Tag: donation

Two Tricks for Feeling Like Your Closet is “Enough”

Want to feel like your wardrobe is enough? Here are two tricks to help you feel content with your closet instead of itching to shop (thrift or otherwise!):

1) Download a free closet app (or pay for a fancy one!) and go create a new outfit every time you get the urge to shop.

It takes some time on the front end to photograph and upload your clothes (or find similar images online), but for me it’s worth the creative charge I get from playing around with potential looks – and it helps me remember that great outfit idea I had right before falling asleep. (What, you don’t think about fun ways to wear your clothes to help you drop off to dreamland?)

Alternately, you could write down possible outfit combos – or draw them!

2) Write down everything in your wardrobe, grouping by categories (e.g. jeans, dress pants, long sleeve tees, warm sweaters, etc.). Something about seeing that list growing longer and longer as I tally up my clothes definitely switches my mindset from “not enough” to “Wow, I have a lot! Maybe even too much!”

Bonus level: write down everything in your closet from memory. Now go look through your actual hangers, drawers, and shelves to see how well you remembered the contents. And here’s the kicker: donate whatever you couldn’t remember! Because if you couldn’t recall it was there…do you really like/need/wear it?

The donate part is hard core and I didn’t do it because I forgot one of my favorite/most versatile blazers, ha! But even if you don’t donate forgotten items, it helps you realize you have great stuff you don’t even think about, leading to instant improvement in wardrobe satisfaction.

(Hat tip to The Minimal Mom for the “from memory” part. She has lots of great ideas for culling extra clothes from your closet.)

What are your best tips to keep yourself from adding to an already-sufficient wardrobe?

How to Give Your Clothes to Your Friends

Copy of Winter capsule wardrobe (1)Donation is one great option for clothes you no longer wear/love. But don’t discount letting your friends get first crack!  (Especially since doing so might encourage them to return the favor…)

It can feel a little odd to see your coworker show up to work in what was formerly your shirt or to meet your BFF for drinks and see them wearing your ex-heels, but mostly it feels like a big ol’ boost to your karma.

Y’all know I’m a big fan of the “picture someone else loving this” method of convincing yourself to part with almost-perfect-for-you…but not….items in your closet. Well, the motivation is even stronger when you actually know the person on the receiving end and might even get to see them exuding the joy of rocking new-to-them duds.

Click through for tips on how to do it right. Continue reading “How to Give Your Clothes to Your Friends” →

Spring Closet Cleanout

The beginning or end of a season is a great time to clean out your clothes—you know what you haven’t worn in last season’s lineup and you have a fresh take on what you’re excited to wear (or not) in the coming season.

In advance of (fingers crossed) Thursday’s spring wardrobe capsule post, I give you my most recent cleanout:

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Top L to R:
Peach polka dot blouse: great color and pattern, but cheaply made, sheer, and a crepe texture I dislike.  When I found this thrift upgrade I was happy to let the old one go.

Gold strappy sandals: these were my Grandma’s and as such are really hard to let go of.  But I think I’ve worn them a total of once in the 4.5 years I’ve owned them and I can just imagine them making someone else so happy.  Plus I have jewelry of hers I wear regularly and her art and portrait on my walls, all of which recall her memory to me more readily than a pair of sandals I had stuffed out of sight.

Strappy white Ann Taylor heels: these are so elegant and simple, but I can’t remember the last time I wore them, because I just. do. not. wear. heels.  My gold snakeskin barely-heels from this wedding outfit will add more pizzazz and wear more practically than these high skinny ones; and again, I know they’ll make someone else super happy.

Black floral dress: I’ve worn this to weddings, to funerals, and while pregnant.  It’s definitely done right by me, but I have dark funeral dresses I love more and wear elsewhere, and the coloring is all wrong for me.  I hope someone nabs this who really enjoys the coloring!

Middle L to R:
Khaki shorts: I grabbed these last summer to go with the polka shirt in the bottom right and then wore them ambivalently off and on for the rest of the warm months.  I have 3 other pairs of shorts I like better, and no one who can’t wear shorts to work needs that many shorts.

Blue star shirt: nabbed for Halloween; too dark for my taste, and the V-neck is weirdly small.

White sweater cardigan (aka The Yeti): Pilling, not my favorite length, and worn hard this winter.  Getting rid of it now means I have 6+ months to find something warm and cardiganly that I love.

Bottom L to R:
Pink/green blouse: A hole-filler from the end of last summer when I needed extra variety.  Don’t love the pattern and its cheap construction won’t last.  I found tunic blouses I love much better so it’s buh-bye to this number.

Fundraiser 5k shirt: Soft but poorly made; starting to twist off-seam.  I have enough running shirts with much more sentimental value.

Grey ombre sweater: a friend recently passed this on to me but this post made me realize I have more than enough in the way of casual sweaters.

Polka dot shirt: See above; this wardrobe extender made me want to buy another pair of shorts and I don’t love it.  I may also get rid of same shirt, different pattern, jus to have a looser silhouette this summer.

 

To be able to get rid of this many items at season’s end tells me I still have too many clothes.  I love the beautiful simplicity of wardrobes like this one but not sure I could do without the variety.

Could you do a truly simple, minimalist wardrobe like the one I linked to?  When do you like to clean out your closet?  Any tips for letting go of pieces you don’t wear but to which you are still attached?

(My number one tip, as showcased above: imagine how much someone else will love it once you’ve freed it for them to find!)

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