How to reduce amount of clothes in wardrobe when you like it all- tips please

[Chocolonely]

I need to have less ‘stuff’, it’s driving me crazy. I feel overwhelmed and want things to be simpler so I figured having less clothes is a good start. However I like everything I have, it all fits and most of it is quite classic so not particularly out of style etc.
I don’t wear it all though, but I am finding it hard to apart with anything! Anyone been in this situation and happy to share tips? I need all the help I can get 😆

Some great tips, thank you. I do currently try to store seasonal items. However it still seems to be too much, probably because the seasons tend to be autumn or winter most of the time in terms of the usual weather 😝
I like the tip about but like items together and then choosing one or too to keep. Definitely need to stop shopping too, but it makes me happy 😆😆 I do tend to just shop on eBay though and get really good quality stuff for a lot less, so not spending too much etc.

You might find this article useful with regards your last post about not wanting to stop shopping (something I am guilty of too ) anuschkarees.com/blog/2016/7/25/why-shopping-is-a-bad-hobby-and-what-to-do-instead

If it hasn't been worn in the last 6 month it goes.

The exception is seasonal stuff. So there are jumpers in my wardrobe that I haven't worn since say February/March but that's because it's been warm weather and I may wear them this winter. If come the start of 2020 I haven't, then they'll go!

I usually try to think whether I’ve worn items in the past year/2 years - if you haven’t, you can’t like them that much!

This for me too.

*@Kyriesmum that hanger idea is genius! Definitely going to try that one.

The only thing that worked for me (after a lot of kondo clearing - lots of my clothes sparked joy) was to divide clothes into their purpose - work/casual/going out etc.

I found I had a whole load of going out clothes that I loved but never wore because I don't have nights out that often. So, although there were clothes I loved, I could admit they were never going to get worn. I'm not a student going out 4 nights a week any more (and haven't been for 20 odd years but that's by the by ) so I don't need that many outfits.

I feel your pain, OP! All my clothes "spark joy" and I have so many of them.

It does make it easier to cut down new purchases though - why buy something else when you already have the perfect thing that you love and which suits you perfectly?

It’s no easy, I’m in a similar situation in that every single item in my wardrobe, fits, suits me and I like it. I’m not sentimental about stuff but In practical terms I need to hold on to certain items.
I’m lucky in that I can fit all my clothes and shoes in one space (decent size closet but not Beverly Hills huge) so all seasons are available all the time. Over the years, my wardrobe grew in size and shrunk according to available storage space because I can’t be doing with all the storing away business twice a year. So at times I’ve been very ruthless and only miss one red wool winter coat from my purges.
It was a long process trying to get rid of stuff just because I don’t want to keep so many items.
One thing which helped was to have a pile of stuff I wasn’t sure I need to keep, still liked the items and wore most of them regularly but wouldn’t miss them so much. I resolved to get rid of 1 item from that group every single week. If I didn’t want to part with 1 item from this pile, I’d choose one from the main wardrobe.
I am choosy about buying new clothes and if I do get a new dress I get rid of an older one - very hard to do but otherwise I’ll end up where I started.
First thing I did when tackling my wardrobe last time I did it, was to get rid of doubles so only need to keep 1 black T-shirt, 1 brown vest top, 1 pair of black -trousers, 1 set of navy underwear etc- that cleared a lot of space. However I could only get rid of 1 white shirt and kept the rest because they are all very nice, good quality and I wear them a fair bit. Another hard one was editing down jeans but after a month of talking to myself I considerably reduced the number and haven’t bought any new jeans in at least 3 years.
Taking everything out is a pig of a job but it does help as you can see how much there is and how much better it feels not to put it all back.
Resolving to have 1 empty shelf, drawer etc is another way of reducing number of items. I now have 3 huge empty drawers and actually feel quite good about it.
Coats take a lot of space so now I only keep one in grey, one in camel and one in black with a bit of white detailing, be proper casual warm sky type jacket and one lightweight short casual coat.
It’s an ongoing process and in my case it was only me staying in the way of reducing the number of all these clothes.

I find that if there's an item you like but don't wear, there's probably a reason ; for me, that's either because of something like impractical trailing sleeves, slightly sweaty fabric, neckline only working with less comfortable bras, or you've got a another item suitable for similar occasions which you pick first, because you prefer it.

I did a ruthless cull and put everything in a (big!) holdall in the spare room.

About 3 months later I took the holdall to charity within opening it.

I couldn't tell you what was in it or if I miss anything. So clearly not!

I agree re duplicates. I have about eight white summer tops. I like them all but I've worn maybe two this year. The others are going.

At the risk of sounding defensive, if you like everything, have the space, you're not over spending, and it makes you happy, I'm not sure why it's such a problem.
But if it's getting you down, then it sounds like the real issue is that you've got more clothes than you know what to do with and yet you're still buying more stuff. I think it's the buying part that needs fixing, otherwise it's like you're mopping up a flood on the bathroom floor but still leaving the taps on.

I'm not going to propose stopping altogether but these are things that have worked for me:
Not buying anything new until you've made sure you don't have one already.
No sales buys unless it's something you've already been tracking.
Not buying anything for a set period (6 months / whatever) putting aside the money you would have spent and at the end of the time, using it to buy something you couldn't normally afford. Yes you're still buying but only one thing and it'll be amazing.

Good advice already. Piling into similar items like all black jumpers and choosing the best e.g. two is a good idea.

Sort into lifestyle activities. Do you have a pile of formal dresses, how many do you actually go to summer/winter? What do you actually do in a typical week? This is good for me, I love smart clothes, but actually spend most of my week working from home, gym and walking the dog!

Remember the shops will NEVER run out of clothes you like. Unless you are on a budget and know new shopping is not an option, then there will ALWAYS be something new you will like better than something similar you already have.

Also, you only have one body and can only wear one item of top/bottom/shoe at a time. There are only 7 days in a week. The need for huge amounts of multiples is not necessary!

I did a ruthless cull and put everything in a (big!) holdall in the spare room.

About 3 months later I took the holdall to charity within opening it.

^^

Now YOU are my hero. I could never do that!

I do like the idea of shopping my wardrobe.

I am thinking of literally keeping out what I want to wear this winter and putting everything else (properly labelled) in the attic.

I do really think that the only way to get on top of this in future is a one in one out rule.

More brilliant tips, thank you. I really liked that article too.
I don’t spend a fortune on clothes, though I could spend less! I have bought a lot of amazing things on eBay and in local charity shops. Whilst I know a lot of shopping isn’t ethical I try to buy second hand as it is more ethical. So things like an amazing Toast dress for £7 that was new without tags or furla bag for £4.50! Partly it’s the thrill of getting something high quality that would normally be out of my price range, but also because I want to try and dress nicely and am stuck about exactly what my style is!
I would love to get my colours done, how do you go about that?

Read that blog that a PP posted above. It sounds like you love the thrill of landing a bargain, really. The fact that they’re clothes seems secondary.

Off the back of this thread I decided to blitz my shoe cupboard and have been totally ruthless. I did find two pairs of ankle boots I'd totally forgotten about, I'm keeping them. One side done, one to go.

Go into your wardrobe grab 3 random seasonally appropriate items. You are going to wear them this week or get rid of them. Repeat next week.

I have got much better over the last couple years by pretty much buying nothing in the sales - if I didn’t want it enough to pay full price then it wasn’t for me. I love shopping and spending but hate wasting money so would rather buy one thing I love rather than half a dozen ‘bargains’ that end up in the charity shop 6 months later.
The other thing as mentioned upthread is definitely remembering that the shops will never run out clothes and they’ll always be something else I’ll want. It’s very easy if you know what you like to end up with duplicates ie 6 navy jumpers or 8 Stripey Bretons. I’m currently trying to only replace things like jeans when a pair is worn out.
I’m not a fan of summer clothes so don’t have that many but love winter boots, coats and jumpers. I allow myself a new coat and boots most years but only one of each as I have relatively expensive taste although last years ankle boots were only £58 in M&S this years long suede Fairfax and Favour ones were £335.
Also if you really like everything’s you’ve got and it fits - shop your wardrobe and perhaps challenge yourself to buy nothing for 12 months.

I think the idea of setting a challenge to not buy anything is a really good idea, thank you. You have all been so kind posting tips and I’m going to make a real effort.
I’m planning to go through one draw/section at a time an evening a week for the next week and try to remove duplicate items or things I really haven’t worn. 👍👍

I did the 1 year rule (barring black tie dress etc).

And allowed things i liked but hadn't worn another chance. Rediscovered a few nice things I'd forgotten about.

Then....I got ruthless. And it felt GREAT. Now my war5dr5 is slimmed but most of it goes better together and there is nothing in there I'm hanging onto "in case"

Fold and hang Marie Kondo way