Have you ever woken up in the morning and tried to pick out an outfit for the day and felt completely overwhelmed by the amount of clothes in your closet? Do you look at your wardrobe and feel as though you have nothing to wear? Or, do you find yourself wearing the same five outfits on a weekly basis?
That happened to me my freshman year of college after I had brought almost my entire wardrobe into my shared, nine-by-nine dorm room. My closet and dresser were both so full that I could barely find what I was looking for, causing me to only wear the same few outfits every week.
As my first semester away from home progressed, I found myself feeling overwhelmed by the amount of clothes I had brought and realizing just how much I don’t wear all but a the few essential items I wear to class on a weekly basis.
Beginning the next semester, I knew I needed to downsize my wardrobe. When I heard that VCU was having a donation event the first week of classes, I immediately went through my clothes and ended up donating two trash bags full of barely worn clothes and some accessories.
After donating, I immediately felt a sense of relief when I got back to my room. I could actually see my clothes for once and did not feel as overwhelmed by my closet. Since then (a year and a half later), I have now donated over half of all the clothes I own and continue to downsize to this day. The only clothes I keep are clothes that I actually wear.
Minimalist wardrobe via Pinterest
Just this past summer alone, I have made three Goodwill runs with trash bags stuffed full of clothing items and accessories from my closet. Some items even had the tags on them from clothes I thought I would end up wearing one day but, three years down the road, and I still have yet to wear them. If there are clothes that you have not worn in one or two years, the best thing to do is to donate them or sell them if you need the money. I was bummed that I donated two brand new skirts that still had the $40 and $60 dollar tags on them, but I was being selfish by hoarding these clothing items in my closet. Instead, it felt good donating them and I felt happy that someone would be able to score big when they buy the new skirts with the tags still on them. Hopefully, someone will buy these items and actually find use for them and give them a better home.
I have realized that many Americans tend to have way more clothes than they actually wear. We tend to accumulate more than we downsize. People rarely will go through their closets to pick through their unused and untouched clothes that have seen better days, but on many weekends they will go shopping and bring home countless new clothing items.
Since getting rid of over half of the clothes I own, I have found it easier to take control of my wardrobe. I have realized that a lot of stress and discomfort in my life came from having an excessive amount of material goods that I thought would make me happy, but in turn did the opposite. Now, I know and love every piece of clothing in my closet. I always have room to put them away where they belong and I have more time to do the things I love to do and spend less time organizing my clothes.