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Purge help - true numbers

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I have been waffling for weeks (months?) on some purges. These are those 'okay' items. I've worn them over the last year, but something about them (fit? style?) seem off. But they are perfectly good and serviceable.
As we sometimes discuss, some of us get replacements, then purge. Others hold on to the okay items until the replacement is found. I lean more toward holding on until the better item comes along. I'm starting to feel like that's holding me back. I don't want to look at, or maybe even wear, the items that don't quite fit right, or don't express my style as I intend.
So, what to do about it? I went back into pics of 2013 and counted. Yes, I counted every time I wore a dress or a skirt (the items in question). I knew it was much less often than pants/shorts, but not really how much. Well . . .

In the 8 months of Tahoe I wore a dress 4 times and a skirt 5
In the week of vacation in New Orleans it was 4 each
In the 4 months of FL (Sept - Dec) it was 8 of each

Not surprisingly, I wore them at 4 times the frequency in FL (and that was the cooler months). But, still the frequency of wear doesn't support the number I own in each category. I can easily let go of the 2 skirts in question. I will still have 10 - 12 or so (depending on how/if I count lounge). Maybe 6 of them get regular wear. At most, I might wear a skirt out 24 times in FL. I won't even be here all year, but just for argument's sake. That gives those 6 favorites 4 wears each. The outliers haven't even gotten the random guest appearance yet. Yeah, I think I can let go of the 'maybes'!!
Geeky as it sometimes is, crunching the numbers can shake you out of your mistaken comfort zone and free up some darn closet space!

General

27 replies

Latest reply was from Karie

Meredith

Veteran

Really interesting to hear your thought process. I am holding onto my just ok shorts. I really don't have backups for these items which is why they are still in my closet, but I hear what you're saying about holding on holding you back.

shedev

Veteran

Since I'm reducing my overall wardrobe size slowly, I do a little of both kinds of purges. If I was going to reduce the number of items in the category, I'd be more likely to purge before buying. For the things that I want to reduce the overall number, I don't replace the things I wear out unless they create a hole I cant get around. When I do replace something, I've been purging some of the placeholders.

kerry

Veteran

Mo, you are a woman after my own heart. I love your number-crunching posts and have read every one of them since I started following YLF. I agree, crunching the numbers often brings clarity and helps decision-making. You are the reason I finally took a wardrobe inventory. It helps so much to work with tangibles.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Aw, Kerry, how nice to hear my nerdy side has company and appreciation I sometimes have to get out of my head and into my closet, but as much as fashion can be emotional, the wardrobe management side of it really is helped by analytics.

Anonymous

What you did with numbers helps purging make sense. I also feel I am held back by hanging onto so-so things too long. Getting rid of things may mean that I have to find replacements and I want to practice PPP , so take time. Figuring out how many times one will probably wear a dress divided by the number of dresses is very telling.

Lisa

Veteran

Well you know I always enjoy a good number crunch Mo! And this is how I realized a few years ago that I was not a dress or skirt gal. I ended up purging all skirts from my wardrobe a few years ago and I haven't looked back. And I only recently added a few dresses and now that I am not on vacation I struggle to wear them in my day-to-day life. And it is a good reminder for me because I see lots and lots of dresses this season in the stores. And every time I grab one to try on, I remember that I have 4 at home that I am struggling to wear often. And back it goes. I never expect to wear everything I own all of the time, but when I did my big dress and skirt purge I recall having at least a DOZEN dresses! Why on earth would I own so many if I do not wear dresses often?! Tracking WIWs, CPWs, and general number crunching really helps me, who is very slow to purge, to actually purge.

Gigi

Veteran

It's times like this that I wish my personal style were more set instead of still changing...when things keep shifting, you have no idea what to keep and what not to keep!

I just took quite a few things to consignment this week. I did something similar to your calculations, but just in my head, in deciding what to let go of. I thought about how many items I can reasonably expect to wear this summer, and if I keep item X instead of selling it, is that going to be taking a wear away from one of my favorites? This helped me get rid of stuff if I was on the fence.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Yes, Lisa, it's eye opening. I do wear them, just not much. But just how little was the part that caught me off guard. I realized last year I had way more dresses than occasions to wear them, and started dwindling that category. But the skirts took me longer to come around to.
Actually counting is the only way to get a real handle on it. We easily trick ourselves into thinking what we need or wear. I think skirts and dresses will always be a part of my wardrobe, but they can be a smaller part, in proportion to the frequency of wear. Fewer, better items, as is the mantra

Lisa

Veteran

I agree, what is the phrase "one's own enemy" or something like that. I am great at convincing myself I 'need' something that I really do not. It's been a lot of 'purchase and return' to knock some common sense into my head.

rabbit

Veteran

Interesting! This is how I discovered that I was wearing skirts far far more than pants and shorts this year. It's great to take a buying break and really see what it feels like to own something. How many times you can actually wear something if your closet is fairly large is much less than I would have guessed. I'll 'feel' like I wore something a few times and it will turn out to be three, not six, for example.

Alana in Canada

(website)

Veteran

So, Mo, I hope you don't mind my asking, but you took a picture of what you wore every single day for a year and then looked at the photos to find out how often you wore the skirts and dresses--is that where you got your numbers?
Also, anyone, what is PPP and CPW? TIA.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Yes, I took pics of what I wore, but it wasn't every day. I wear a uniform at my job(s) in Tahoe, and I wear workout gear and lounge a lot here. So I 'dressed' maybe only 150 days last year?
CPW is cost per wear. PPP is patient, practical and picky.

Edit: My entire year of pics 2013.

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Anonymous

Alana, this post of Angie's may help;
http://youlookfab.com/2013/01/.....ing-tools/

rachylou

Veteran

You are so right. I'm gonna go purge things that are dead weight. Cool but dead weight.

Adelfa

Veteran

When I moved six months ago, I purged a lot of things. Hmm, maybe that's partly why people are saying my style has improved!

What has surprised me is that I still need to purge and it's still hard. Things stop working, or I make purchasing mistakes that I realize too late--but it's hard to let go sometimes.

Or another thing I do is overbuy for a category. For instance, this Spring I've bought far too many tops that I can't wear to work, either because of sheerness or lowcutness. And I don't wear non-work, non-gear, non-church clothes very often! So yeah, those numbers would look bad!
And I knew I was doing it but wouldn't stop

Alana in Canada

(website)

Veteran

Thanks Mo and Joy! That's a great article by Angie. So helpful to see how you set up your pics, Mo.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

How I love a Mo purge post! They have brought out my inner geek
Since I've been tracking CPW & recording daily outfits, my spending habits have really started to change. I'm at the point where clothing has to be pretty special to make it into the parts of my wardrobe that don't get worn very often. I'm spending my money on my everyday clothes & I'm feeling pretty good.

Anonymous

I regularly purge items that no longer suit me (for whoever reason). Even if an item is in great condition and the CPW is still high, I get rid of it if it doesn't work for me. I found that putting that particular item in the goodwill bag was hard, but a weight lifted immediately after. There have been may two times in my entire life that I regretted a purge decision and both of those were purses.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I can purge things that I know are dated, don't fit or I'm not wearing. It's the 'oh this is okay, it'll do' things I get caught up with. For instance, the prompters of this post are straight casual cargo skirts. They work, but they don't excite me. Both are too big in the hips and don't fit quite as I'd like. I purged my denim skirt for being too short and now I'm falling back on these.
I need to get them out of the closet but my tendency is to hold on until I get the replacement, better straight casual skirt. I'm thinking that doesn't really serve me. Gives me a false sense of security to have them. But they are not working! Wearing them doesn't make me happier than not having them there as an option. Better to have that teeny tine wardrobe hole (I could wear shorts or a tube skirt in the meanwhile). That is the hard part for me. Letting go, willing to open that wardrobe gap. This Taurus likes security and derives comfort from it lol. Even if it's a false security, and in reality I have plenty of skirts compared to how often I wear them.

Anonymous

Mo, I agree, it's all well and good to purge things that you never wear (easy in fact). But for those imperfect items like your cargo skirts that you do wear and don't have a direct replacement for, it's a little harder. I have had to force myself to get rid of a few items like that--they didn't fit, weren't worth altering, and somehow didn't reflect my style exactly--knowing that when I went to reach for them the next time, I'd have to improvise. Well I lived to tell the story anyway. In your case, it might prompt you to wear something you have that's a little nicer that you have a tendency to 'save for good'. Since I'm a serial purger, I think I get rid of things just so I'll have a legitimate *need* to shop for again!

carter

Veteran

Love this. I need to look at my wears when I get home. I'm excited to do some purging! I bought a couple things for my trip that are so much better/more comfortable/more versatile than what I had. When judged against the blazer I bought before I left, several others need to go since I so rarely wear blazers. I also bought a couple lightweight sweaters for the trip that should replace some heavier sweaters that are just too hot for me to wear, even in the dead of winter.

Fortunately, I read your post this morning, so I resisted 2 skirts and 2 dresses at Boden today. I just don't wear skirts at all, and I have more than enough dresses for the number of times I wear them.

I have several button down shirts that I never wear that need to go because they don't get worn on the days I do choose button downs.

Who knows what else there may be? Ready to do some major purging whne I get home! Thanks for the inspiration!

Alassë

Veteran

Oh goody, another Mo purging post! We really do enjoy them. It sounds like you made the right decision to get rid of those don't-really-like, rarely-wear items.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Thanks ladies! I had a wrinkle in my plan today . . . the consignment store is 'on hold' with accepting new items (and payouts! harumph) for the next month. So . . . I looked into Twice online that Laura mentioned some time ago. Ordered my bag and will send my accepted brands skirts out with a dress and tank as soon as it arrives. Out of sight, out of mind! Can't wait.

Lyn D.

Veteran

What Caro said!
I think I have 'Faved' every one of your numbers and purging posts Mo
Now that I have purging down to a fine art I have started even getting rid of the NQR items that I wear often- but only to my holding zone until a replacement is found. I am after all a Taurian too!

Ornella

(website)

Veteran

You are fast and proactive Mo.

I think you are right (I know you are) that crunching the numbers can she's a lot of light on the ways and habits even though we think we have things in order. I think I'll try some sort of pure mathematical analysis at some point too. Thanks for constant inspiration.

Ledonna N.

Veteran

Wow looking at the numbers in black and white really adds a spin. I just return it to the thrift. To bless someone else along the way.

Karie

(website)

Veteran

The numbers crunching makes total sense. I plan on doing some of that this summer. I have all those outfit pics I've taken during the school year (which breaks for the summer in two weeks, yay!) and I want to look at things like how many times I wore each item, which items I liked/didn't like, etc.