closet downsizing

ok. this is really embarrassing for me to make this post.  as i have a real obsession with shopping and a desire to own all the clothes.  but i have finally come to the conclusion that i have too much and i need to help myself downsize.

my problem is that i haven't really changed sizes since high school (hello, class of 2005) and so i keep everything that still fits and is still in style.  buuuuuuuut i don't stop shopping.  i keep adding.  and my real true problem is that if i find something i like, say a crew neck tshirt, i get it in every color.  it's awful.  i have a problem.  i admit it.

i'm also in the belief that i wear most of what i own.  however, my darling husband would say otherwise.  so, to tackle my excessive shopping and to test my theory of how much of it i wear, i'm trying some downsizing tricks.

the first thing i did was to decide my time frame.  i live in ohio where the weather is finicky and so i obviously have winter clothes and summer clothes.  my closet is large enough (an entire bedroom, whatever) that i don't put away clothes due to seasons.  it all stays out year round and some pieces i do end up wearing year round.  originally i thought i would do jan 2016-jan 2017 but then i'd have to wait all year to go through my clothes since jan-mar is more snow weather, apr-sept is summer weather and oct-dec is fall weather.  and i'm impatient.  so, i finally decided on sept 2016-sept 2017.  that way i can start the process now and hit all the different weather experiences without having to break up in the middle for the warmer months.

after sorting all that out, i actually got started.  i ran to target and bought some dot stickers - the kind you normally use for rummage sales, grabbed a pen and paper and stood in the middle of my closet.  overwhelmed.

i decided i wanted to know what i spend my money on - heels?  sweats?  work clothes?  sneakers???  so, in the process, i created categories and counted as i labeled.  your categories can be as broad or specific as you want if you do this step.  i just wanted to get a better handle on what i tend to buy so i know to stop buying it.  my categories were mostly broad - pants, tshirts, long sleeve, shorts, dresses/skirts, sweats/leggings/gym shorts, spaghetti tanks, casual tanks, work tops, flannels, sweaters.. and i did the same for shoes - heels, sneakers, flats, sandals, boots..

i began with taking my hangers and hanging them backwards on the rod.  i counted each jacket, cardigan, tank top, dress and work shirt i have and recorded that number.  the idea behind this trick is once you wear the piece and you go to hang it back up, then you flip the hanger back the correct way.  then at the end of the season or year you'll know exactly what you did or didn't wear based on the hanger position.  easy enough.

but i was dumbfounded on what to do with my folding clothes.  most of my clothes are folded.  so, i came up with the stickers.  i went through each cubby and pulled out each item and stickered and counted it.  my advice for this is to put the sticker in the fold so that way when you pull out a shirt the sticker doesn't come off or fall off in the process giving you a false report at the end of the season or year.

sticker is on the inside of the fold

stickers are on the inside of the fold

i used the stickers on my shoes as well.  mostly putting the stickers on the bottom of the shoes or inside on the soles.  stickered and counted.

as i wear the folded clothes or shoes, i'll remove the stickers.  somethings i didn't sticker like my pj bottoms, sweats and leggings.  i have so many and most of them are tossed in a basket and so there was no easy way to sticker them.  and if i needed to downsize them i could just force myself to stick with a certain number like 5 pairs of sweatpants and get rid of the rest..

this is really customizable based on your needs.

once i was done counting everything, i really realized my buying habits.  (please do not judge me - harshly.  may i remind you i've been collecting for well over 10 years..) i have over 60 pairs of sweatpants/leggings/pj shorts/gym shorts.  SIXTY.  i have enough shirts that i wouldn't have to do a single load of laundry in 9 months because i can wear a new shirt everyday for NINE MONTHS.  pants/dress wise, i could not do laundry for THREE MONTHS.  who am i??  i'm not famous or special that i can't repeat clothes.  i know collecting and not getting rid of things for over 10 years would make my closet huge.  but that huge???  put down the shopping cards and lets reevaluate your priorities, girl.

my plan is to maybe go through my winter clothes at the beginning of summer next year and then go through absolutely all of it next september.  anything that i didn't wear this year will either be donated or i may end up keeping it.  items that i do keep i plan to write down and do this process all over again next september.  then if i don't wear it by sept 2018, it has to be donated.  no ifs, ands or buts.  some pieces, like my sequin dress, i may keep even if i don't wear it for a few years for the off chance that we do something for nye.  and obviously if it doesn't fit or it's out of style or it's been 5 years and i need to let the dream go, i'll donate it.

in doing this, i have a few expectations or goals in mind.  (1) i want to find out where i spend my money.  is it so much on casual clothes when i need to invest in work clothes? (2) what do i wear? do i think i wear 80% of my closet but i'm really wearing the same five things? (3) again, what do i wear? do i wear mostly black and white but i have 85 things of hot pink i don't wear? (4) because i will buy the same item in every color or sometimes even in the same color, am i wearing them? do i really need 5 white tshirts?  or should i just keep 2 on hand in rotation?

i'm really excited to see how it turns out and to see if i can prove my husband wrong on what percentage i do actually wear..