Wardrobe Excess!
It’s time for most of us to put away the summer wardrobe and bring out the fall/winter clothes. I hate this job because I have far too many clothes. I have yet to learn to rid my wardrobe of those items that I will “someday” wear.
I just loaded up the couch with more than 100 short-sleeved summer T-shirts, 47 long-sleeved T-shirts, 37 summer sweaters, 28 pairs of Capri pants, 12 light nightgowns and 21 pairs of sandals and summer shoes. (The couch serves as the first stop to the storage containers in the garage.) Mind you…I didn’t even wear a third of these items, yet there they are stacked on the couch waiting to be exchanged for my winter wardrobe stored in the vast number of containers that fill the garage floor. (Thirty years in this house and a car has yet to be parked in our 2 1/2-car garage!)
To be fair, I did find a few items that managed to make it to the give-away pile. (I always feel guilty about having so much when there are so many who have nothing!) But my “charity pile” is so sparse that there isn’t even one outfit for a needy person.
Each time I exchange my wardrobe for the next season’s I try to be brave and get rid of things. But then I think “what if.” What if we run out of money and I can’t by any new clothes? What if I need a certain shade of pink top to match a new pair of pants or skirt? What if I need that razzle-dazzle top that’s been in my wardrobe for 15 years and never worn for some costume party outfit? (Let’s see…I think we’ve been to three costume parties in 30 years, but you never know!)
Luckily I am pretty much a traditional dresser. My clothes can work from year to year to year. At least this is my belief, which is the reason for such a vast wardrobe. If wide-leg pants rise to fashion popularity, no problem. I have at least 12 pairs to fit the bill. Straight leg? Another 12 pairs! I, if truth be told, have every style that was ever designed…in multitude!
I am 62-years-old and I have a wardrobe that can last me for at least another 30 years. And it’s bound to get larger. After all, there are always new pieces needed to be added each season. Based on my seasonal buying habits, my wardrobe will probably grow so it will be able to serve me for another 50 years! Add in all the clearance sale pieces and it might even last for 60 years…until I’m 120-plus years. (Let’s hope scientific advances in longevity keep up with my wardrobe!)
Maybe it is time for me to finally learn to trim down my wardrobe to those pieces that I will and do truly wear. If I do this, my task of exchanging clothes each season would be a whole lot easier. In addition, I’ll be able to clothe a whole lot of needy people thereby relieving the guilt that comes each time I look at my overly stuffed closet and drawers. Let’s see. Can I do it?