What should I shed before I move to Portland?

ironkurtin

I have a lot of stuff. I'd love to get rid of some of it *before* I go, instead of paying to ship it and realizing it won't work. PNW people, what do I NOT need?

Thanks!

12 years ago

Dressing

20 replies

Latest reply was from Angie

April

Veteran

I'm not from the PNW but have learned from Angie. My best guess is that you won't need much in the way of true hot weather clothing. No more than a couple pairs of sandals, for example.

But bring every umbrella you own, every snappy trench, every pair of boots.

12 years ago

Raisin

Veteran

Are we talking about just clothing here or all of life's stuff? My advice would be to seriously scrutinize every item as you are packing. This will be the time that every single item passes through your hands. So if you have "stuff" that you forgot about, haven't used in years, etc, then get rid of it. You went this long without using it so mows the time to clean the slate!

12 years ago

ironkurtin

Veteran

@Raison - yup, I have that covered. I'm asking specifically about clothing that I won't need in the climate.

12 years ago

(website)

Veteran

I would inverse the ratios you have - less warm weather wear, more cold weather. I lived about an hour away, in the Columbia River gorge and it still got HOT in summer. Just not for as long as in Austin, I'm sure. We had days over 100. So it's not always rain and grey.

12 years ago

modgrl

(website)

Veteran

Take me with you!!

12 years ago

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

Summer dresses, whittle them down to two or three. Same with shorts, unless they're gear.
PDX is a smidge more continental climate than Seattle, slightly colder winters & warmer summers.

12 years ago

K. Period.

Veteran

I would say keep all of the things that you wore for cooler Austin weather, leave all but a few of your extreme heat outfits. Your linen stuff will be okay, but you won't get as much wear and it should be something you can layer if you really want to get maximum wear from it. We do get some nearing-100s heat, but rarely for longer than a few days in a row. But remember that few people have air conditioning unless they live in newer construction and even then people loathe running it. Would you guys hike in the Gorge or go to Bend or Ashland? If so, they are much warmer and you'd want to keep some warm weather closing for them.

Do you have a trusted friend who would take care of a keep or donate bin for you? Maybe someone who has been eyeing some of your clothes--first dibs before consignment? Could that friend send you anything you really really feel like you can't live without and then donate the bin or consign or take themselves at the end of 6 months?

12 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

K.Can has a really smart idea. It's exciting -- you will get to wear your cashmere more, and your boots! Plus some jackets.

12 years ago

ironkurtin

Veteran

Great idea, K.! But I think I will just give stuff away. If I want something I'm pretty sure I can borrow it or just get it there. There's always another sweater, you know?

12 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

When we moved from Texas to the Mountain West years ago, we looked at everything and asked, "Is this worth 50 cents per pound to move?" Mostly we discarded books, canned goods, and marginal furniture (old fridge, etc). We had very little in the way of warm clothes. We moved to an elevation of 6000 feet, and even then, we would wear shorts and sandals every day in summer. I know that in thrift stores in Texas I would see lots of heavy winter clothes from people who moved the other direction. Do you have clothes that shouldn't get rained on, such as suede? That's about all I can think of.
I am very grateful to be out of the heat and humidity of Texas.

12 years ago

K. Period.

Veteran

There IS always another sweater! That's my take on things too! Sometimes you need a void in order to give the right new item room to find you.

12 years ago

unfrumped

Veteran

Maybe that exercise where you pick your top 50% of similar items to start with
( a few of your best sleeveless items, etc). So some of the general principles still apply that anything meh should stay behind, unless you can talk yourself into one meh backup item (waterproof boot placeholder, if you have it).

If you have the space to do the sorting, this would be a great time to take everything out and then only put back your very faves into your main closet, and say, these all definitely go to Portland, and then start triaging the rest.
So it's like a giant purge in which you are moving the best stuff back into the closet but your closet is now across the continent.

12 years ago

ironkurtin

Veteran

Bumping this thread.

What about lightweight cotton jackets? Yes/no?

12 years ago

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

Light weight jackets are good for summer evenings, and cool summer days. The overall humidity in the summer is much lower than Austin, it cools down rapidly after dark.

12 years ago

K. Period.

Veteran

Agreed. I wear my light cotton jackets a lot in the spring, summer and autumn. Since (notwithstanding the general impression) it isn't raining all the time here, they come in handy for warmth and the waterproof/non-waterproof isn't a deal breaker.

12 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

FWIW, I think you need to pair down your sandal, linen, Summer dress, sunglasses and sleeveless cotton/silk top collection.

It takes a LONG time to warm up around here. July, really. And the mornings are always cool. But the Summer days are long - light till 10pm - so things are warmer in the afternoon than they are in the morning in Summer.

Items that get a lot of use:

toppers in all weights, styles and fabrications
boots
closed shoes
jeans
knitwear
socks
camisoles

I'm not sure whether it's a good idea to store old Summer stuff. By the time you want to wear it again, the internal and external factors that influence your style may well have changed.

12 years ago

ironkurtin

Veteran

Thanks Angie and all!

What about ballet flats? Sandals I can shed but I do love my ballet flats.

12 years ago

K. Period.

Veteran

I wear flats year round. On rainy days, I wear something else. And from late October thought May, I wear them mostly on warmer days. However, YMMV because I grew up in a much cooler climate, so PDX seems temperate to me (insert Angie laughter here!), and I don't run cool. They will be great for you for most of the spring, summer and early fall around here. Autumns here are long and beautiful, often all the way through October.

12 years ago

Mann

Active Member

Another PNW resident here, previously in Seattle, now Vancouver (BC). Totally agree with Angie's list and also Annagybe and others. I have two-three pairs of open-toe sandals and they often don't get a lot of wear in the summer. Re ballet flats: I do wear ballet flats quite a bit, as I can start wearing them in the late Spring with long pants when it's still cool, I often wear them for good part of June, and during cooler days in July and August (there inevitably will be cooler days). And then, if the Fall is nice, I can wear them till early October often. So that's often a good six months of wear for me.
I have very few summer dresses, and sleeveless tops are pretty useless in my wardrobe - I rarely wear them without an outer layer, except for a week or two in the height of the summer.

12 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

*chuckling* for K. Period. xo

Ballet flats are my Summer shoes. There is no way I can wear them for more than say - 3 months of the year - unless I lived in Santa Monica. Booties I wear virtually year round. I run very cold. The Canadians think I am from Mars. I will welcome menopausal hot flushes.

12 years ago

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