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12-31-2016 11:00 AM
I am trying to convince myself that I don't need any new clothes this year. Or jewelry. Or purses. Or shoes. I watched your series when you did this several years ago. What helped you the most in shopping your closet? What were your motivators? Are there any web sites that you found helpful?
Thank you in advance.
12-31-2016 11:33 AM
@Tennesseegal I don't remember reading the organized way of going about curtailing over-buying, but I've been working on that for a few years now.
I started with jewelry. I was feeling overwhelmed by having so much to choose from, and I found myself wearing the same few pieces way too often. I started by setting aside time to sort and categorize, organizing some part of what I already owned into weekly sets. Then I'd choose from one of those sets for a week instead of from the things I'd been overusing. Some weeks I'd switch back to my favorites, but I kept pushing myself to choose more creatively.
Sometimes I did that sorting while I was watching a jewelry show, and when I saw a piece I liked on air, I'd look for something already in the house which was similar. Of course, there was almost always something that worked. I made it through more than 3 years without buying another new piece of jewelry!
12-31-2016 11:41 AM
@lolakimono has been an inspiration for me and I'm sure she'll give you some fabulous tips. 😊
For me, the best thing I could do was organize my closet. I put all of the short sleeve tops together, the sleeveless tops together, skirts together, etc. Then I grouped them by color. My closet was a disorganized mess, but that simple (yet time consuming) effort to get organized really helped me see that I had some great pieces and didn't really need to do any more shopping for a while. I went from "I don't have a thing to wear" to "Oh, my, which one should I choose?"
12-31-2016 11:50 AM
Pareto's Principle is applicable to so many things !
Here with our closets: 80% of the time we wear only 20% of our clothing items.
With anyone providing services or products: 80% of the customer complaints come from the same 20% or are about the same 20% of offerings.
Clearing out and then organizing closets enables you to not only wear more of your " inventory " and shop less, but it also saves you valuable time in getting dressed.
Pareto's Principle is a great productivity tool !
12-31-2016 12:40 PM
I think a lot of us shop and buy new things because it's therapeutic to some and just makes most of us feel good. I think I could organize my closet and come up with a few more outfits by combining what I already have but then I'd have to find a substitute for something I thoroughly enjoy - shopping.
12-31-2016 01:19 PM
Oooh! A New Year's challenge! I am flattered that you paged me.
Here is what I have so far, although I will post back as I think of more updates.
I liked this blog a lot:
http://www.puttingmetogether.com/p/building-remixable-wardrobe-series.html
My interest was more about repurposing what I had as my BF had quit his job and he spent about 3 years searching for full time employment (still does not have a job in his field, but at least he is employed).
For me, as a teacher, I put money into shoes/boots, accessories, and clothing. I feel like my students notice everything, and in middle school they have no filter so they will comment on everything. I am not a handbag person, I don't have a Smartphone, I don't do nails or lots of hair maintenance, and until this summer's unexpected events, I drove a 13 year old car.
I am not a minimalist by nature, so the way to stay accountable was to have BF take a daily photo and post it here. I did set a few rules, which I think was important at the beginning of the challenge. I think to say that you will not purchase anything for X period is to set yourself up for failure. A better approach will be to say that you will not purchase X item, or spend X dollars, or whatever it might be until X items go out of your closet.
There are people that like the minimalist or capsule wardrobe, or Project 33- http://bemorewithless.com/project-333/ . If you want to try that, there are lots of ideas on Pinterest.
Here are some suggestions- take ones that work for your life and pass on the ones that don't.
12-31-2016 01:24 PM
Here is a recent thread I started about a fashion book that I enjoyed.
http://community.qvc.com/t5/Fashion/The-Curated-Closet/m-p/3265638/highlight/true
12-31-2016 03:09 PM
Try this, give up buying coffee for one month, see how much you save. Multiply that by 12, huge savings.
12-31-2016 03:12 PM
@Miranda1550 wrote:
Try this, give up buying coffee for one month, see how much you save. Multiply that by 12, huge savings.
I'm not a coffee drinker, so $0 savings for me, but someone else might benefit!
I have $50+ in Starbucks cards that I haven't used from former students.
12-31-2016 06:06 PM
Wow! Thank you Lola and other ladies. This is a lot to digest. I am not a minimalist either. I love clothes and shopping is a hobby. Over the time off from school this December, I have gone through my closet and pulled things that I don't use anymore. I donated about 7 purses to Goodwill. As a teacher (high school), I am always on the spotlight in front of my students too! High school students notice everything too. They notice if my hair has been cut long before any colleague. A must for me is that my shoes be comfortable because I am on my feet on hard flooring all day. I prefer flats and wedges.
One reason that I am doing this is because my husband has been unable to work because of some health issues and I really feel like I need to save money this year. And I really don't need anything but yesterday I returned some items to TJ Maxx and was tempted. Now, I can honestly say that I don't spend a lot of money on individual items. I shop at TJ, Marshall's, Kohl's, Christopher and Banks (my favorite store), Ross for Less, and Belk and I look for sale prices and use coupons. My biggest problem is hanging on to clothes even though I haven't worn them. Another reason is that in a few years I am going to retire (I hope!) and
Tomorrow, I am going to start looking at your websites and suggestions (all of you ladies) and really look at what I should do.
thanks so much. Happy New Year Y'all!
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