Here’s the experiment.  I decided to reduce my wardrobe by 50%.  I also threw out a mini-challenge.  Take 25 pieces of clothing from your closet, place them in a box or plastic tote.  Put it away for a month and see if you miss any of the stuff in it.  If not, take it to the thrift store.  If so, take out the item(s) you missed.  Here are some updates.

50% reduction

I still have a long way to go on achieving a 50% wardrobe reduction.  I’m close, but I still need to purge some more stuff.  I went through my drawers and got rid of about 40% of that.  I need to make my 2nd and 3rd passes there.  I also had 2 loads of dirty laundry that were not included.  I didn’t count the pieces, but just guessing, I need to get rid of about 75-100 more pieces.  I’ll do that later in the week.

my boys did the mini challenge

I had both of my kids pull 25 clothing items out of their closets.

My youngest, 10, has some emotional attachments to his clothing, and to stuff he’s never even worn. Wow, we all start this process early. He has a lot of hand-me-downs that he intends to wear. The process was not easy for him.

My oldest, 11, is way pickier than I thought. I learned a lot about him in the process. He hates yellow and thinks it makes him look like a clown. He won’t wear anything with a collar. He had a lot of clothes in the back of his closet that were too small, and some clean laundry. I thought he had a lot of clothes, but he doesn’t because his brother, being the same size, has hoarded them all.

50 pieces of clothing is going to the resale shop.  And my boys? They feel good about it. It’s easier to keep their rooms clean.

others taking the challenge

I have gotten some great responses to the mini-challenge.  Besides the several people doing it, here’s some great feedback.  

Hey girl
Just so you know, I did this just before Christmas for the warm coat drive, and of course, other things like shoes. I can now fit ALL my clothes onto one hanging bar and into one dresser. I am amazed at how many things I had been hanging on to because I had become emotionally attached. So, what helped the most was the question ” Why am I identifying with this?” Once I realized I was hanging onto an image that 1. I could either buy again later, or 2. I had grown away from, it was easy.
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I’m pretty sure I’ll have WAY more than 25!!! :o)

Deal. I’ll pack up some stuff but I don’t think I need to wait a month :)

I’ll do it.  My husband and I just went through our closets and took a lot of stuff to the Samaritan inn…but I’m sure we can find 25 more items each. Just might be a little more difficult.

Yep, a little more difficult. We all have too much stuff anyway and need to learn to live with less. It all gets in the way anyways.

consignment & resale shops

I brought a few of my items to Plato’s Closet in effort to get a few dollars for some of my name brand stuff.  A few pieces came from there anyway, some I’ve had for a while and others came from the thrift store.  I got $30.70 for just a few pieces, as they didn’t take most of it.

surprises

Besides the people like me that really appreciate a fresh load of new laundry at the local thrift store, there are others that can benefit from the things you’re not wearing anymore.  Due to a timing thing, and several other oddities orchestrated by God, I had not time to take my load to the thrift store.  That worked out perfectly, as the clothing got to people that really needed it.

I had a couple of suits, jackets and business casual basics.  One of the suits I’ve been hanging on to for probably 15 years, back from my training manager days!  These went to a lady living in a homeless shelter that had a job interview, needing some clothes if she got the job.  I so hope she did!  I found another person with a son that was able to take a lot of the boys stuff.  Nope, I’m not done.  I found a couple of teen girls living in our affluent area that don’t have money for all the name brand, fancy clothes.  Well, and I don’t exactly dress my age, but that’s a whole different subject.  They took a bunch of the clothes too.  The rest?  Going to the thrift store later today.

So who can you bless with some of the stuff you don’t want or need anymore?  I think I need to write on the psychology of clothing.  It intrigues me…