How much do you REALLY wear?

One simple trick that keeps your organized AND looking your best 

 (Photo by Anastasia Shuraeva from Pexels)

Who else feels like they have too many clothes, yet never have anything to wear? 

 

Or whenever we try to clean out our closets we get stuck somewhere in the middle of the cleaning process because we are not able to decide what to keep and what to donate or toss, so we give up. 

 

We get so attached to our clothes because it was a “good deal” or because we are so certain that the day will come when, yes, that terry cloth batwing top in hot pink will be THE perfect thing to wear. 

 

I don’t know about y’all but I’m smarter than the excuses I make.

 

We have all heard the advice that says if we haven’t worn it in a year then ditch it.

 

I don’t exactly subscribe to that strategy either because there ARE some special occasion or favorite pieces that I haven’t been able to wear in the last year for various reason that I choose to hold onto.

 

For example, this last year, I simply didn’t have anywhere to wear  my favorite little black dress except to walk my dog.

 

And while I have been known to overdress from time to time, this would be over the line even for me. 

 

(Little detour here while we are on the topic, I find it way more acceptable to be overdressed than to be underdressed. 

 

As a matter of fact, I think the real pandemic is one of too many people being underdressed but I digress. This is another post for another time. Back to the topic at hand….)

 

In an effort to judge how much I really wear, and to know what I can truly cull from my wardrobe, I came up with this simple exercise that I will be applying and documenting immediately and will keep you all posted.  

 

I’ve decided to clean out one drawer or a spot in my closet, but ONE area only.  

 

Completely empty it. 

 

And the ONLY thing I am allowed to put in this space for the next month are the clothes that I wear and launder. 

 

This means tops, pants, underclothes, socks…everything I wear that is laundered goes into this space.

 

I suspect that I will draw from this area regularly and likely wear even less than I think I do. 

 

I’m pretty excited about this little experiment because I have tried to clean out my closet at least twice this year and have walked away feeling like it wasn’t enough. 

 

Now having said that, I do realize that when I am traveling or going out of town, my wardrobe looks different than my days at home

 

 But I am also working on changing that. 

 

One day while driving up the east coast, I was listening to the podcast The Life coach with Brooke Castillo episode 368, “Why Style Matters with Judith Gaton” I realized that I am not alone in believing that style matters. 

 

That episode absolutely resonated with me.

 

It confirmed that I am not the only one who truly believes that style matters.

 

 I am finally upping my every day style game back to my pre-homeschooling mom days.  (And no one is happier about this than those parents who get to see me at the bus stop. :-)  

 

This episode echos everything I have been saying and believe in, but have let my guard down.

 

 I was so excited to hear other women feel the way that I do, I was getting strange looks from the other cars who were passing me.

Photo by Uriel Mont from Pexels

 

But this does carry a disclaimer: This doesn’t apply to seasonal wardrobes. 

 

I do not live in an area of the country where I can wear the same wardrobe year round… yet. (One day this will be my view….. I believe! :-) 

 Photo by Sides Imagery from Pexels

So we are only talking about one season at a time. 

 

This little experiment might also actually work for those weird in-between months too when you are mixing and matching different seasonal pieces.   

 

The bonus of this experiment is this.. always looking your best.

 

“How’s that?” you say.

 

Glad you asked.

 

Well, if I discover that I really only wear 10 pieces of clothes in different combinations for the majority of my days then you had better believe that those 10 pieces are going to be fabulous pieces. 

 

And if I only wear 10 pieces of clothing, then I want those pieces to withstand the frequent wear and laundering that is required when you wear something often.

 

Translation: I will be buying better quality clothes. 

 

Knowing I only wear 10 pieces means I will be able to spend a little more on the pieces I choose to purchase.

 

NOTE:  By “fabulous” I don’t mean that they are formal or necessarily cost a fortune but I do mean that these clothes will look fabulous on me.

 

Because I would rather be seen in the same outfits looking fabulous than looking ordinary in new and different clothes.

 

Not to mention how much simpler this makes getting dressed each and every day.

 

And that is what this blog is all about.

 

UPDATE: 10/4/2021

So, it has been almost two months and I can report that for the most part, I have been able to live off clothes that fit into ONE drawer.  With the exception of a few hanging pieces, I was able to live out of one drawer. I will be re-assessing now that the seasons are changing and my clothes get bulkier. :-)  

Making "Pretty" Easy.

 Who’s with me? 

  At any rate, if any of you have any other ideas on how to know what you actually wear, how much you wear or if you try my little experiment, drop a line in the comments and let us know! :-) 

 

Are you ready to merge your style with some substance?

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