Hi,

I haven't done a check-in in a LONG time, although I never stopped tracking my clothing both for number of items and number of times items are worn. To refresh/recap, this project to "wear everything in my wardrobe twice" got started when I first saw Kate's thread here.

At this time, the numbers are still quite high and I have a long way to go until I have the more streamlined, minimalized, mixing friendly wardrobe where I really do wear everything twice. In reality, I'm probably look at another year at least! My biggest culprit is NOT shopping. Which is something far easier for me to say than to do. As evident by my latest attempt and failure with the current SYC going on here.

The good so far:

I've learned that I really do not need a lot of clothes. And I have a lot, I'm actually embarrassed by how much I have. Also I am very heavy with the number of items yet very few colors in my wardrobe which makes remixing a challenge. Even if the items are different, the color schemes are the same or quite similar day to day. Which leaves me bored, and wanting something new!

I have managed to put ALL my clothes into ONE closet. It was a foreign idea to me that someone living in a 4 season climate could keep all their clothes in one closet. Thanks to YLF and hearing about the closets of others they are all in there now. This was a big milestone for me. Slow purging and tracking what I wear helped me get my clothes down in volume enough to fit into one closet. So did some determination to force everything in there so I can see just how much I really do have. Now, when I see a grey blazer I want in the store, I think back to the 3 I already have at home. When my clothes were split up, it really was "out of sight, out of mind" and I was repeat purchasing!

I've started creating a season "wish list" based on what I see I wear a lot of and need to replace at the end of a season as well as what holes I have preventing me from wearing some items. I have a number of pieces that I like but am not wearing because I am missing a "piece" to complete the outfit or haven't figured out how to wear yet.

The bad so far:

The obvious, that I have too many clothes. And too many clothes in the same colors. I have to stop myself mentally from running out and purchasing lots of colored items to shake up my wardrobe. I am writing down specific items AND colors on my wish list for more focused shopping. I don't plan to shop only with a list, I think a small amount of freedom when shopping is fine. But the "random only" shopping of the past has got to go!

My purging habit has stalled, every time the seasons change, I have to start over with what I am wearing and how often. This does show me how little I wear season to season.

I haven't quite gotten the hang of a strict "one in, one out" policy yet. And while I am purging, it's still in smaller doses. To prevent the shock to my system, I keep putting items in a "hidden holding zone" that gets donated at the end of the season.

I'm only wearing most items in a season about once a month, I have not made the jump to twice a month yet.

Onto the numbers.

Blazers 11

Button Down Shirts and Blouses (blouses is a new addition to this category) 12

Sweaters/Thermals I can Layer (all thermals as tops have been purged) 13

Sweaters (that are toppers, cannot layer something over them) 9 (recently purged a few)

Cardigans 15 (I notice at least half are worn in the warmer months only)

Jeans and Trousers (trousers are a new addition to this category) 17

Skirts and Shorts (shorts are a new addition to this category) 9 (two are a recent "SYC broken" purchases but do fill a "skirt for the winter" wardrobe hole)

Dresses 12 (I am noticing many of my dresses are hard to layer, mostly due to sleeve details that create bumps underneath cardigans and make blazers too tight to layer with)

Scarves 18

LS T's (also used for layering, when the sweaters above are too big to layer with) 15 (I anticipate that this will go down by half after the winter season either from wearing out or purging unworn items)

Belts 14

Vests 0 (I'm not a big vest fan for myself, this category was deleted)

Short Sleeve T-Shirts (a new category after the summer) 13

Short Sleeve Tops (a new category after the summer) 25 (and I even purged a bunch, I had more than a months worth!)

So where do I go from here? Well at this point, I'm 10 months into this project and going back into the fall/winter season. I started this project in the winter months (January) and there is no excuse for me to not purge items left unworn at the end of this coming winter season. I'm not at the point to purge items at the end of a one month period, especially since I have a few months where I jump a lot with temperature (example, Sept we had 90F days AND 65F days). But I can certainly purge unworn items at the end of the season.

And for some real accountability, some photos of my overpacked, but all in one closet of clothes are attached. Hubby has a portion of the closet mostly not shown on the left. I have the back and the right side. The only really organized section, is my jeans/trousers.

Thanks for reading!