Edited closet and I still have more than I can wear - YouLookFab Forum

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Edited closet and I still have more than I can wear

Aziraphale

Veteran

OK, I've been popping in to YLF for a good many years now -- seven, maybe? -- and I've had ample time to curate my wardrobe. It's in a happy place. There is nothing in there that I don't like, and nothing that never gets worn (well, except a few cocktail dresses, but I can't help that -- I have nowhere to wear them!). No orphans. Under the guidance of Angie and many of you fabbers, I have become more open-minded about style and less pigheaded about trying new things, so now I've got a closet that is still jeans-heavy but that includes enough current things to make me feel like I'm part of this decade, while still being true to myself.

HOWEVER, I still have too many clothes. I can't wear 'em all. For example, I counted up the days of summer, and I counted my lighter tops, and I could probably get away with not repeating anything until September. So I'm taking a new tactic: I'm going to start wearing my clothes with the intent of wearing them out. Except for a few very special things, I'm not going to baby my clothes anymore. I'm going to put cotton items in the dryer more often. I will not freak out if I get a stain on my pants. I won't worry about washing tops after every single wear. And above all I will refuse to be sad when a favourite tee shirt wears out -- because it will mean that I can go buy a new one, guilt free.

What do you think? Does anyone else use this approach?

General

46 replies

Latest reply was from Beth Ann

carter

Veteran

Yes! I decided the same thing a couple months ago. I used to never put anything in the dryer. Now everything except my very favorites is fair game.

Jane

Veteran

Good plan! Very positive! I like the different approach.

I would just be slightly careful with the washing machine though! Do use a gentle cycle, and I am not convinced by using the dryer. Mine is pretty rough on clothes, and it makes them a pain to iron.

I always used to save my clothes, but adopted something more like what you are doing. Much better. And my wardrobe is fresher and more current.

Anonymous

Trying to - and getting there. I also have too many clothes- far more summer clothes than I do winter stuff , which is the opposite of what I should be doing. You are further ahead than I am in terms of only having things in there that you like and wear and I'm still guilty of too much repetition but, yes, I am trying to just wear stuff, regardless of what is cost or how valuable I think it is. I really would like to pare down what I own though and am not sure what is stopping me.

I'm feeing a major mid-season purge coming on.......

Kate

Veteran

No, but I'm going to start doing it. I like your strategy.

skylurker

Veteran

Editing the punk way : by destroying your clothes
So you mean you don't fancy some clothes (to keep and take care of) more than others (to purge) ?
Well, I guess the punk way works if you don't "go and buy a new one guilt free" to replace every ruined thing. Otherwise I don't see how your closet would shrink in the process.

Aziraphale

Veteran

carter: Yes! That's exactly what I'm doing. Only the very special favourites (especially if I couldn't replace them) get babied.

Jane: the delicate setting on our dryer is pretty good. It only goes for 20 minutes at low temperature. I'm not putting undies and bras in the dryer, of course. I also find that taking clothes straight from the dryer means I won't have to iron them, whereas if I hang-dry them, I usually do.

LisaP and Kate: thumbs up

skylurker: no, I like everything, and I'm not actively trying to destroy them -- I'm just not going to be too precious about it all. If the label says it can go in the dryer, it will. If it can't, I'll still hang it. There are a few things that I especially like that would be hard to replace, so I'll still be a bit careful with those things. But hanging everything is so time-consuming, and I put all the kids' cotton clothes in the dryer and they still last a couple of years.

Joyce B

Veteran

Sounds like a good plan. The only thing is, if the intention is to wear out the clothes, by not washing after every single wear you will prolong the life of the garments.

Anonymous

I hang dry a lot to save length of tops and bottoms. Otherwise, I'd be editing my closet lickity split. But I do agree with wearing my favorites. I don't want to save them to keep them around because my tastes change often enough that they may not always have that status. And it's a shame not to wear what you like the best.

It's a good position to be in to like what you have.

RoseandJoan

Veteran

I like the idea of being less precious and enjoying your clothes, if it makes your laundry easier that is the cherry on the cake.

I guess when the first items stretch or shrink slightly you will know if this approach is tenable.

Colette

Veteran

Good for you! I'm just starting to adopt this approach. While I've had ample time to curate my wardrobe, it's just not in a happy place. Not even close. So I've taken drastic measures and I'm in the throws of a huge purge. (Thanks in part to lisap's GYST program from a few weeks ago.) I hope that once I finally clear the decks I can hone in on my true style and get my closet to that happy place.

But Laundry is a different story, I'm a bit of a fanatic about fabric care and don't see that changing.

viva

Veteran

Somehow my closet numbers have crept up this summer even though it feels like i have been in an endless cycle of try-and-return. Apparently not! I definitely have a clean-out coming up soon. I'm already not too precious with my laundering so I think I need a more dedicated approach to actually wearing things. Or, pare down so much that I just have many fewer options.

Good luck with your plan. I love it when a plan involves LESS work and fretting. It so rarely happens that way!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Good luck with this plan!

I was playing in my closet this afternoon. I also have a lot of clothes (at least it seems so to me) but I definitely repeat tops -- and need to. I seem to collect a handful each of various kinds of top, e.g.

the long sleeve button front cotton shirt (for cooler temps)
the sleeved silk button front shirt or blouse (ditto, but dressier)
the cotton or linen tee (casual, hot weather)
the sleeveless flow-y blouse or tank (dressier than the tee but equally for hot weather)
the cotton pullover (for really cool summer temps).

So depending on the occasions I have, and depending on the weather, there's a chance I might not wear every single item in the closet in a season. But if that happens, I would most definitely be repeating others.

Still....I've never actually counted summer wears. I did keep track of winter wears one year and it was interesting. TONS of repeats of certain items, everything except the super fancy stuff got worn at least once, but I absolutely had favourites. Yet I knew the favourites could have been different in a different year.

So, yeah... where was I and what has this got to to with you? Sorry about that!

I think if this is going to help your laundry days, it's a winning plan.

shedev

Veteran

I wash every wear. I wash in gentle cycle and use the manufacturer's directions for drying. Some of my more delicate things go into mesh bags. Most of my items get to less than the $2 CPW and many get to less than $1. Every once in a while I get a dud.
I was doing 1 in 1 out, but I've gone to just having minimum and maximum numbers of things. Minimum is where I lose the feeling of not having enough, and 20 is my maximum. My buying has slowed to where I'm almost at equalibrium with in and out. I do my major purge at the end of the year and some smaller edits seasonally.
I've found most of my hewis. Overall, I'm happy with my wardrobe.

rachylou

Veteran

I've decided to do this with sneakers...

Anonymous

I think it's a great idea to let things wear out.
For me, this would actually be a real challenge as many of my clothes get donated before they expire.

Staysfit

Veteran

I hang dry most everything. Somehow when I tumble dry, I get holes, not shrinkage, so that would be a sure fire way to reduce numbers in a wardrobe quickly!

Carla

Veteran

I think it was Opra who once said 'use the good china' - well I've been using the good China for 25 years, and I wear my favourite (the good) clothes as well. I think it was in 2013 that I got a white jean jacket, and 2014 the HEWI white Jean that were the gateway drug to my white addiction. I am wearing the above items, as well as white kick crops and white cut off jean shorts so much that they are becoming my signiture.

Just this weekend I did a bleach and hot water wash after I got coffee on my crops, yellow highlighter on the jacket, and garden dirt on the shorts. They all came through the wash fine, and I'm wearing the shorts again today!

FWIW, DS#2 was helping me with the laundry last week, and 2 new linen tunics went through the dryer. I thought linen was notorious for shrinkage, but they came through just fine!

What RandJ said about being less precious and enjoying your clothes just makes sense.

Jazzy Dance

The thought of wearing my clothes with the intention of wearing them out is so different and honestly sounds refreshing. I have an entire closet full of fabulous, stylish clothes that I hardly ever wear, not because they fit poorly or look bad, but because I'm afraid of wearing them out. So I just wear workout clothes all the time, ALL the time. This, I realize, is ridiculous. So I think you should go for it- and I'll try to do so right along with you.

Laura

Aziraphale, great words of wisdom! Many of us here are like you. We have some favourite dresses, favourite tops, skirts, pants, boots, etc that we avoid wearing often because we don't want to get them dirty or worn out. Yet we have so many clothes, we can't even wear them all and those nice items that we wear scarcely, end up getting wasted.

I'm glad you posted this as, thanks to you, I am not going to try to not hold back on wearing certain favourite items

Sal

Veteran

I find this an interesting post - I support your idea of wearing your favourite clothes and not being too precious about them. Life is too short to wear things that make you feel average when you have awesome stuff hanging around.

I do use a dryer during winter....life would be stressful without one. But my preference is to line dry - and I know this is a cultural difference and easy for me with a machine at home and a line outside - for economic, environmental and preference reasons.

I suspect even just by thinking about it favourites will come out to play more - and you may find pieces that you are ready to hand on, because our preferences evolve. I have a small but growing pile now despite being very cautious letting new clothes in - there are items I just never wear, and there is always another item ahead of them in the queue!!

Summer

Veteran

Excellent thinking, Aziraphale. My approach is slightly different as I have two separate wardrobes for in and out of the house (messy lifestyle!), but I make sure that anything bought for the latter goes anywhere, from grocery shopping to casual dining.

Like you, I have a small capsule for dressier occasions, but, otherwise, I make sure that everything I buy is as versatile as possible.

Good luck with the new plan.

Deborah

Veteran

I do relate! I have worked so hard to create a carefully curated closet of items I love and wear, and I have succeeded. In my head that closet would be a minimal closet but I recently had to accept that it is not. It is so much minimal than it was when I first arrived at YLF but I still have a lot of clothes. What I have one is stop buying the same thing over and over, what I mean is that while I have quite a few pairs of black pants, they are very different styles and I refrain from buying the same style over and over.. that has definitely helped keep my numbers down I also decided like you that I wont baby my clothes and will wear what I want when I want so as to ensure that I do get (enjoyable) wear out of all my clothing

dakotacheryl

Veteran

Great philosophy. I do like my clothes to look smooth and pressed. Even my knit tops. But I only iron once a month. I only go to the dry cleaners once a month too. This really helps me to wear ALL of my clothes.

The only item I have been guilty of "saving for dressy outings" is my Burberry wool tweed coat...I am GOING to wear it more frequently this fall/winter. With my luck it will get moth holes from hanging neglected in my closet.

Anonymous

I need to practice this more than I do. I shop sales for nice silk or linen tops that are as inexpensive as cotton with the intention of wearing them for daily life, then end up saving them, but I can't bring myself to put them in the dryer to dry. My hanging lines are only two steps away and ready with wide plastic hangers and clothespins, so hanging is a breeze and most things are dry in less than 24 hours.

Murph11

Veteran

Good plan, Az! I've been thinking about this lately regarding my "perfect white shirt" I spent months and months looking for. Crisp yet soft, equally tailored and relaxed, machine washable and wrinkle-resistant... Perfect! So perfect that I've only worn it twice in 6 months! SILLY! After reading this, I'm going to wear it today and love it for all the reasons I purchased it in the first place.

Angie's beautiful post Friday includes wearing her new lace birthday dress for work and not just special occasions is a great example for us all to wear what makes us happy!

Lisa

Veteran

A good plan, clothes are meant to be worn, and that's it. It's truly the only reason why they are in the closet. And you are not alone, I am always trying to cull my wardrobe thinking that I have too much. It's the most common thing I talk about on my blog.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

GO TEAM WEAR. Life is too short to not wear your wonderful clothes.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

I feel like I still have too many as well - but I think what happens is when the real heat of summer kicks in, I go to that "I don't really care that much" mode and I just keep wearing the same, most comfy light weight things I have unless I am truly going "out" - and that doesn't happen all that much in the heat of July/August and early Sept. So all the other things languish in the closet.

Elizabeth P

Veteran

I do believe in wearing your nice things, and I'm getting much better at that... most of the time.

I can so relate to the "too many clothes" thing. I "did the numbers" last year and determined I could go the whole summer without doing laundry I think. Well, not really, but my work tops would only get worn once or twice. And the problem is, most are all newish and I do like them. And they do still suite me. Purging would purely be for the sake of it, and that seems wasteful too. Sigh. It has helped me drastically reduce purchasing more, in fact this year I think I've only bought three new work summer tops. I do fully intend to get rid of the "meh" ones though... if and when summer finally comes and I have a chance to think about it.

Lisa, I'm the same, more summer things than winter, what's with that? Do we think we can make summer come sooner and last longer if we shop for it in April?? I"m especially bad with sandals, I think I have 3-4x as many sandals as boots. Yeah, that makes sense.

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