Rule #1 - If I haven't worn it in a year, it goes. Now this can be a problem for me, but probably not in the way that one might think. Most people have not worn a lot of their clothes, and then they forget about those clothes they haven't worn and so they don't wear them, and then they keep forgetting, and the cycle continues. My problem is almost the opposite.
Let me explain with a short story about myself. When I was in the 9th or 10th grade, I had an old computer in my room. It didn't have the internet, but I could type and play solitaire. Around this time I decided to see how long I could go without wearing the same shirt (at this point, I wore t-shirts everyday). I would literally us an excel spreadsheet to record what I wore every single day, to see my progress. Yes, I know this is crazy and unnecessary, but its the truth, just ask my best friend, Maegan...
All that to ensure that all of my shirts got equal attention.
Nowadays, I don't quite record it the same way, but I do have a specific clothes system. I organize my clothes based on type of clothing (i.e. sweaters, button up shirts, cardigans, etc.). Once I have cleaned a load of laundry, I put each item on the right side of their respective sections. In this way, I can literally see which pieces I have been neglecting. So, in short, I always make sure and wear all my clothes.
Anyway, even with my system, I was able to discard some pieces of clothing, but only about 5! BUT, this rule did help me get rid of many of my scarves.
Rule #2 - If its damaged or ripped, it goes. Several weeks ago, I spent some time repairing about 3 shirts, so the obvious ones that would have been discarded avoided their fate. But I did find several shirts and a pair of pants which had stains that I just couldn't get out. I also had a few with small holes, which were probably from getting snagged throughout the years.
Even though sometimes I still wear clothing with a small stain, I decided to discard these to avoid feeling self-conscious when I want to wear them. I also included shirts that had uncontrollable pilling going on. All-in-all, I gathered about 10 shirts, and 1 pair of pants with holes, rips, stains, or pilling.
Rule #3 - If it's not modest, it goes. When I was younger I didn't care about how lock-cut my shirts were, or how short my dresses were. But now I do. So essentially I discarded any normal clothing that I would be embarrassed to wear to church. This got rid of about 5 party shirts and 5 dresses. I kept some of my party shirts for the beach or a date night.
Rule #4 - If its so uncomfortable that I dread wearing it, it goes. I have this one shirt that looks great on me, it fits my personality, and it has all of the colors that look great on me. Even through all the good qualities, I avoid wearing it because it has this weird elastic thing in the sleeve that annoys me all day! I was keeping the shirt because it looks so great. But its not comfortable and I hate wearing it.
In this rule, I included clothes that were to tight, shirts that were itchy, and button up work shirts that don't stay tucked in because they're too short. This helped me get rid of maybe 15 or 20 shirts and maybe 2 pairs of pants.
Rule #5 - If the only reason to keep something is for sentimental value, it goes. "Oh, I bought this for high school homecoming court." and "Wow! I bought this shirt for my trip to Greece" and "Gosh, this is what I bought to wear our wedding shower!" are all bad excuses to keep something. If these are your only reason to keep a piece of clothing, get rid of it! There are a few exceptions to this rule, such as a wedding dress.
Rule #6 - If something is not your style anymore, it goes. I remember in college, my wardrobe was essentially thermal shirts. Although thermals are great, its not really my style anymore. Its one thing if I was going to class every day, but these days I don't need 15 thermals! It just doesn't fit my lifestyle anymore. I need professional clothing, dresses for church, cute clothes for date night, and PJs!
As rule #1 states, if you haven't worn it in year, it goes, but because I'm obsessive, I was wearing everything. Rule #6 really helped me with getting rid of stuff that should have been gone from rule #1. Basically, if its something I should have not worn in the past year, it goes. hahahaha
I got rid of 3 huge bags of clothes and am still left with plenty of things to wear! I have been working to sell my stuff because most of it is still in great condition! So far I have made $52.22! Not bad! I also decided to reorganize my closet to try and kick the obsessiveness noted in rule #1. I'm not sure if I like it or not though.
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