I’m wondering if you are a closet purger. I don’t mean someone who hides their purging habit. But someone who regularly edits and purges their clothes closet of pieces they no longer wear.
I edit twice a year. And by edit I mean I look at everything carefully and try things on. See what fits and what doesn’t. Decide if certain pieces are no longer ringing my chimes and might be stored for a year. Then I look at pieces I didn’t wear enough, or at all, last year and decide if and how I might wear them this year. I rarely cull anything anymore. And I never purge.
I think purging implies a big movement of pieces out of your wardrobe. While culling implies more selectivity. So I’m not a closet purger; I’m a culler. And more often than not a keeper. So I guess you could say I’m either very selective in what I get rid of, or I’m a bit miserly when it comes to giving up my clothes.
I used to be a closet purger. Of sorts. Especially when I’d gained weight, which I did gradually over the years. Or when styles shifted. But I can’t remember getting rid of large quantities at once. Except when I retired and gave away a lot of my business-wear to younger colleagues. Still, if I look back ten years, to 2015, in my little book of lists, thirteen of the pieces listed there no longer reside in my closet.
Where did those thirteen pieces go? Well. A couple are stored away, a blouse and a long blazer with leather trim. I may wear them again. A couple I gave to a friend when I stopped colouring my hair. I sold one piece. And the rest I donated. They didn’t all go at once. But from what I’ve been reading lately, there’s a good chance that the pieces I donated made their way to a market stall in Ghana. Or are lying in a foreign landfill. Or, according to this article in Wired, maybe even burning in a pile of discarded clothing in Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the world’s fast fashion dumping grounds.
According to Fashion Takes Action, a Canadian non-profit organization which promotes “sustainability, ethics and circularity in the fashion system,” 76% of Canadians donate clothing, but only 50% of their donations end up on the racks of local second-hand retailers (source.) The rest is sold in bulk, and shipped in huge bales overseas.
Of course, we all know the gist of what happens to the clothes we donate. We all know that our discarded clothing may end up somewhere in the global south. But since fast fashion, and more recently ultra-fast fashion, has been exhorting us to buy more and buy more frequently, the game has changed. Things have ramped up. Consumers are buying more clothes, and fewer good quality clothes than ever before. And it appears that purging and donating piles of clothes from our overflowing closets is not necessarily the answer.
This 2023 article from The Guardian details the sickening truth of what happens to many of the bags of clothes we drop off at whatever charitable drop-off site we frequent. A lot of the discarded clothing from the west ends up in Ghana. And according to The Guardian article, 100 tonnes of clothing from the west is discarded in Accra, Ghana every day. As much as 40% of the textiles that arrive at the Kantamanto market there, where retailers buy and sort 120 lb. bales of clothing, is discarded as waste. It is either spoiled, unsellable, or too poor in quality to sell. Ultra-fast fashion has increased this percentage, apparently, because lower quality goods means more waste. As this article in The Walrus says, thanks to fast fashion, “we are in the golden age of garbage clothing.” Quite literally.
Every article I read today said the answer is to slow down consumption. To shop less which will eventually force brands to produce less. At least that’s the theory. Judicious shopping. Followed by judicious editing. Followed by judicious culling. We don’t want to stop consigning or donating altogether. That’s not the answer either.
Consignment shops have a choice in what they will take from consigners. They refuse to stock merchandise they know their customers don’t want. At least that’s been my experience. But charities don’t have that option. And many of them are inundated with bags and bags of cast-offs including stained and torn and utterly unusable garments. I stopped donating my clothes to one Ottawa charity after venturing into the sorting room one day and seeing the mountain of bags piled up, so many that one volunteer said it might be weeks before they got to the bottom. This article from Fashion Takes Action has some good suggestions for those of us who still want to donate good used clothing to reputable charities.
So, yeah, I’m not much of a closet purger. Closet rummager, for sure. And occasional culler of selected garments. I donated three pairs of skinny jeans just before Christmas. I had to face the fact that when they do come back in style, and they will, I’d never be able to squeeze into those three pairs. I take my clothes now to a small charity shop in a rural town about twenty minutes from where we live. When I rang the bell at the donation door and said to the young man who answered, “Are you in need of skinny jeans?”, he replied so enthusiastically that I was happy I’d come. That’s what we all want, isn’t it? For our garments to go on to be loved by someone else.
And maybe part of the solution to avoid shipping our textile garbage to the global south is to hang onto our clothes longer. I know that you know I don’t have to be convinced to hang onto my clothes. I’m a bit of a clothes hoader, in fact.
Case in point is the outfit I’m wearing above. That cream and brown hand-knit sweater was hand-knitted by moi. Many, many moons ago, 1984 to be exact, when I was living back home in New Brunswick for a year.
In late 1983, I quit my sales job in the pharmaceutical industry, which I hated, and moved back home with my parents for a year. For a year, I lived back on the farm, supply taught in the local school I had myself attended, learned to knit, quit smoking, and otherwise got my head, and my life, straightened out. I have such fond memories of that year which I have waxed lyrical about here on the blog.
I knit up a storm all that winter. And this sweater was my very first effort. Don’t be too impressed; it was pretty easy. And I had Mum as a consultant busily knitting beside me.
Anyway. Last fall in my rummage through my closet to see what I already owned that fit into the current trends, I dug out my old suede Prada boots, cleaned them up, and had the zipper on one boot repaired. Then in this post I bemoaned the lack of a sweater to wear with jeans and my suede boots, and mused about possibly wearing my old hand-knitted one. I hand-washed it and blocked it, and I finally wore it the other day with the dark brown boots, my Levi’s 511 men’s jeans, and my Uniqlo cream ultra-light down jacket. I like the dressy boots with the very casual jeans and sweater. It looks good, I think. I have pressed the sweater since to see if I can stretch it a bit more. I’m not as svelte as I was back in 1984. Ha.
I’m so happy that I didn’t cull that sweater. I’m quite sentimental about it. And I’m happy that I didn’t cull the purple one below either.
I’d forgotten I even had this sweater. I knit it back in the nineties. Or at least I started it back then. It languished in my knitting basket for years before I finished it. For ages I just couldn’t seem to find the time or the motivation to knit. In fact by the time I’d finished, the pieces I knitted early on were dusty and had to be washed before I sewed them all together. Then because big baggy sweaters were well out of fashion, I tucked it away in a trunk until I unearthed it in the fall of 2020. It was like finding hidden treasure that day. I repaired a couple of small moth holes, and I’ve worn it a couple of times recently with my faux-leather pants and a turtleneck.
And then there’s this cream and navy COS sweater, above and below. It’s a fairly recent purchase, and unusually for me, I almost culled this in the fall. It’s huge. I followed the on-line fit measurements for COS but, having no experience with the brand at the time, I didn’t know that their garments are so oversized. I love this sweater, but I wasn’t loving it enough to wear it. So I intended to give it away. My sister tried it and also didn’t like the fit. I was going to give a couple of friends a chance to take it. But then… I decided to have one more go at styling it.
And I really like the results. I just wasn’t trying hard enough to make it work. I love it with the cream pants and the navy turtleneck. But it was the half-tuck that did the trick. It changed the proportions and the look of the sweater with the pants entirely.
You know, as I’ve been researching this post, I ran across numerous articles on the “Rs” of fashion. There are tons of variations on the classic “reduce, reuse, recycle.” Depending on the site there might be as few as four “Rs” or as many as seven. Other than “reduce,” I think that repair, rethink, and restyle are my favourites. Because once we reduce the amount of shopping we do, then it becomes necessary to repair old pieces, rethink how they work with the life we live now, and restyle them to serve our current purposes.
Of course there’s also research, as in researching charities where we might donate, finding out what they need most. Researching the impact our unfettered shopping and purging can have on our world. Rejecting the constant barrage of advertising and trend prognosticators which encourage us to shop more. Reminding ourselves that we have enough clothes. I could go on.
Who knew there were so many helpful “R” words?
So that’s it for me today, friends.
I’ve been thinking about the whole shopping and purging and reselling or donating thing for ages. I don’t want to encourage people to hang onto clothes that no longer work for their lives, or their bodies. But I think that sometimes we take the easy way out. Confusing “I need” with “I want.” Choosing not to look critically at the effect our consumption has on our world. Or perhaps choosing to believe that because we are only one person what we do matters little.
I’ll leave it there today. It’s your turn now. Tell us about your closet purging habits and beliefs. Or perhaps look beyond your closet. After all, our environmental footprint comes from the way we live our whole lives. Not just how we manage our closet.
P.S. There are a couple of affiliate links in this post. If you make a purchase after clicking my link, I will earn a commission which helps to pay for the blog. And of course if you want to support the blog you can always buy me a coffee. 🙂
53 thoughts on “Are You a Closet Purger?”
I love the three OOTDs you’ve put together by taking a new look at your closet and finding fresh combinations!
And your penultimate paragraph reminds me of a very simple New year’s resolution an ex-colleague made many years and I’ve tried to hold on to . . . A resolution to “want what I have.” In fact, I was just telling a granddaughter (12) about this the other day. It’s not easy in a world that seems to emphasize consumption, novelty, variety. . . But once adopted and cultivated, it yields a calm and a contentment that is very much its own reward. . . Great post, thank you! (and isn’t that horrifyingly sad about the Atacama Desert!)
I love that resolution, Frances. That’s why having a seasonal wardrobe, and packing away pieces we won’t be wearing for a while comes in handy. We’re always excited when we haul them back out again. Perhaps we should be saying, “I’d like something different to wear” instead of “I want something new.” 🙂
Love your outfits. I’m very impressed with the handkniited jumpers. I’ve never minded knitting for the grandchildren when they were small but anything bigger defeats me other than just plain peggy square blankets which I have made loads of for said grandchildren.
The infographic about donated clothing is a shocker. I’m sure people who donate clothing don’t realise what happens to their donations.
I’m a hoarder from way back. I do cull a few items as I change over seasonal clothes but I’m rather inclined to have the misplaced belief that I might fit back in to clothes that are too small, the styles might make a come back or I paid a lot for an item which is in perfectly good condition. The items I cull go to various charity shops or to a women’s refuge. I actually have a camphor wood chest full of beautiful clothes which my children wore and I have passed on to them when they’ve had their own children. But, somehow, they come back to the chest when they are finished with them.
I’ve been quite good at reducing purchases in the last couple of years and have taken to telling myself that I don’t need new clothes unless I’m replacing something I have worn out. My life is so much more casual since retirement so I don’t need suits and dresses so Dress for Success will inherit them.
I love the story about your chest, Kenzie. When I was still working I used to love that the young mums would bring in their baby stuff for the newer mums. It was a great way to recycle.
This is a topic that is hitting hugely close to home for me. Reports from my former LA home include the fact that people are donating absolute garbage (stained, worn, torn clothing, including underwear – eww!) clothing for fire victims, and then are wildly offended when informed that people don’t want garbage. Beggars can’t be choosers and all that. So now charities have to spend time and money to dispose of this stuff (fortunately, some textile recycling groups are stepping up to help) instead of spending time and money where it can do some actual good.
I just finished reading Aja Barber’s Consumed, which I highly recommend, as she discusses these issues in depth. I’m thinking on them a lot, as I’m in the midst of a substantial weight loss process, and getting rid of things that no longer fit is causing me some anxiety (the more you know…). I’ve had stuff altered, but there are things that I’m just going to have to part with, and that means finding places where I know they won’t just wind up in Ghana or the Atacama. There’s a good charity resale shop here in town that will take my better stuff, but I’m researching textile recycling (looks like there are drop offs in Lisbon) for the worn pieces.
I’m also thinking very carefully about future wardrobe. But that’s a whole other process!
You are so right, Carol, “The more you know…” I am also currently looking into the possibility of textile recycling places near me. One drop-off place here was so inundated with discarded goods when I visited that people were leaving bags of kids clothes and toys in the alley behind the building, the bags had ripped and stuff was spilling out. Seriously, how much extra effort would it be to bring the stuff back home for another day? It’s as if once people decide to get rid of stuff, they don’t care that it’s now someone else’s problem.
Having joined your community fairly recently I am impressed with your research. Some bloggers/influencers are almost daily encouraging you to buy new clothes – glorified shop assistants.
I wasn’t aware of the stats regarding charitable clothing donations but as a friend volunteered at a charity hub I did know that some people donate rubbish.
Since I retired I have been buying more second hand items myself – often better quality than I would purchase new, mostly from online outlets but also from charity shops. I also sell things myself that no longer suit me – I too now have white hair – or one of those spur of the moment purchases that never work.
I am not saying this is for everyone but it suits me – especially when I buy nearly new cashmere jumpers, coats and leather jackets and bags, all for about a third of the price they would have been new.
Sometimes I have been a bit hasty in donating or selling items – I now box them up and review the next year.
Keep us the good work – Jane UK
There is an online shop called “Nearly New Cashmere” in your neck of the woods. I follow them on IG just because I love to watch them talk about the silk scarves they “rehabilitate.” You should check them out. They also send out regular emails about their stock. One thing they do is contract a place in Scotland to make new garments for them from deadstock cashmere.
I always appreciate this topic- and thank you Carol for reminding us that there are clothing brands that source recycled fabric. After volunteering in a charity shop, I understand how much of our stuff doesn’t sell or is too worn to be considered. Charity shops are not trash bins to help us feel better. I wear a lot of tee shirts and have a downgrading system, down to sleepwear then house and garden wear then to cleaning rags.
We also have a “downgrading system” in our house. Recently I’ve realized that my stretched out turtlenecks have a new home with Hubby. He is not much bigger than I am, except across the shoulders and arms. But if the shirt is super stretched, he can wear them skiing or on spring canoe trips.
This is well done and always good to remind people of this. Your outfits are also great and I love the Icelandic sweater. I remember that exact period, as these sweaters were very much in vogue in Canada. My grandmother knitted each of us one in about the same year! The colour mix suits you.
It’s a positive to be reminded of how many goods are disposed of (not only clothing), e.g., electronic waste. I have never been a huge consumer of new things, but I really slowed down about ten years ago. Now I find it very easy not to buy clothing especially, because the quality-price comparison doesn’t make it worthwhile, even at mid-level brands. I don’t like buying crummy things made of cheap fabrics that I know won’t hold up well or that were produced in an unethical or damaging manner. I also don’t mind wearing out my clothes, so I haven’t given anything away in maybe five years (although likewise I have a few pairs of jeans in the jeans cupboard that are stacked to go somewhere). I can sew and knit otherwise, so when I really need a hit of something fresh I do one of those things. (I know not everyone has the time or inclination to do that, although I’m pleased that at this point I don’t accumulate fabric and can use materials I already have. I’ve been known to unravel old sweaters and knit the yarn again slightly differently, which sounds laborious but is actually fun. I did that a when I was a poor student and needed a creative hit and it’s good to be reminded of that possibility.)
Those Shetland and Icelandic sweaters were all the rage in the eighties weren’t they? I had not thought of unravelling sweaters. All that original work, though! I don’t think I could do it.
This post really struck home with me. For years I have been railing against influencers who encourage people to shop shop shop. Or telling their audience that they should buy high quality clothing that will last. Don’t get me wrong, I love the high end labels as much as anyone. But I am witness to the fact that a 90 dollar pair of Macy’s dress pants, bought on sale for a third off, will also last years in your closet if taken care of. A nice Talbots or Chico’s jacket will also pass the test of time, if well taken care of. (Sorry, all US mid price brands but that’s where I live). And a great thrift store buy will also last many more years. I’m a culler too, and absolutely refuse to part with things because I haven’t worn them in a year. I can see all my clothes because I don’t have so many they won’t fit in my closets. This helps a lot. And I tend to wear things out, then they become rags or garden apparel, as I am not a stylish gardener…For a wedding or a funeral, I go to my closet and pick the appropriate jacket, pants, or classic dress. The dresses are all at least six years old. Boots too, although I did update with a pair this year. Quite exciting. My weakness is a nice purse, and I try very hard to stay away from them.
When is enough ever going to be enough?
good jeans and t-shirts for a while then demoted to house clothes and then demoted to garden clothes…. I have garden jeans at least 15 years old, haha not sure they will button up in the spring though
Oh, me too, Brenda. Once they are too small in the middle there’s not much we can do with them.
Orsola de Castro of the Fashion Revolution agrees with you, Susan, and so do I. She says that even cheap clothing can become sustainable if we look after it.
I never get rid of bags, usually. But I had an old Coach bag that I gave to a young friend and she was so thrilled, I was glad I’d thought to ask her if she wanted it.
I buy too many clothes. I think I am trying very hard to look attractive. At least, as attractive as I was 10 years ago. The aging bit and extra weight has got me down with my self worth. I won’t lie, I never have thought I am or was attractive, even when younger. Now that I am older, I feel even less so. I know, it’s in my head. So I buy more clothes to make myself feel better. I wish I could break this cycle. I have many things in my closet I have never worn. The only upside is that I do donate a lot of clothes to the local shop which helps fund a local hospice. Any advice would be appreciated.
Hi Linda: I’m very much in the same boat. And I won’t lie: it can be a miserable existence. I worked in the fashion/adjacent business for most of my career too, which didn’t help, but the level of churn in my closet ( it’s certainly slowed now that I am nearing retirement and live a pretty casual life) was appalling. Always hating how I looked in an item, getting rid of it, and trying again. Repeat for decades. That, and weight fluctuations , made building a working wardrobe very difficult. To this day, I still want something new to perk things up.
I admire your honesty and vulnerability. These are wonderful qualities.
Maybe one thing to try would be Sue’s “shop your closet” trial and error. Sometimes it takes a while to find a combination that works and makes you feel good, but it is possible, and doesn’t require buying anything new. More than that, beauty is so much more than what is on the surface. I’m sure you are an attractive, whole person. It can just take time and effort to see that when we are feeling down on ourselves. Hoping you start to feel good about yourself.
I must add my charity shop is very happy to get my donated clothes with the tags still on! lol
I tend to be a hoarder as well. Some things in my ‘vintage closet’ are 15 years old and whenever I want a new look, well I just peruse the rows in our cold storage room which is very long with double racks. On occasion I have jumped right in and tossed things for the Salvation Army and then told my husband that I should never have given that yellow two piece blouse/skirt set away as I really loved it. Regrets when I went back to their shop and someone had already bought it I guess – gone or I would have bought it right back. Lesson learned. I now have an ongoing pile and it stays until I am really positive it should be donated. My new motto this year is the same as many others. It is my minimal or ‘no buy’ year as every time I look at what is in upstairs closets as well as vintage, it is way too much when in the pile of things I cannot find my favourite long cream knitted vest. By the way Sue, you look great in everything and your knitting skills are admirable. I can sew and will not part with a dress I made many years ago and love it and it still fits. Sentimental really is the word for some things we hold onto. Really great blog and I did know about too much fast fashion going to landfill areas – horrible for the wastage. We all need to cope with a lot less stuff!!!!!
That’s hard, Linda. But like Stephanie said, maybe a concerted attempt to shop your closet and try different pieces different ways to change the proportions of the look. Changing up the proportions of a look can make a big difference. That striped sweater of mine is a case in point. It looks dreadful with my cargo pants if I wear it down long. Way too bulky.
Are you trying to buy the same types/styles/cuts over and over? Maybe look at what you are buying critically to see if there’s a pattern there?
Also maybe finding out which colours look good on you might help. I know I was blown away just by finding out that I should wear cool colours instead of warm. There are lots of videos to help do this. Justine Leconte has a good one from a few years ago. I try not to become too bogged down in the details, I just look for warm or cool now.
Try a no-buy month, perhaps, and make it a goal to wear a few things you already own a new way as a start. Anyway, I don’t want to overwhelm you with ideas. Good luck. And let us know how you get on.
Another good “R” word: Refuse! As in refuse to listen to influencers whose raison d’etre is to get us to buy what they’re selling. It’s not just young people glued to these social media accounts — there are now many middle-aged and older influencers perpetuating the buy, buy, buy mentality.
The items you’re wearing are gorgeous — the fact that many have a history speaks to their quality.
Yep. Good one. Plus I don’t buy the idea that some influencers must work this way because it’s their job. They have in their control to change the way they work.
How thought provoking! Thank you.
I read a lot of blogs & intentionally read yours for a perspective I admire & hope to emulate.
I am kind of in the Linda V & Lisa camp though…..
& I admit I intentionally leave tags on so the next “acquirer” will know it’s never even been worn. I keep hunting for that unicorn that will make me look tall & thin, or at least really good like all the bloggers I follow…..
I’m (in some ways) lucky that I have a large closet(s) & really do have a lot of space to hang on to stuff (a young LOFT sales associate complimented me on a 45 year old sweater the other day – we both had a good laugh! She admitted that if you buy good stuff, it will last.). But
between weight shifts, aging, & various career/life stages (from suits for full time in an office, then scrubs for nursing, sweats to work from home, & now moving into retirement),
it’s kind of crazy, not kind of….. it IS!
I already declare spending-moratoriums for myself, I need to jump on the band wagon & commit to a “Want what you have” mantra.
Thank you!
If you have suits from your past careers you are well on your way to an on-trend wardrobe. Dress pants with cosy sweaters or the matching jackets with jeans. I am soo glad I had the pants from my old Max Mara pant suit altered.
I have kept all my jackets from my teaching career and wear them with my jrans. Love my jeans! What I have purged away are dresses with the exception of a couple of linen dresses for summer. I still have about five beautiful wool skirts, I can’t quite part with. Maybe I should just be an elegant lady and wear them around the house!
I am a member of the Buy Nothing Project through Facebook. It is a big movement but you join your group at the local level. It has been a great way to give away, “gift”, things I don’t wear directly to someone who actually wants it. I live in Denver and we have had Venezuelan immigrants join our local group and need lots of stuff. It has been a great way to get rid of things I could never donate but try not to put in the trash. For example, dusty, old, fake plants (cleaned as best I could) to a new theatre teacher who had them on a list of items wanted for stage props. I have requested items I needed and been gifted items offered. There are these groups all over North America and it is best to search by your location. I noticed there is a Buy Nothing App now. Not all things find new homes but this is a great way to offer things you don’t want as a first step to reduce having them end up in a foreign landfill.
That’s a great idea for finding a community of like-minded people, Donna.
Utterly amazing Sue,the post and the comments as well! Your knitting is / was excellent,when I’ve seen it at IG-just the right sweater for your climate (as far as I could imagine). I’ve only crocheted and knitted some pieces for my nieces when they were little (my son didn’t like the feel of the wool,only cotton), but my mother and me often recyled yarn from older things,as well as Stephanie
We have a very similar Cos sweater,I know Cos sizes,but opted for oversized nevertheless (with half tuck :))
I’m the culler,too,and save and store all the clothes that are in pristine condition (and size, too). Too small nice things go to people I know (I’ve just gifted beautiful Max&co sequined-some 15 years old -black top in italian size 40,one hour ago, mostly thanks to this post) or I use old t-shirts or tank tops for cleaning-they are the best for the task. Luckily,I don’t have ( except maybe bras,bathing suits and sport jackets and tights…..hm….when one thinks about it-I still have) a lot of man made materials
There is a lot of space to be better….
Dottoressa
I think I’ve said this before, Dottoressa. We’d both love a good rummage in each other’s closet. Too bad we live so far away from each other. 🙂
Thank you for your always thought provoking post on this topic. I am a culler not a purger. I am guilty of buying too much and impulsively, especially if I see a good sale, and keeping too much for too long. Eventually I just get tired of what I’ve kept and hardly worn. My mother passed away in 2006 and I have items in my closet I can remember wearing before she passed.
Since I retired 12 years ago my clothing needs have definitely changed and when I cull, first anything completely worn out and household textiles like bedding goes to a local textile recycler Canam Global Textile Recycling. They pay a small amount per pound and I don’t care about the money, I just want to know it’s not going to landfill. Hopefully their statements about what they do are honest. Any still wearable clothing, shoes, boots, purses, go in a bag which first goes to my daughter who is a fabulous millennial thrifter and reuser She then passes what she doesn’t want or doesn’t fit to a local charity thrift shop which works with women in transition houses, starting back to work etc.
I completely blew the “rule of five” last year but I hadn’t bought really anything since 2019 pre pandemic when we downsized, and some of my clothes were just plain worn out or no longer fit. I try to buy classic, timeless, good quality pieces but find that’s not what my retired lifestyle requires. In winter I wear jeans, yoga pants, long sleeve shirts and sweaters or fleeces. In summer I wear shorter yoga capris, tshirts or tank tops and light fleeces or athletic jackets. I restocked my winter sweaters in the sales last year and we’re having one of the mildest winters ever so I’ll be good for a couple of winters now. In each season I probably wear the same 10 pieces over and over with a rare exception for an outing.
So I’m starting 2025 with a full closet and a renewed “rule of five” discipline. I’ve already had to buy a new pair of boots to replace a very worn pair which would have been more expensive to resole and repair than replace. That’s frustrating but the textile recycler also takes shoes and boots.
I would love to cull down to what I can identify in each season as my 10 pieces I wear in rotation and not have a stuffed closet of things I don’t wear but I grew up with a scarcity mentality and it terrifies me to get rid of things I might need.
I think that if we follow the “Rule of Five” we have to break it every few seasons to replenish basics. Especially tanks and tees. I had to buy a new short-sleeved white tee last year because one of two that I owned was stained and had a hole in it, and I need the neck to be at least halfway presentable. I always need two white tees. One which is pristine and can be worn alone and one which I wear under jackets or sweaters. I didn’t count it as part of my five. That may be stretching the rules… but so be it. 🙂
P.S. I’ll be making a video of all my Rule of Five successes and failures in a couple of weeks.
As a longtime culler and purger, I’m much more careful than I used to be re: my culling habits. Last year I went looking for a particular striped sweater I wanted to wear and couldn’t find it in my current closet or the stored off season clothes. Luckily, I realized it was in the “donate” bag and grabbed it back. TBH, I really relate to Linda V’s comment above, and I probably put it on one day and didn’t like the way I looked in it, so decided to get rid of it. Now I have to really dislike something or know I haven’t worn it in years before I get rid of it. But even that’s not a hard and fast rule. There are a few things that I keep moving back and forth seasonally just because I like them, and maybe I make an effort to wear them randomly just to justify keeping them. Haha
Sometimes I dream about a particular piece that I no longer have. Nothing we can do once it’s gone though, eh?
Sadly, I’m totally guilty of large purges in the past, especially after I retired, which was several years ago. Now, with the poor quality of clothing these days, my older stuff looks fabulous by comparison, so I’m definitely hanging on to these items and finding new ways to restyle and wear them. I have many lovely items in my closet that are well over a decade old and I no longer feel compelled to get rid clothes just because they aren’t trending, or that I haven’t worn them that much in so many months or years.
Our local Value Village moved into a much larger facility a few years back, and just going into it and seeing racks upon racks of discarded clothing is frankly, quite jarring and disheartening to see. Also, when I was there, I could hear the bell in the drop-off area ringing every 5 or 10 minutes with even more stuff being dropped off. Yikes!!
I agree, we need to desperately slow down this shopping habit that society has influenced us into doing. Its total overconsumption. Clearly, many of us have so much more than we actually need.
We DO need to slow down the consumption. You are right. There are so, so many clothes in circulation. And so often we get rid of stuff, we are just dumping our problem on someone else…. maybe someone far, far away. Yikes.
Such an interesting discussion. For the last four or five years, I have been engaged in a project of upgrading my wardrobe, after two decades of not investing much in clothing (a consequence of weight shifts and other spending priororities.) When I finally permitted myself to buy good clothes, I discovered there was not much worth buying – even once reliable brands like Eileen Fisher had gone way down hill. Second hand shopping (all online) has been the solution. It is amazing what is out there! Over time I have been able to build a wardrobe of high quality pieces that I expect to have for years. Most of the inferior stuff has now been culled out, though I still review the closet twice a year and make lists of where the “holes” are – my strategy for preventing impulse purchases.
I do think we now have a whole generation (the fast fashion kids) that has never seen quality fabric and clothing construction in stores. (Still available, but only at stratospheric price points.) No wonder these people don’t think in terms of buying things that will last.
But even if people who buy fast fashion made an effort to care for and repair their clothes and tried to keep them for at least two seasons they’d be doing something better than they are now where garments are discarded after a couple of wears.
Not only should we be aware of how much fashion we buy and from where but also what we spend at the grocery store. Food waste is huge. I am trying harder to buy only what we can use. I am happy with cook once eat twice, try buying local as much as possible. Lucky we live in essex county ont and we can buy quite a bit from local greenhouses and farmers. Greenhouse strawberries taste 100% better than Florida ones. Hydroponic lettuce is so good! Read country of origin, just bought a big bag of beets grown in Quebec.
You are right. Over consumption applies to everything we buy. Not just fashion.
This is very helpful information. Depressing, but helpful!
I have lost 40 pounds in the past two years, and I am short so the size change is dramatic. I have hung on to all my clothes, including the ones from my East Coast suits-and-dresses lifestyle. I live in a very casual West Coast social and weather environment now.
So I have started a cull, and now worry how to be responsible about the discards.
I did one earlier discard, and gave the fancy scarves, a formal long coat, etc. to the local high school drama department. But I don’t think office wear is going to a winner there.
I remember visiting a women’s shelter in the Midwest. Seeing the bins with underwear and bras of all sizes really brought home how it must be to start from nothing. The LA fire victims deserve our respect.
You might be surprised. Drama departments can use lots of different costumes.
I’ve enjoyed donating to Dress for Success. I’m careful only to donate good quality clothes, shoes and bags and they’ve told me they appreciate my donations as they do a quick check of what I bring in. It’s how I dealt with work clothes that no longer fit my life and the occasional poorly chosen purchase purchased more recently. I don’t buy from fast fashion places. I can’t bear the poor quality and I’m strictly a natural fibre purchaser. But I’m not immune from purchasing wants instead of needs or things that looked good in the shop but not in real life. I’ve found it helpful to unsubscribe from clothing retailer emails. The constant barrage of new styles, colours and shapes is as tempting as it is wearying. Thanks for sharing your recycling research. Knowing about the appalling outcome of failed donations will keep me from adding to cart for some time.
One of the articles I read talked about how some brands design clothes to be consumed digitally. The garment has to look good in a photograph on the website, not on a real body. I’ve also read about brands using AI models, not real people. We have to be wary all the time.
I loved all the sweaters and the purple one was particularly beautiful on you…..and, you might want to “rethink” the skinny jeans! You look great in them!
Thanks, Leigh. I still have two pairs of skinny jeans. Ones that still fit me. Ha.
I used to be a considered culler, but in the last couple of years I have become a purger. I buy way too much, as I am still trying to find my comfort style in retirement though not quite there yet. I also have more time to shop now too. I take heaps to the charity shop that I have never worn or worn once. This year I definitely aim to be so much better. I have been proud of the online shopping baskets I have deleted in the past few weeks.
Good for you, Janey. I’ve stopped ordering online from stores where I can’t return the item in person. That cuts down on a lot of temptation. 🙂
I have s new system where I leave an item, usually one on sale in my online cart for a couple of days. Lo and behold when I go back layer, it is most often out of stock. Shopped solved, fate decreed I didn’t need it.
Great idea. Fate has intervened. 🙂
Great sweaters for great outfits. I’m glad that you found a way to make the cream striped sweater work. The two handmade ones are beautiful and absolutely keepers.
I have too many clothes. I have been donating them, but have been being careful about my donations. The clothes are decent quality, clean and in excellent condition. My husband and I are researching ways to dispose of clothing that is too worn to donate, i.e. looking for fabric disposal methods that are not going to wind up in a small country as waste.
It will take me a while to process my clothes, but I am asking the question, “Will I ever wear it again?” Part of the issue right now is that I am at a weight that I hope to slim down from. We’ll see if I make progress on that.
I like the reuse, recreate, repair approach. It is smart for the environment, our bank accounts and our ability to think outside of the box.
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