Wardrobe Detox

My name is Gina, and I’m a shopaholic. I am having a big clear out to right the wrongs I have previously caused (by shopping too much), I am trying to resolve these by selling these clothes. Whilst doing this I will be logging my progress (the good, bad and ugly).

I’ve mentioned a few times on my blog how much I love Vinted. I mainly use Vinted to swap clothes, but this time I am doing a buy one get one free selling sale! I have had a big clear out of my wardrobe and have decided that this is the best way have a clear out.

First things first, a wardrobe clear out:

I have a couple of motivational factors behind this clear out, and sale:

1. In April I am moving in with my boyfriend (yay). When we are looking for a place to share our lives I don’t want the main concern to be clothes storage.
2. I know I have too many clothes that I don’t wear - it isn’t kind to the clothes to keep them and not wear them.
3. My boyfriend has quite a minimalist wardrobe. He doesn’t have an excessive amount of clothes, has regular clear outs and always looks great. I’m a bit envious of this, as in comparison have way too many clothes, not all of them get worn and I carry on buying clothes…
4. I love clothes, I tend to buy things that I would only wear once, or buy for an occasion and then leave them at the back of my wardrobe or chest of draws.  

As I have a few days before I go back to work, and as it is the New Year this seemed to be a good time for a clear out. I will be selling some of the unwanted items on Vinted (http://www.vinted.co.uk/members/94127-ginashaw), I am doing a buy one get one free sale (cheapest item free), so check out my items.

Day 1 of clear out:

Today I planned to start slowly; unpack and organise all the Christmas presents and have a general tidy. This escalated, and I was able to fill one black bin bag, fill two bags for the charity shop and one bag for Vinted!

I also had a big tidy of my room….I did however get a little distracted as the day went on and decided to call it quits (for the day) halfway through a job. Which is really bad, the distraction was dinner and by the time I got back to my room, it was movie time and everything I had left to organise got put on the floor!! Which undid a lot of my hard work. And I didn’t even start on the wardrobe yet, I know I am trying to avoid the clear out of my wardrobe as I am so very attached to everything in it. But that is tomorrows task.

Day 2

Has been unproductive, I got sidetracked by watching Breaking Bad. I did managed to upload the bag for sale clothes onto Vinted, but that was all.

Oops.

This perfectly highlights how I never get around to actually having a clear out. It feels like such a big and painful job that I put it off. A little while ago I started a pinterest board to help me when doing a wardrobe clear out. And I have decided to go by this flowchart to assist me to clear out.

Am I also going to use the question; if I was shopping now would I buy this item?

Day 3

SUCCESS I have managed to clear out the wardrobe.

Whilst taking about 20 minutes to even start the process of tackling my wardrobe I have realised why I resist it so much:

• The amount of unworn clothes I have in my wardrobe represents wasted money, and that is something I really really hate. So by me resisting this clear out is another way I am trying to hide from the amount I have bought and not worn which is wasteful.
• I also put it off because I have clothes FOMO - What happens if I throw away a dress which would have been perfect for an event in week or a month?! The answer is, obviously; wear something else.

So, here are the steps I followed:

Step 1 : remove ALL clothes from wardrobe

Step 2: go through all items referring to the above question and flow chart.

Step 3: put the items that have survived back into the wardrobe. For those who have been turfed out, decide if they are to donate or sell.

Step 4: get clothes trunk (yes, I have a trunk of clothes that don’t fit in my wardrobe), repeat step 1, 2, and 3.

 

Before organisation ^^ After v

    

It feels good to be able to look at my wardrobe and for it to look lighter. I also have a bag of clothes which I am going to donate to charity and a bag I am going to (try) and sell on Vinted.

I still have a way to go, and will have some help from my boyfriend with this. But for now it feels like I have done a good job. It feels good to identify the clothes that I loved in the last year and identify the clothes which haven’t been used and hope they go onto a better place. 

I now have a much neater wardrobe with less clothes in it:

 

But also have a pile of clothes which I don't know what to do with:

 It feels like a successful detox - I feel much lighter :)