AIBU to think we all have too many clothes?

[OceanAvenue]

I’ve come back from my holiday and done the laundry and vacuumed packed my summer clothes. I wouldn’t say I buy clothes that often but I’ve brought out my winter stuff and I am OVERWHELMED by the amount of things I own and I don’t even like most of it!!

Any advice on how to streamline this?

Im not sure I understand some of your points

I wear the same clothes year round. I dont wear shorts or t shirts to be fair. I wear trousers only and tops/shirts

I have lighter clothes for warmer weather but I feel the cold terribly and have poor temperature regulation. So I go out with thermal vests on quite a lot of the time, even when in Spain. I nearly always have a scarf with me, gloves and often a jacket

So last night, I had nice lightweight wide leg ankle length cullottes, a vest, a shirt, a smart jumper. I had gloves with me but forgot a jacket, I was cold coming home, we sat outsicde in the restaurant garden. I didnt have a scarf either and regretted that.

Yet in the day we had been swimming, with a rash vest and then my wet suit over the top so I had my loose viscose flowy trousers on the way there , and then the dry robe which I travelled home in.

In doors yesterday I wore a different pair of loose trousers and a sweatshirt as I was cold after swimming and then turned to boiling later.

I had about 4 changes of clothing yesterday

I wear mostly black although today is based around navy blue. I dont know what I'll wear tonight, I dont want to wear the same thing as last night.

Where are his suits and shirts from? usually cuffs get worn, also collars, and knees go quickly on trousers. Never heard anyone able to wear for decades unless he has a huge amount so wears like a couple of times a year per item.

I've been the same size for 30yrs and am poor. I currently WFH but I'm not clearing out my 5 decent pairs of office trousers plus plain tops and jumpers in case I never work in an office again. I don't have the money and time to buy it again.
I have loads of gym and outdoor running kit. I walk most places so I need a few coats, sweaters, jeans and lots of cosy socks.

If I drove a lot and didn't work out (or work) I could slash my clothing down by 75%.

I recently changed bedroom and clothes furniture, got smaller items so had to be tough and get rid of items that wouldnt fit into the new furniture, its been good as got rid of many items i didnt wear or were worn out. And i rarely buy any new items now.

Stop buying stuff and gradually use up the clothes you already have.

Fatface organic long sleeve tops
Curved hem
I have these as they are beautiful soft cotton and dont ride up, I bought a new one every year but Ive enough now

This is a personal judgement, but in what circumstances would you need more than seven black tops - that's one for each day for a week.

You could halve to ten, either quickly by donating or slowly by recycling once each one wears out until you get to a steady ten. Then one out, one in.

Yes I dont know what men do to their shirts, none of my clothes get 'worn out', but OH's work shirts seem to go frayed around the neck/collar, its quite weird.

These are good quality cotton/linen shirts as well

I am a woman and my clothes get worn out. The secret is simply not to have too many clothes.

Surely if you dont have a lot of clothes, your clothes are more likely to get worn out, you're wearing the same things over and over?

I dont think I get your point?

I have a vast amount of black tops, all sort of tops, around 20 pairs of black trousers, does it not occur to you that they're all different, for different occasions, different looks, different styles, different purposes?

I'm a teacher and was preparing for a lesson on fast fashion. It's horrifying. One statistic that sums it up for me is that we already have enough clothes on the planet to clothe the next seven generations of humans. We all have far, far too many clothes and the ones we get rid of are thrown away. Either into landfill or shipped to the global South where they are dumped.

I've not stopped buying clothes but I have started asking myself "What will happen to this when I no longer want or need it?" Buying quality items means they'll last but it also means they have some value on the second-hand market.

If you have to vacuum pack summer clothes, you have too many. Vacuum packing winter coats is ok, though.

Suits and trousers were M&S from the 90s when they used to make quality, long lasting clothes. Shirts obviously don't last anywhere near as long, but he only needs 10 - (5 summer and 5 winter), one per day, which don't take up much wardrobe space - roughly six inches of rail. He's had the odd new pair of trousers from M&S, Next, over the past 20 years, but the quality is crap, they don't last as long, and all have been despatched to the bin!

Me too it's awful really isn't it.
Often I get dressed out the tumble drier because I'm too damn lazy.

Book a session with a stylist to do a wardrobe organizing session and start afresh. They’ll analyse everything for you as it sounds like you’re overwhelmed.

I have a lot from the slow build-up over the years. I decided that I was happier to keep things I love even if their moment has passed, as increased space would tempt me to fill it with new things. Annoyingly my older clothes are better quality than most new clothing. Sometimes things loop round and I can dig old favourites out again, and I do have items in use from 25-30 years ago.

Generally by the time I drift out of wearing something, it's unlikely to have value either by looking worn or dated, so there's no great virtue in clearing it out and what matters more is being discerning about what I buy in.

When my body changed post-natally, I resolved to try clothes on in shops to avoid buying disappointing duds that don't sit right. I only buy online when the chance of it fitting is very high (e.g. sports wear and brands with a very reliable cut).

I'm quite a layers on/ off person. I get cold sitting around, but warm very quickly when I move. DH has more consistency of layers in a year than I manage in a day. I also have a lifestyle that needs different clothes for different purposes. In one day I can go from sports wear to work clothes, to volunteering uniform in a day, then want different casual clothes and smart clothes for another day (and oh how I wish there were more occasions for occasion wear going dusty)

Do people really do this? You must have masses of clothes to make it worthwhile

Yes they do, and the waiting lists are long for good ones. But frequently they do it so that they can get by with fewer clothes, that can be cleverly mixed and matched, and will all be worn. Having a bloated wardrobe full of stuff you don't wear is often what prompts it.

It's an art.

Top tip when you're considering uyi g a new item of clothing: think about where/when you would wear it. Now think about what you already have in your wardrobe that you would wear if you didn't buy this new thing.

This is how I talk myself out of buying anything new.

Buy quality over quantity

This is increasingly harder to do these days. Many places that used to sell good quality stuff have gone down the pan but are still charging as if they're higher level.

I read this article a few days ago, and it really made sense to me - you might find it helps you to see why you have too much OP. I'll certainly be trying to focus on it next time I go to the shops.

But most people will see “black top” the differences you see are mostly trivial and irrelevant

Are you saying you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between these 3 black tops, for example?