Typically, we only wear 20% of the clothes in our wardrobe 80% of the time. This means that you’ve probably got too many clothes which you’ll not wear taking up valuable space!
Usually, when I say this in public, there are lots of nods of heads in agreement. Especially from women!
So, I thought I would put this theory to the test by setting myself a 30 day challenge in April. Here’s what I found.
Confession and caveat time
I am not unlike most women, despite my job! I do have a lot of clothes and I also know that I do not wear them all. That said, the clothes in my wardrobe are all in the right shades of colour for me (soft, cool deep). They are the right style for my personality (classic/natural). They fit my body shape (neat hourglass) and I can combine various items together to create multiple outfits. Plus, I regularly detox my wardrobe but I do currently have an overhang from my corporate days; so I know there’s items which do need to go.
Pre-assessment
Before I started the challenge, I made a quick assessment of any obvious items which needed to go. One general rule of thumb you could use is to ask yourself if you’ve worn it in the last 12 months. If not, is there a legitimate reason, rather than an excuse?
Hangers
I’m not being OCD, but I did make sure that all the hangers were facing the same direction. Why? Well, the idea being that each time I wore an item, I’d turn the hanger round the other way. This way I’d be able to visually see how many of my clothes were facing the original way round and therefore; unworn at the end of the challenge.
Progress
It started off well, I found that I was mixing and matching different tops with my coloured jeans (I have five shades excluding normal denim, black and white) and I was wearing different outfits. Bonus.
Mid way through, I noticed that I was leaning towards some of the items I’d already worn. Maybe you do this too? It shows that I’m getting my use out of a garment. (Big tick – you get a better £s per wear). But, was I getting a bit lazy with my choices when I had other clothes ready to wear? Why weren’t I wearing them?
It actually made me reassess what else was available in my wardrobe and be a little more creative. Now, if you’ve got a vision of me in a pink tutu, striped shirt, trousers and a fascinator, then fear not. I can assure you that I was still dressing within my ‘normal’ personality style range!
For example, a pair of pink jeans I hadn’t worn in months came out which I wore with a lilac T-shirt. This I wore dressed up with a tailored jacket for a more formal event and my fave striped multicoloured trainers. Add a necklace and outfit complete.
30 days later
Visibly seeing the hangers a different way round made me consciously more aware of what I was picking out. I guess we can all get a little complacement or lazy when getting dressed!
Whilst it was only for 30 days, the ratio of worn to unworn definitely increased and would be worth trying if you’re in need of a wardrobe cleanse. In fact, I’ve not stopped turning the hangers round even now!
Why not try it for yourself? I understand it can be a little daunting detoxing the wardrobes so what you’ll find with this challenge is that there is a section of clothes you know you haven’t worn so you can start reviewing these rather than everything you own.
I often go out to help people with this task, so if you need help, let me come out and support you. Here’s the details of my wardrobe detox service: https://www.tlcstyleandcolour.co.uk/services/wardrobe-detox/
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