Closet Ultimatum

Several weeks ago, I started a closet clean-out.  I now have a pile of things to try consigning, but I didn't really get through my whole closet.  I've been thinking about it for a few weeks now, and I think I'm going to do somewhat of a reverse 30x30.  Basically, I need to assess the things I rarely wear and determine why I never wear them. This lady has limited closet space and there is no room for items that don't play nicely with others!

Here's my plan:

• Finish closet clean out!  Each item goes into one of the following categories:
• Keep:  these are items I wear regularly
• Sell:  these are items that I have no problem getting rid of - they either don't fit, or aren't really my style anymore.
• Donate:  these are items that I think won't sell
• Maybe:  these are the leftovers.  Clothes that I'm not ready to let go of, but maybe I don't wear very often.  These clothes will be added to the closet ultimatum challenge.  
• Refashion:  Things that I want to modify slightly to turn them into keepers.   This should be a very small pile. 
•  The Challenge: 
• Separate "maybe" items into summer and winter.  Anything left in the summer pile is my first challenge.  Depending on how many items there are, I might break it up into a couple groups. 
• Then I will have 1 month to wear each item in the challenge pile.  I think I will try to wear each thing twice, to see if it plays well with other items in my closet.   
• At the end of the month, anything I haven't worn has to go.  
• The things I have worn will be re-assessed and either kept or sold/donated.  I might even ask you all to weigh in on whether the item is a keeper or not.  

I'm starting with tops and skirts.  I have my Summer Challenge pieces selected.

11 tops: 

9 skirts:  

I'm giving myself until the end of August to wear each of these items at least once and make a final decision about whether they get to stay or get pitched.

I will be sorting the rest of my closet, so I may add some dresses, shoes, and purses to the summer challenge, too.  Then once the weather turns cooler (maybe in October), I will start my winter ultimatum challenge.

Should be a fun way to make myself get rid of things!  I'm just hoping I don't hate every outfit I wear for the next month!

FBFF - Closet Clean-Out

my closet - pre-clean-out

FBFF's theme for this week is all about cleaning out your closet!  This was a good reminder that I haven't cleaned out my closet since we moved last summer.  So, I got started on this project and will spend some time on Saturday trying on everything that I know I haven't worn recently. 

close-up on the right side of my closet

1. How often do you go through your closet to purge the things you no longer wear?   I try to go through my closet a couple times a year, usually at the end of summer and the end of winter, to purge the things I didn't wear that season.  For awhile, I was putting a hanger on the rack in my closet at the beginning of the season, and then at the end of the season, anything still to the left of that hanger (meaning I hadn't worn it), had to go.  That worked really well, but I stopped doing that when we moved last summer.  I think I might start it again!

my shoes reside in another room, because they don't fit in the closet

2. What do you do with the things you are through with?  I mostly donate things to Goodwill.  When I lived in Indianapolis, there was a great consignment shop that I took things to, but I haven't found anything similar in Omaha. 

3. Have you ever sold on consignment or through online boutiques? What has your experience been like?  Yes, as I mentioned in #2, there was a great shop in Indianapolis that sold things consignment.  I had great experiences with this, and made a decent amount of money.  I just had to be careful not to take it personally when they rejected certain items.  I also took things to Plato's Closet, but they were mostly looking for teenager-y stuff, and didn't give very much money, so I stopped going there.  I haven't tried any online boutiques.  It's definitely something I would be interested in trying! 

I think I have all possible colors of striped shirt

4. More and more people are concerned about the fast rotation of fashion and how that is filling our landfills. What are you doing to decrease your clothing trash pile? Well, I will only throw an item of clothing away if it is really un-salvageable.  Otherwise, I will donate to Goodwill, or try to refashion somehow.  I also try to invest in more classic pieces, and not just items I will wear for 1 season and then get rid of. 

5. What's been your favorite/best score from a thrift store or consignment shop?  Definitely my "questionably authentic" Hermes bag.  Even if it's a knock-off (which it probably is), it's a great purse and I love the color.  I haven't had much luck with thrifting clothes, but I'm going to stick with it.