I’m on a quest to purge my clothing. I keep telling myself I need to make a project of it, but that hasn’t happened yet. Thankfully, though, I’ve learned the value of Purging as I Go, or a lifestyle of decluttering, so I pitch a few things here and there when I realize their time has come and gone.
Here are a few of my latest clothing purges, and why I deemed them clutter:
A dress that looks awful on me.
I got this dress on Schoola along with another dress exactly like it, but in black. The black one looks awesome on me (if I do say so myself), but the pink one doesn’t. It soooo doesn’t.
Which makes me mad. I mean, it’s the same size, the same material, the exact same design, but so so wrong. My guess is that while black minimizes things that need to be minimized, pink maximizes those same things. Those same things that do NOT need to be maximized.
Being mad about this irrefutable fashion fact made me hesitate in pitching this dress several times. But I finally stuck it in the Donate Box. Yay for not wasting my time trying it on again. And being mad when it looks awful on me. Again.
Jeans that reveal way too much.
I loved these jeans. I got them for an amazing price and they fit well.
But a few months ago, my daughter asked me if I was wearing pink undies.
Evidently, they had developed small (still small at that time) holes near the pockets. Small, but big enough to see pink. I tried wearing them with long shirts for a while but my daughter was more adamant each time I wore them that I shouldn’t be wearing them. I tried only wearing them at home. But again, daughters don’t have much patience for moms and their fashion excuses.
Finally, when I felt them full-on rip, I purposely did a few squats so they’d rip enough to save me from myself. I threw them in the trash.
A coat no one in this house can wear.
I happened to notice this coat when I was getting the vacuum cleaner out of our coat closet. We’re in Texas, and there weren’t many coat-related reasons to rummage around in there this winter.
Ummm, this coat is adorable, but it’s a size 4. As in for a four-year-old.
And my daughter (my youngest child) is almost 10.
I donated it.
A dress I’ll never actually return.
I so wanted to like this dress. I bought it at Costco, so trying it on wasn’t possible, but I was sure it would work.
It didn’t.
It’s just way too long, and the stripes fall at a funny place and make me look weird. (It’s the stripes that are the problem, not me, I’m sure.)
I know. I could totally get it hemmed. Or I could return it to Costco.
But I won’t.
And it felt kind of nice to donate it with the tags on. Maybe someone who is tall and looks good in stripes will get a great deal on it.
What clothes have you donated lately, and why?
Oh my, there is no way I could type out everything I’ve donated in the last week! My husband finally went through his clothes and donated 12 shirts and 24 ties. I donated 2 nice winter coats from my 20’s that I held on to despite not being so great now. I donated quite a few fashion type jackets and sweaters that looked cute on me when I was younger but age me by a decade or make me look like a country club lady. I donated 2 pairs of sneakers I’ve barely worn because I have 2 other pairs I rarely wear that look better, and I’m about to finally bite the bullet and donate the bedcover and pillows that are gorgeous Nicole Miller. I’ve just never been a decorative-pillows-on-the-bed girl, and actually getting them on the bed a couple times a month is not a win. Not when they are otherwise piled next to the bed.
I actually donated enough stuff last year to take $1,300 off our tax bill. How is that for motivation? 🙂
But I’m still not sure when I will declutter the shirt I am wearing now. It is my FAVORITE but the seam came apart in the armpit. And since its a shirt with cute little cap sleeves… I guess I’ll give myself a week to fix it or toss it. Maybe I’ll surprise myself and get out the sewing kit…
omg i am the same as the last commenter…i’ve gotten rid of everything that is 1.5-2 sizes too big…but…but….my husband said, if you lose weight you would want to shop anyway, i’ll glady pay for more clothes…GET RID OF THEM…so i did
Great call on your hubbies’ part. Keep him; he’ll give you good advice.
I recently donated two things that I purchased at the same thrift store I donate to. On the day I originally purchased the item, the power was out at the store, but due to a long wall of windows, folks could still browse (if they were paying by cash or check). This did not deter me, however, since I have a toddler and rarely get to do this kind of shopping alone. The fitting rooms, however, were dark so I used the flashlight feature on my cell phone to try things on. Surprisingly, only two items turned out to be duds for me. One fit, but did not flatter at all, and the other had some damaged beading which I didn’t notice until later. The damaged one I think I tossed, and the other one didn’t get tried on at home for a few months since it was off-season. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I don’t need to keep it just because I bought it. Easier to do with thrift store purchases, but even with more expensive clothes I think of someone finding it at a thrift store for a great bargain and loving it. 🙂
I’ve been doing the ThredUp bag. They send you the bag for free and you send it to them for free with all your stuff. They resell your stuff on their site but do let you you know prior that they only keep about 40% of the items you send in. They will recycle what they don’t keep. I finally got rid of maternity clothes, a couple pairs of flats that were a tad big and would slide. Not sure why I kept them for years?! I also tried on every pair of jeans I own and if they were snug or fit odd, I got rid of them! Feels good. I also got rid of a red pair of jeans. I debated on these but I haven’t worn in over a year so that was the deal breaker.
I’ve finally dropped off our donation bags that we’ve been slowly filling. My sons are getting better at putting things they are NOT going to wear on top of their dresser. They’re supposed to put it in the donate bag but baby steps!
Oh, the hole beside the back pocket on jeans! I’ve had to get rid of several pairs of my favorite jeans over the years because of that particular problem. I, too, live in denial for a while each time.
I have just today purchased jeans for that very same reason. I am debating with myself if I should repair my current more comfortable pair or not. I should probably just ditch them. But tomorrow I will look through my clothes and find at least one thing to switch them out for.
I think we are FINALLY done having children, and Kid #9 is closing in on 2 years of age. EVERYTHING she outgrows is going in the donate bin. Kid #8 is a boy, and everything HE outgrows, that is very ‘male’ looking, I’m passing on to my 2 year old nephew. It is such a great feeling to clear out the baby stuff and have more space in our storage room. We still have incredible numbers of bins with clothes in them, but the room looks better.
Clothing 9 kids takes a lot of storage space. Don’t think of it as clutter, until it’s no longer wearable for #9. And of course, you’ll have to add at the top end for #1. So, keep that storage room organized and it’ll serve you well.
I have been sending my children’s and my own outgrown and unwanted (some new with tags) items to swap.com. They don’t take men’s clothes but I have three daughters and I am a shopaholic (clothes) This site is awesome for earning cash for items you would otherwise not be using. And its so much easier than a consignment shop or ebay in my oponion. They send you a box or bag . Pack it with your items and wait for an email to set(your own) prices. They inspect the items very carefully. They take the pictures. They write the description and you get paid ( a percentage). It’s wonderful. Now if I could just conquer my shopping…. Seriously.
I have such a hard time with doing this with clothes. I am always saying, I might need this!, and keeping it. Good job for purging things you will never return. And thanks for the push.
🙂
http://gwingal.blogspot.com/
whenever I go shopping for clothes which is not that often. I litterly have to put half back after only bearly trying it on somethings I don’t even get all the way on like enough room in one spot forsure but there is just no reason the other spot or spots should be that tight. I have tried to make it a rule to not buy clothes for me without trying them on kids clothes are different but as of yet I don’t buy those for the most part I am still at the frequent hand me down age.
I recently went shopping, using a gift card I had recieved at Christmas. I purchased 3 new tops. When I came home, I went into my closet and found 3 old tops; one of which was worn out, one fit funny, and one that I never really liked. 3 in, 3 out. I did a major purge of my closet (half the contents) when we moved a few months ago. I’m determined to not let it get filled up again with stuff I don’t wear! Thanks for the inspiration for 1in 1 out. I’m trying to teach my husband this concept too. He got 3 new dress shirts and got rid of 2 old ones -making progress!
Don’t throw away ripped clothing! Thrift stores can still use it for crafters/quilters. One of mine sells “rag bags”. While I wouldn’t keep denim myself, everything else gets cut into rags, napkins, dish cloths, anywhere I can reduce my paper towel use. I refuse to use “family cloth”, however – I must have toilet paper!
As far as the clothes that didn’t look good on you, have you had your colors analyzed? Most likely, from your photos, you look like a Summer. Summers tend to look best in more muted pinks, blues, purples, blue greens, and muted white. The pink in the dress was too bright for a Summer and a bold black and white print has too much contrast for a Summer. You look great in your blog photo because it’s a more muted pink with a smaller print.
I’ve found that buying clothes only in my season colors has helped me to have only clothes that look good on me. I’ve also found that everything goes well together. Because I know what colors and styles are good for me, I don’t get lured into buying clothes that don’t work that I eventually end up getting rid of.
I think that it’s definitely worth spending the time and money to get your colors analyzed.
I have to make myself be picky to overcome my gratitude for items given to my boys. Snags – out. Holes – out. Items that the closest child in size would NEVER put on z out. Shoes without a mate – out.
It was so much easier to get rid of clothes when someone in my local Buy Nothing group was excited to get my excess clothes. I retired and got rid of about 75% of my clothes. She is a single Mom and they were her first “new clothes” since having her kids. The oldest is 15. Now she has a whole new work wardrobe.
I even have people who want excellent condition, used once bras that just did not work for me.
Thanks for sharing your journey.