I have those clothes. You know the ones. They sit in the back of the closet and never get worn. I consider tossing them every so often, but I really don’t have a reason for getting rid of them. They aren’t worn out, they still fit and the color looks good on me, but for some reason or another I simply never wear them. Every so often I move them to the front of my closet only to find them hanging in the far most corner by the time the season ends.
Well this year I said, “enough’s enough.” I boxed them up and prepared them for donation. Only for some strange reason I couldn’t actually give them away. Just before the truck was scheduled to arrive I convinced myself I might actually wear them again.
So out came the Adidas workout pants that I’ve owned since college but have never actually worked out in. They are the kind of material you want to wear on a rainy day, but I never seem to workout when it’s raining. There’s the black turtleneck, which would be perfect for wearing out on the slopes, but I rarely go out west anymore. Or how about the giant cotton sweater that is just perfect for cold weather. The trouble is it’s so large and warm that I’ll sweat to death if I attempt to wear it inside.
I cannot believe that I’m finding it difficult to donate these things. I know my odds of wearing them again are slim to none, but I hate the idea of having to buy replacements if I do end up needing them.
I’m sure I’m not the only person out there with a hodgepodge of clothing that I never seem to wear yet can’t seem to get rid of. Do you have such items hanging in your closet? Do you find it difficult to get rid of clothes you rarely wear? Do you have rules for when to purge them?
Yes! I’m always afraid of tossing old clothes, then needing them one day to wear when painting or working in the yard. I have boxes full of old clothes and shoes that I just can’t seem to toss. Maybe one day I’ll take them for donation. For now, they stay in the closet.
I’m glad to see that I’m not alone 🙂
Nope, I don’t have room in my closet for these kinds of clothes. I need the space for clothes that are 2-3 sizes too small. But I just need to go for a walk, maybe eat a salad for lunch once, and then I’ll fit right into them. Maybe I’ll get to that next week 🙂
I don’t seem to have much problem getting rid of clothes that fit now that I don’t like, but ones that fit years ago that I liked, I hoard those like crazy, especially jeans.
That’s interesting. I actually have no problem getting rid of clothes that don’t fit. In fact, I think I purge them the fastest. It just reminds me that I’m not as thin as I used to be and I don’t want any reminders of that 🙂
Yes! I have a drawer for those clothes at my parents’ house. I also have a box of stuff that I want to sell (but rarely get around to it, or not selling well) and then a bag for donations. Why is it so hard for us to purge? Sigh. I don’t have any rules, but I do try to see if it’s something that I can imagine wearing again or if it’s too trendy/ill-fitting to be saved.
I have a few dresses and shirts I’ve been meaning to sell forever! I don’t know why I never get around to it. I keep telling myself if they don’t sell I’ll send them off for donation, but one way or another I would like to get them out of my house!
I have the SAME problem! And DH always yells at me! How about we get together and we help each other part with the clothes 🙂 lol
Actually that might help. Having someone else say, “that’s a silly reason to keep something” would certainly help me purge!
My husband and I recently went through a lot of our clothes and were pretty harsh about it. We allowed ourselves to keep things that we had actually worn in recent memory, and a select group of items that had sentimental value (beloved play t-shirt performed in high school, that kind of thing). This wouldn’t necessarily work for everyone though – I work at home and my clothes consist entirely of jean and tees, and he’s in the military so he wears a uniform – our wardrobes are rather simpler than most people’s.
Those sentimental things are the hardest to purge. I have a Florida t-shirt from the 80s that I’m still holding onto 🙂
I turn all my clothes around in the closet (hangers backwards) and then turn them around once I wear them. If I don’t wear something within a year then I get rid of it. It really amazes me how many clothes I go without wearing when in my head I feel like I wear that shirt all the time.
I’ll have to try that one. I already have a rule for purging, but I’d be interested to see if I need to slim down even more.
Thanks =)
This is an EXCELLENT suggestion matt and I’m definitely going to give it a try. Thanks for sharing!
Here’s my rule: One thing in, one thing out. Every time I bring something new home I have to get rid of one thing.
I also keep a list of things I do/don’t already have so I don’t buy duplicates.
I like the idea of keeping a running list. I often find myself buying similar items over and over again. This would certainly help me cut back on that!
That’s a really interesting issue. I got rid of my old jeans some time ago. It was a great relief, but after a little time I had an ACL injury from my knee. There was only one jean left for me to wear with a knee-brace. And that one was also tight.
So to speak, packing some stuff for an extraordinary use must be necessary. You should do the math on this…
I think that’s the hardest part. I think about tossing something than think, hmmm I’ll need it some day. At the same time though I realize it often doesn’t cost much to buy a new replacement item every once in awhile. For example, in your case you probably could’ve bought a pair or two of cheap sweatpants to get you through that point in time.
That works for everyday outfits, but what do you do about one offs like workout clothes?
@One Frugal Girl – I tried to reply to your question after my comment and I guess I did it incorrectly – that reply didn’t appear after your question but at the end of the comments (when I posted). I hope you find it and hope it helps. I sew and love to talk about this stuff.
Yup I got it. The concept definitely makes a lot of sense and it’s something I’ll need to think about more when I buy clothing.
I have the same problem. Except sometimes I get lucky and find clothes that go back into style (faux fur vest bought ~10 yrs ago and never quite wore but always liked). But i definitely have a bunch of shirts that sit in the back of my closet that have seen their heyday a couple years ago. My mom never got rid of clothes so shopping through her closet is totally awesome. I say if it can still be worn, looks good, and fits, keep it.
Recently I’ve started one of those “shopping diets” (30 items in 30 days or 6 items in 30 days) to keep myself interested and thinking about what my clothes now can do, and I challenged myself to take some shirts that I don’t wear as often and mix them in. So far it’s been going pretty well, so maybe before you get rid of them completely, see if you can find some new uses for them.
My mom kept clothes forever. She had some great little dresses from the 70s that I wore when I was in high school and early college. My clothes aren’t nearly as fun as hers were! I like the idea of trying to mix in clothes. Maybe I’ll find there is a reason I don’t wear them or find that I will wear them given the right mix.