DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 36 (9 months) - YouLookFab Forum

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DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 36 (9 months)

Lisa

Veteran

Hi,

I haven't done a check in on The DH Closet Challenge on the forum since month 5, however, I've been plugging along with the challenge and continue to update on my blog. IK's recent discussion reminded me that I should probably do a quick check in here. Hopefully it motivates others to take charge of their closets and wardrobes. And I always enjoy hearing about one's thought processes too.

To read more about the challenge, including the rules, click here or here.

Reflections for week 36

I've just finished week 36 and I am amazed that I still have a boutique. I would have thought by now I would have purged anything unworn, but I still own items I truly enjoy and want to wear, I just cannot get to them because I have too many pretties and not enough days or occasions to wear them all. At this point I don't think the boutique will be closed at the end of 1 year doing the challenge, but I do think I can close the boutique at some point during year 2.

One in/one out is much easier to do now that I have a manageable size wardrobe. And shopping is far easier, I can remember what I have and prevent duplicate purchases before they happen. I also pause more often before I purchase, because I can think of what I own and I don't always think of something I really want to get rid of to purchase something new.

I'm refreshing my wardrobe with a few items halfway through a season. Apparently I like to add some 'new' back into my wardrobe halfway through a season. This is important for me to remember for budgeting my clothes, now I know to save some of the money for later!

My spring/summer wardrobe is almost as large as my fall/winter wardrobe. I currently have 53 items for spring/summer and finished the fall with 54 items. I do think the fall number is slightly off, since I started the challenge in Nov which is halfway through our fall season. But I'm fairly close.

And here is a list of my spring/summer wardrobe.

8 bottoms
1 hoodies
10 toppers (this includes: pullover sweaters, blazers and cardigans)
4 knits
5 gear items
3 shirts/blouses
10 SS T’s/Tops
3 tanks
3 scarves
2 workout gear (top and bottom; no change; not shown in the closet photo)
4 dresses

And some photos.
#1 is the boutique when it was switched to a bag storage system.

#2 is the boutique after it's latest purge (I won't be blogging about this purge for a few posts so this photo is really a sneak peek!)

#3 is my current spring/summer wardrobe.

Thanks for reading!

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18 replies

Latest reply was from Lisa

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Fabulous, Lisa! And I look forward to reading more about the big purge -- how you did it, how it felt, what you got rid of, what you kept on hold.

Your closet looks beautifully organized and pristine.

I am really curious about the autumn buys and what you will get rid of to make room for them.

Your spring summer numbers are a lot like mine. I counted up and realized that I had as many things for this season as for fall/ winter, or pretty close. (Especially after my big shopping spree in June!) I think I still have more things in rotation because I don't count gear or scarves in my total. There are only a few items I haven't yet worn. Most unworn items are unworn largely due to an unusually cool spring and summer. I have pulled items from the fall closet to deal with the weather. But there are one or two items that are unworn just because i seem to have worn out their welcome last year! I am tired of them.

Lisa

Veteran

Suz-Unfortunately I am slow to purge, so there is a mid purge post here (3 bags on the shelf). The photo above is from my latest purge, which I didn't post on the blog yet. I also ended up writing a whole fall planning series of posts, that will run across 5 total posts with the finale being my NAS purchases. And we are also having a cool summer. I haven't worn my shorts since my holiday in May!

Alexandra

(website)

Veteran

Awesome, Lisa! I especially liked the part about preventing duplicate purchases because you're aware of what you already have. The sneak preview is quite the change in comparison to #1. I'm looking forward to reading that post.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

This is fab, Lisa. I'm off to read your blog post

Vildy

Veteran

I missed the whole thing/thinking with the bag storage. I like how you say that you consider what you would be willing to give up before you purchase something new. While I could probably sit down and write out virtually every item I own, including most accessories, I find that when looking at a new garment in a store, I go completely blank. I do know that I don't already have the same thing but as far as what it might go with, I remember literally nothing of my at-home wardrobe. And am not willing yet to read a list of items I could draw up and take with.

So, does your bag storage mean that you remember what's in there even though you never see it?

Lyn D.

Veteran

If your boutique items are bagged, is it hard to know what is there to 'shop', or do you figure that if you can't remember it it should be purged anyway?

Elizabeth P

Veteran

I was also curious about your boutique storage. I had assumed it was in a closet, so you could "shop" it if and when necessary.

Oh, and thanks for the update - I haven't been following your blog (but will now!), so it was great to see this. Especially good timing as I'm going through a bit of a purge-a-thon myself.

Joyce B

Veteran

You did a great job and now your closet looks organized and friendly.
I started my clothing lists so that I can get better organized, too.

Karie

(website)

Veteran

What a great experiment. I didn't realize until now that you put everything in bags. I know this is a repeat question, but do you find it's "Out of sight, out of mind?" I probably would, or I would be too lazy to go through the bags to get what I wanted.

Susie

Veteran

Wow that looks like you had a major purge or two! Your working closet looks fab.

jackiec

Veteran

Wow just looking at the bags and then the lack of bags is a HUGE purging difference...look forward to hearing about it. Well documented indeed.

Alana in Canada

(website)

Veteran

Lisa switched to bags when the closet and shelves she was using to hold the boutique collapsed. I think I got that right?

I have gone backand read all of the posts by using the "months" category in the side bar of Lisa's blog. It was very interesting.

Lisa --you have learned so much about yourself and your relationship with your clothes! Wonderful stuff.

I m looking forward to those planning posts--I am in the midst of my own planning.

shedev

Veteran

Lisa, I've missed your challenge posts. You really are shrinking the boutique.

Anonymous

I think the bagged items in the boutique are the out of season clothes? I'm sure Lisa will weigh in and set us all straight.

Lisa, you are amazing. You've done so much thoughtful, analytic work! I for one cannot WAIT until you write the post on The Big Purge. It looks like you culled about 66-75% of your bagged clothes in one fell swoop.

I like what you had to say about your new shopping process. It seems to really make you think about what you have at home when you have to figure out what you'd be ready to let go in order to have a place for something new. It's a new way of thinking to have to consider if you will have enough days in the year to wear something, instead of just "do I have enough storage space". Good job right sizing your wardrobe for your life.

Joy

Veteran

You set the closet organization bar high with your excellent editing and careful shopping. I need to go read your blog.

Kate

Veteran

Lisa, this challenge is brilliant (kudos to your DH!) and I love your blog! I just read it from start to finish and added it to my RSS feed so I can follow along closely. I'm so impressed by your insights thoughout the experiment, they've given me a lot to think about.

Do you have a sense of how many of your 53 and 54 items were used in both the fall/winter and spring/summer wardrobes?

Alassë

Veteran

I was excited to see another of your Closet Challenge posts pop up! I follow up on your blog, too.

Lisa

Veteran

Alexandra ad Caro in Oz-Thanks! t's nice to know someone is reading besides me.

Vildy-Thanks! I always used to get a deer in headlights look when I shop in stores. All the new items would overwhelm me. Having a preplanned list helps me to stay focused and less stressed when shopping. The bag storage is to keep items out of sight out of mind, but they are labeled by category so that when I want say a winter pullover I'm not rummaging through every bag o find one. I also keep an excel spreadsheet on my entire wardrobe, both boutique and working closet items since I track CPW anyway.

Lyn D and Elizabeth P-Thanks! Originally I had the boutique in a spare closet and it worked well, I didn't see everything everyday but I could easily 'shop' when I needed something. When the shelf fell I had to relocate the boutique. Since out of sight out of mind works well for me, I used opaque bags and covered the tops with tissue paper. But I labeled them so that I am not burrowing in every bag. For example, all summer ts were in one bag, all winter jumpers in another. So I only have to grab one bag when I need something specific.

Joyce B-Thanks! I also keep a list of everything I own, including boutique items. This helps me keep track of my clothes since everything is still not hanging in one closet.

Karie-Thanks! Yes, it is out of sight out of mind for the boutique. Originally I had the boutique in a spare closet and it worked well, I didn't see everything everyday but I could easily 'shop' when I needed something. When the shelf fell I had to relocate the boutique. Since out of sight out of mind works well for me, I used opaque bags and covered the tops with tissue paper. But I labeled them so that I am not burrowing in every bag. For example, all summer ts were in one bag, all winter jumpers in another. So I only have to grab one bag when I need something specific.

Susie and Jackiec-Thanks! The purges have happened over 9 months, so it's a big change, but it's been small steps of progress along the way.

Alana in Canada-Thanks! You are right, I switched to bags for the boutique when the shelf in a closet collapsed and everything fell. I specifically put items in opaque bags so that I would not see what's in them since I now see the boutique everyday.

Shedev-Thanks! I'm happy to finally see some real progress with shrinking the boutique.

Clearlyclaire-Thanks! You are correct, right now the boutique is only fall/winter items, but that's because I had already purged the remainder spring/summer items in an earlier purge. Originally the boutique had ALL four seasons extra items in it. The purges have happened over 9 months, so it's a big change, but it's been small steps of progress along the way.

Joy-Thanks! I've struggled for so long to purge and organize my closet, it's nice to finally make real progress.

Kate-Thanks for reading! It's nice to know others are reading besides me. I think I can go back and calculate how often I wore something in a given season since I use a separate spreadsheet to track each months # of times worn for items. I'll have to calculate it and do a blog post sometime.

Alasse-Thanks for following along! It's nice to know someone is reading besides me.