detail (I just polished them up, they look so much better now)
Two-tone mule heel sandal - I attached a picture of something very similar because I'm really not sure how to describe them
Silver strappy sandals, in very good condition. Perfect for special occasions, and basically the only super "fancy" shoe I have
Purple satin flip flops
Lilac converse style tennies
Lilac slip on canvas deck shoes
Black with white polka dot slip canvas flats
Tan moccasins
Black tennies still in decent condition - for weekends or workouts
Purple Saucony tennies - almost exclusively for workout, and therefore in near mint condition haha
ONE pair of "play" shoes for the garden
REPLACE:
Black pointy toe slingback heels (need to replace these with a standard black pump)
Tan lattice pointy toe heels (getting slightly worn, would like to replace with tan or nude pumps)
White strappy wedge sandals, very stained and worn (would like to replace with an espadrille type heel)
Metallic studded heels, very worn at the back of the heel (I think I just need something of interest here to replace it with, wouldn't necessarily have to be the exact same shoe)
DONATE:
Silver thong kitten heel, also very good condition but haven't been worn a single time. mostly because I hate the feeling of a thong with a heel.
Hideous brown and orange wrestling shoes - they are really really comfy, but really really ugly... and also really really worn out.
White fringe western boots - in all honesty, these are just too gaudy for me. And they don't fit either, they are about a size too small. My attachment is simply they were a gift from my mother in law, who I adore!

I think that about covers it all. PHEW!! If you read all of that, I applaud your patience and perseverance, and covet your feedback! Did I miss any key wardrobe items to evaluate? How do I best start on this journey of purging? I don't have a lot of free time, so it may have to be done in chunks over a few months. I still have a few Christmas decorations I haven't put away yet, if that tells you anything