Tackling my closet today!

[peach]

I am organizing my closet today. My wardrobe is pretty pathetic and shabby, but I want to have it organized and tidy for when I can pack away my maternity clothes in a few weeks and start wearing real clothes again.

I want to build a proper wardrobe this year - invest in a nice blazer, a pair of expensive jeans,etc. Right now it's all sweaters, t shirts and cheap jeans. I have gift cards waiting to be spent So I am going through everything today and throwing out everything that is ratty and making a list of items I want to purchase this year.

I'm using this chart as a guide, although the amount of clothes I have is not really that hard to go through it's still helpful

[bunnymendelbaum]

I'm jealous!
I like that chart too.
Currently only maternity clothes are in my closet and the non-maternity are in random unmarked bins in the basement. (I'm totally kicking myself for not storing them in a more organized manner.)
I was just telling DH this morning I wanted to go down there and sift thru the bins. I plan on a MAJOR clothes purge before I move anything back upstairs.
I'm way too tired to do it today though. Ugh.

[peach]

OMG bunny don't be jealous.

My maternity wardrobe is 2 dresses, 5 pairs of pants, and maybe 8 or 9 shirts.

My real wardrobe is honestly like 5 sweaters, 3 hoodies, a dozen t shirts and 5 pairs of jeans from the Gap that I got at 50% off. And a couple of cheap cardigans.

If my clothes were packed away, there wouldn't be bins. There would be bin. Singular. I don't buy a lot of clothes because I am a cheapskate, and I hate my body so I don't enjoy clothes shopping. Plus I work from home so there's no motivation to have a nice wardrobe.

This year, though. I will. I swear.

[bunnymendelbaum]

I have the opposite problem: way too many clothes!
I got hand-me-down maternity clothes from 3 people. Unfortunately, none of the 3 people are really my size, so I end up looking like a homeless pregnant lady.
Then for regular clothes, 9 years ago there was a 3 year period in NYC where I had to walk from work to the train past all the flagship stores in Heralds Square. (Macy's, a 4 floor old navy, h&m, zara, banana, forever21, etc.) I amassed a huge amount of clothes that I'm just now purging.
I need things I like that fit now but it is hard to justify them because I work from home too!

[Deleted]

One of the best ideas anyone has ever given me is to hang my clothes from the back side of the rod when I am going through my closet. As soon as you wear something, hang it up normal. Next time you go through your closet, everything hung backwards you didn't wear and can decide whether to keep or give away much easier.

[mrsemilys]

We plan to do our closet this weekend and I can't wait. I like the chart too!

[bunnymendelbaum]

Jan 2, 2013 19:32:20 GMT -5 rehabaddict said:

One of the best ideas anyone has ever given me is to hang my clothes from the back side of the rod when I am going through my closet. As soon as you wear something, hang it up normal. Next time you go through your closet, everything hung backwards you didn't wear and can decide whether to keep or give away much easier.

This is brilliant!

[boiler717]

I have a rule that if I put on something that makes me unhappy I get rid of it. Now I cut myself some slack if I'm having a bad day but I get rid of everything I don't love. It makes getting dressed so much better, makes me happier, and my closet less cluttered.

[pitterwoo]

I wish someone would come over and help me sort through my closet with me. I like the chart, but in the end, I will just always decide to keep it. I need someone to tell me if it doesn't flatter or if I have too many sweaters or whatever. I'm gentle on my clothes and so every year I just add a few new things and only very trendy things get purged so every year I end up with more and I can't part with it. I'm not like this with anything else and the rest of our stuff is pretty minimal.

Good luck Peach finding the right new items to buy with your gift cards once you've cleared out the old stuff.

[peach]

Pitter, have you tried taking pictures of yourself??

I had some jeans I thought looked great. then i saw a photo of me wearing them....they are saggy and baggy and look awful. I never knew...when I look in the mirror I think they look great! Photos never lie.

[bunnymendelbaum]

Last time I did a clothes purge I tried on almost everything for DH. He had fun. He was on the bed watching me get undressed a million times, so he was pretty happy to give his opinion on how clothes looked.
I didn't always follow his advice, but it was nice to have feedback from someone who already thinks you are pretty great.

[wawa]

Yay for closet organization! I'm so with you Peach on really building a good wardrobe of well-fitted classic pieces. I'm tired of my Old Navy/Target stuff from 6 years ago.

I'm really kind of excited to purge my wardrobe. I did a purge when we moved downstairs, but i'm due for another.

We're moving back upstairs into our bedroom this weekend and I REFUSE to put anything ratty, out of style, or that i don't just love into our pretty new closet. Whether it fits or not is a whole other question that will have to wait till...say...April?

I forsee many goodwill boxes in my future.