BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Living Simply Ten items of clothing

I've been reading some downsizing websites and in a few they talk about capsule wardrobes. One talks about having only ten regular items in a wardrobe (not including winter gear, hiking gear, etc).

it got me thinking. I have a ton of clothes that I don't even like very much. That can't be a good thing. What if i just had a dozen things i really liked to wear, and i washed them a lot and wore them out?

They'd have to be stuff i could mix and match, that don't wrinkle, that are comfortable and not ugly...

So i pulled all my clothes out today. I made piles of things i like and piles of things I don't wear/are worn out/or ugly.

I made a stack of things I might like to keep and put them aside. Those will become my new, personal 'reality show' contestants. We will see who gets kicked out of the closet.

I filled six grocery bags full of clothes for the donation bins. And I still have a lot more culling to do.

I doubt i will get to ten pieces of clothes only, but i am curious to see how far i can take this.

OK, so today i will go through the contestants, and see what I like enough to wear today.

Hmmm, i am wearing an outfit that fits and is comfortable, but i am not sure looks good on.

This is tough.

How much of one thing does someone who works at home need? I hardly ever go out.

Looking at:

10 tees i want to keep for sure with 3 more that i have not decided on yet

7 pairs of workout type shorts - is that too many?

3 pullover anoraks

ziphoodies - ? Need to round them up.

5 prs sweatpants

loose yoga type pants - too many

long sleeved teeshirts- need to count

2 sweaters and i might get rid of those

buttondown shirts:
3 hawaiian
1 white oxford
2 striped old navy (one pink, one blue)
1 light green silk short sleeve
1 dark forest green in nubby silk
1 navy st tropez style
5 tunic shirts in misc colors
3 skirts
2 pr scrubs
4 pullover nice non-tunic tops
2 leisurewear cotton outfits
1 nice tank
plenty of cozy or silky pjs
1 sweatshirt

Keep in mind this is the already weeded pile. I now have ten grocery bags full of clothes in the bottom of the closet.


I will not count my jackets yet as i have a jacket fetish and that will be hard to tackle.

okay, after more weeding:

TOPS -
4 tunics (I seem to be missing my 2 favorites)
1 black cardigan
7 nice shirts
1 tank
8 button downs
3 zipped hoodies
3 anoraks
2 sweatshirts
3 sweaters
7 long sleeved tees (is that too many?)
Tee shirts:
5 black
5 greys
2 brown
1 teal
1 khaki
2 white

that is 16 tee shirts. I would like to work it down to a dozen.

BOTTOMS -
3 pr jeans - one black, 1 brown, 1 blue
3 cargo pants
5 yoga pants
4 sweatpants
2 skirts
2 leisure outfits
2 scrubs sets

MISC -
no dresses
lots of scarves/pashminas/shawls/scharfes
lots of PJs
too many bras
socks i am happy with

love your weeding process! We have a huge closet - filled with my husband's clothes! He needs your inspiration.

I'm a simplist when it comes to clothes. I don't shop much. I don't have much. I wear the same things over and over (usually washed and cleaned)

Thanks, Lisa. I am going through more clothes today.

I know I have a lot of black and grey teeshirts, for example, but i live in tees mostly, and i consider those two shades as nuetrals that go with everything. I might get rid of the 2 browns and the teal one though. I might also have too many button downs and tunics. One of the sweatshirts might go, and maybe one or two of the nice shirts.

What items are in your closet? I'd love to know.

I just got rid of several teeshirts, a few tops and a jacket.

Working on nice jackets now. Keeping:

WARM -
black with fuzzy hood
black wool duster, vintage
Navy velvet duster, vintage, lined
camel trench

LIGHTWEIGHT -
Wool plaid
jean jacket with faux animal fur panels
crop grey canvas
brown mandarin collar
Eddie Bauer beige canvas
Periwinkle Rainjacket
Sonoma dark brown crop with hood
faux dark brown suede buttonup overshirt
Gloria Vanderbuilt camel crop
cotton soft grey duster

OTHER -
Assorted fleeces and outdoor outerwear

I realize i have way too many light jackets. The caots are good, but i have a lot of brown/beige/camel light jackets. Not sure how to handle these. they all have different looks.

It's often easy to get rid of 20% of your clothes, and then a month or two later get rid of another 20%. Some people think getting rid of too much stuff in one go is a bit too drastic.

Personally I have one coat and one sweater. But I do live in California and hardly ever wear either.

I also have exactly two sets of linens for each bed. The spare set is stored under each bed in a zipped bag. Bedsheets seem to grow and multiply as much as clothes.

In my closet I have something that hangs and in it is stored all the Christmas wrapping paper. I put it at the front of my closet every Christmas, so I can easily see what I haven't worn since December.

I recently weeded my closet - got rid of about ten bags worth - including the closets of my children. I don't have much excess in my closet though. I wear most of the things in it. The items I have excess are the 'fancy' clothes. I hate them all but don't want to spend money on buying new stuff - so I hold on to what I have so that I have choices should I need something 'fancy'.