CPW math, cheating and questions

harmonica

Inspired by YLF and wearing my whole closet, I started tracking CPW. A fun and enlightening process where I sometimes dress to reduce CPW.

The one thing I very quickly discovered is that I am wearing a lot of items that is already "paid off" because I have worn it so many times already or that it was items I got for free (hand-me-downs or heirlooms). When wearing these items, I sort of get points for wearing stuff that already is down to zero.

Without knowing what I was going to do with it, I've been counting the items anyway and now I've got the number up to almost 170.

My question is related to this number of miscellaneous items worn. What do I do with it? I thought I could subtract on an item when the CPW is very low and then remove that item from the list. I hope this bad explanation makes sense.
Would you consider this kind of "shopping math" as cheating? Or does it make sense?

13 years ago

Shopping

13 replies

Latest reply was from harmonica

merwoman

Veteran

Love your math Harmonica! I think we need some formulas...or better an app for this!
I am not so diligent, as my key concern is minimizing the orphan purchases or things that I imagine I would like to wear...but end up sitting in my closet.

13 years ago

harmonica

Veteran

A CPW app is what I need!!! Having all my clothes in rotation is one of my goals, so CPW is one way to deal with it. Happy that you like my math, because I don't want to be cheating

13 years ago

(website)

Veteran

I have a sort of upper limit I am aiming to break through in my Cost Per Wear list. Big purchases like my Frye boots and MoHop sandals, jackets and premium denim, I want to get under $20 CPW for a start. Most everything else is easily under $5, with some dresses and shoes still falling in between the $20 limit and a more reasonable $5.

13 years ago

harmonica

Veteran

I have made a similar upper limit, but I have made 3 levels. First is about $7 per wear and I am happy with any item breaking this one, even my expensive stuff. That is because I expect them to last longer and be worn more often. Second is $3 per wear and that is S U P E R. The third one is $1,5 per wear, and last 0 per wear before I go into earning-per-wear-points.

My thought was that I could cut the third level by "filling" up with earning-by-wear-points? I mean, the cost is really down to very little, so in my mind I thought I could be happy and remove the item from the list.

13 years ago

rae

(website)

Veteran

It seems reasonable to stop tracking items that you know get tons of wear already. It is unlikely that you will forget which ones your favorites are, and then when you look at your list you will be focusing on the stuff that "needs" to get worn to bring down CPW. Is that what you meant about removing them from the list?

13 years ago

(website)

Veteran

I don't worry about CPW anymore at around $5 (and with shirts more like $1). I figure I definitely got my money's worth out if it by then. It's the items that are supposed deals that don't get worn that have been the trouble for me. Like Rae, I think it's reasonable to stop tracking that which you know gets tons of wear, unless it's just fun math for you

13 years ago

Anonymous

Once I've gotten enough wear out of something, the math goes out the window, lol! All I care about is getting my money's worth.

13 years ago

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

I don't track CPW on a spreadsheet but I have introduced the concept to my shopping and dressing brain.

I do have things that have high CPW and I still get rid of them even instead of trying to wear those orphans. I try to look at it as a lesson. Usually these are things that are not really my style but I wanted to experiment. The experiment fails. Or, I buy the wrong size. Or, wear something once and then realize, I have almost the exact same thing already. I think being too focused on CPW in the past made me hang on to mistakes too long. Now I am trying to be less attached and just purge the item.

13 years ago

harmonica

Veteran

Rae, Mo and Ruth: You are spot on! I actually think I got caught up in doing the numbers, so I forgot about the reason why I started.

Thanks for good comments and moving me out of a too strict CPW-web!

13 years ago

harmonica

Veteran

CocoLion: I agree totally! The items on my list is mostley new or relatively new. I've been purging my closet for several years 3-4 years now and do not have many orphans. Still, I need to edit and edit because I think I have a bit too much. So I keep a maybe-box and try to let go dead weight. I don't actually have a spreadsheet either, but thats just because I don't know how to make it. I have a list and make a little line whenever I've worn something. Very far from advanced.

13 years ago

Kate

Veteran

I keep a spreadsheet and track everything, so I have the CPW for everything too. This is a rather type-A version of what you're doing, and certainly not for everyone! But if you (or anyone else) are interested in seeing how to set up the spreadsheet, send me a message with your email and I'll send you what I've got.

Honestly, it seems like you're only cheating if you're somehow lowering the CPW on items without actually wearing them. Continuing to calculate the CPW on items that have a low CPW isn't cheating, it's just showing you how efficiently your money can be spent on some items. It also may be a waste of your time if it doesn't fit into your big picture reasons for tracking CPW.

On the other hand, I find it helpful to know how unevenly I wear my clothing. My average of the CPW for each item is $2.16, but if I add up the total amount of money I've spent on clothes, and divide it by the number of times I've worn all of them (since I started tracking), the CPW is $1.65. I play favorites with my clothes and make investments that don't pay off, so tracking all of their CPWs helps me to recognize that.

13 years ago

Meredith1953

Veteran

Rae makes a good point about being more vigilant about cpw with items that are not in heavy rotation. I KNOW which ones I have gotten down to pennies!

13 years ago

harmonica

Veteran

Thanks Kate and Meredith for your thoughts!

I agree with you Kate, both on your reflections on cheating and efficient money tracking. It seems like you have a great system going on and I'm very curious to see how it works, so I'll send you a message

The items I thought I could lower the CPW and then remove from the list, is *only* items that already have a very low CPW, i.e $3 or $1,5. That means, clothes that are well worn and that I know I will wear a lot anyway.

Items with higher CPW still have to be tracked, both in order to use them more (no superfluous items in the closet, please) and to get the cost down (economy speaks).

I too know what I wear more often, but I like to get it down on the paper and it also forces me to wear all my clothes and I get more variation in my daily dressing.

Thanks for your thoughts and comments! I will now remove a few items from my CPW list that alerady is down to less than a dollar.

13 years ago

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