Clothing is a necessity. Too much clothing is a burden. Most people don’t buy more than they need, but it still tends to pile up. Drawers and shelves are most commonly crowded because we acquire new pieces via gifts, hand-me-downs, and purchases without removing the older pieces. There are many reasons why we tend to hold onto old clothing:
- We anticipate a future need (e.g. If I go back to work I’ll need these suits)
- We hope to lose weight and fit into them again
- We have a sentimental attachment (e.g. the dress from a first date, the baby outfit a child wore home from the hospital)
- We feel guilty giving it away (e.g. My husband would be sad if I gave this away)
- We have other things we’d rather do than sort through drawers
While I understand these excuses, the periodic inflow of clothing necessitates that we purge our supply of clothing to avoid having more than we can accommodate. Many people find it easier to shed a piece or two fairly regularly than to do a total overhaul of a wardrobe. A donation box/bin on the floor of a closet can be a great tool for making it easier to let go of pieces as you come across them.
Today’s goal is to find three shirts, sweatshirts or sweaters to part with. Sort through your drawers, closet, and/or shelves and use a critical eye to find three that don’t suit your current needs. If you are struggling, ask yourself these questions:
- Does this fit me now?
- Is this stained, stretched, or damaged?
- Do I wear this? (If you are keeping an article of clothing for strictly sentimental reasons, move it to a long-term storage location)
- Would I buy this item today if I were shopping?
- Does this flatter me?
- Do I have something to wear with this?
Garments that do not meet these criteria are good candidates for donation. For extra credit, find three shirts for each member of your family. If the tops are in good condition, donate them. Otherwise, trash or recycle them. More and more towns are partnering with companies such as USagain to collect textiles for recycling.
Think you can find three shirts to give away? Anybody think they can find more?
Great challenge and do very much need to go through my clothes to be honest. So thanks for the reminder here 😉
Janine Huldie recently posted…Confessions Top 5 of 2015
I was encouraging my mother to go through hers as well. We women tend to enjoy our clothes, so they can pile up. Now – after the holidays – is a great time to make space for newer items and reduce the crowding in the drawer!
Totally need to do this, too. I have a drawer of sweats and comfortable pants even though I probably only use a handful of them!
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You can do it, Nina! And you will free some space for the pants you love:)
This is the one aspect of de-cluttering that gets me every time. I have so many shirts I NEVER wear. They have emotional value, though. Like all the ones Cassidy gave me from his connections to the Star Wars company. Sigh. And all the Dare shirts I got from a cop friend before he passed away.
I wear none of those, but they still give me joy. We shall see!
I need to work on my closet, though!
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Why not make the shirts into a quilt. Or you can cut out the fronts, mount them and frame them? Maybe take photo of you and kids wearing the Star Wars shirts and make a montage. If you love them for emotional reasons, it would be great to find a way to get them out where you can see them and enjoy them.
I know my husband struggles with giving up his t shirts, he likes to move the worn ones to sleep shirts, then he uses them for dirty jobs, eventually I tell him if there is more hole than shirt the next time it is washed, I recycle it.
Jill Robson recently posted…Wishing you A Very Merry Christmas, and Holiday Season.
Similar for me… I snatch them and cut them into strips for use in the garden!
This is an easy one. I got rid of three shirts, my husband got rid of 3 sweaters, and my kids got rid of 3 tshirts each.
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Wow – you guys overachieved on this one – gold star all around!