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Less Clutter Project Part 3 Clothes

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Stress (65) Clutter (22) clothes (2) Donate (2)

I have read numerous articles about decluttering one's collection of clothes and accessories. At one time I had far too many clothes and in fact needed two wardrobes. I had a couple of cases of extra clothes under my bed. You see I love op shopping and find it hard to resist a bargain. Add in clothes bought brand new at end of season sales and the result was lots of clothes.

Like many women I only wore about 20% of my clothes 80% of the time. I often couldn't find the item I wanted and the result was stress. Over the past three or so years I have managed to cull numerous items that weren't being worn and now buy fewer clothes. I admit it is hard sometimes.

I am happy with the result. Most of my clothes get worn often enough to justify the space they occupy. I have a good collection of accessories that coordinate well and as most of my clothes are separates I can do plenty of mixing and matching. Now I refuse to buy anything which isn't superbly comfortable.

I believe everyone needs to work out their own rules for buying clothes. Obviously your age, personality and lifestyle will influence what works for you.

Time to sort
Every now and then I go through my clothes and donate items I am not making good use of. Some experts suggest doing this at the end of each season and others suggest a fifteen minute session each month. There are others who recommend a big declutter session once a year so adopt whatever works for you.

'Rules' you may have read include:

Try everything on before deciding whether to part with it. Sometimes when you have a good look at an item you may realise you would wear it if it was shortened or if a few centimetres were cut off the sleeves. Trying on other items from your wardrobe may lead to you coming up with an outfit you hadn't considered previously.

Ask a friend to help you decide which clothes to part with. If this works for you, do it. Personally, I would rather do it on my own.

If you haven't worn it in the past year, part with it. This can be a good general rule but I think there are times it should be broken. Last winter was very cold and I bought a lovely red woollen jacket. I wear a lot of red and the jacket still fits me but I didn't wear it once this year. It was a very wet winter and I found I needed to wear my waterproof jacket every time I was going out on a cold day. I am keeping my red jacket as I am sure I will appreciate it in the future when the winter isn't so wet.

Get rid of anything that is too small. It is depressing to hold onto items that are much too small. However, if you love the item and it is simply tight and you are planning lifestyle changes with the aim of losing a few kilos, it could be worth holding onto it a while longer. Perhaps make a bargain with yourself to keep it for three months and if it is still tight at the end of that period, give it away.

Pare down your clothing so you end up with a capsule wardrobe. Generally, this sounds like a good idea and will make it easier to keep on top of things in the future.

Get some money back by holding a garage sale or putting items on consignment at a shop. Sometimes this may be a good idea. However, as I don't have designer clothes the effort isn't worth it for me. I donate to a local charity shop. Before doing so, I check the item is in good condition as I don't want to hand on junk. If the item is too worn I cut it up for rags.

Use pieces of clothes you no longer wear to sew 'new' items. There are some great books and internet articles giving instructions for creating something new from recycled clothes. I love the idea but haven't made anything I ended up being happy to wear. However, some people have come up with some creative items of clothing and there are those who are now making a living from a blog showing the results of their creativity.

When you have sorted and parted with items you can't justify keeping, reward yourself. It can be physically and emotionally tiring to declutter your wardrobe.

Then work out tactics for making better decisions in the future when shopping for clothes and accessories.read more Hopefully, you will avoid being overwhelmed with clothes and accessory clutter in the future.

# Clothes
# Clutter
# Donate
# Stress

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[ Submit a Comment ]

This is a fine article - so many of us are sinking beneath a mountain of 'stuff'! Clothes in your wardrobe that you don't wear, that's clutter and is unneeded 'stuff'.

by carolyncordon

Thanks for commenting on my article, Carolyn.

by Marie Vonow

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