Have you ever had a 'cull' and regretted it?

[humptyspartyhat]

Had a massive cull of my clothes over lockdown last year. Gave about 15 bags to my cousin of jumpers, coats, Christmas jumpers, dresses, bags.. you name it. I loved the space but now I only have 3 jumpers, 1 scarf, hardly any bags and I got rid of a coat which I regret I did ask her for it back straight away but I think she's misplaced it. Massing kicking myself.
Anyone else made the same mistake?

I've seen this referred to as Kondo Regret on here

Yes, I've had it, but not recently. I haven't got many clothes tbh, and I honestly like it better that way! When I say "not many", I guess about 60 items, so not exactly a minimalist capsule. But it's a good number for me, so I don't regret anything I've gotten rid of lately.

One thing I started doing as well, which has helped a bit is, I don't get rid of anything entirely straight away. I put it in my loft for a few months and then get it all out again before I sell it, donate it or give it away. Sometimes I put a few things back into my wardrobe after storage as I realise I actually like them more than I thought.

Pretty much every time.

For some reason I always get rid of whatever’s most prominent - ill fitting or worn to death. but not the stuff that’s been lurking years.

So I have drawers full of crap and my decent stuff which I do slim into/ grow back into has gone.

I still mourn a Topshop tartan pinafore I bought in 1992 and gave to charity in 2003. I periodically look for a similar one on eBay, but never any joy.

Mostly, though, I don't regret culls because I keep far too much stuff as it is.

I gave most of my vinyl single records i had as a teenager to charity, when I became a young mum, needed the space, I regret that now, have slowly been buying one or two on ebay but would never find or could Offord to buy them all back.

Yes! I had a pair of shoe boots that would go perfectly with some new trousers that I bought last week. Could I find them? No. I must have sent them to the charity shop as there is only 2 pairs of knee boots in my boot box. Grr.

A Miss Sixty denim coat. It was brilliant, a proper 70s throwback. Whyyy did I donate it in 2007?

I have had lots of culls and never regretted it. DH is a bit of a hoarder, and given the option I’d cull so much clutter from our house. Sadly he won’t let me.

Hardly ever, though this week I’ve found I have no t shirts and have been remembering some perfectly fine ones I got rid of in the last cull.

More dramatically, I’ve made a deal with myself that I’ve not lost enough weight by Christmas to fit into the 90% of my wardrobe that no longer fits me, it’s all going.

@Whattodoaboutnothing

At least you didn’t cut all your hair off major regrets

Nope.. did that this year too! Regret it massively! x

Occasionally. A Laura Ashley jumper, that looked rubbish on me, but I missed it....@SquirryTheSquirrel, have you thought about having a pinafore made up? Our local dressmaker does costumes for all the local dance schools etc, so you may well have someone localish talented enough to do something similar from a drawing?

@SquirryTheSquirrel that should say.

nope.
Unless it falls apart on me I'm keeping it.
I have all my clothes & shoes I had since I was 14, obv most don't fit but I just don't want to get rid of them.

If I chucked or gave away anything I'd regret it

@SpongeBobJudgeyPants

Occasionally. A Laura Ashley jumper, that looked rubbish on me, but I missed it....**@SquirryTheSquirrel**, have you thought about having a pinafore made up? Our local dressmaker does costumes for all the local dance schools etc, so you may well have someone localish talented enough to do something similar from a drawing?

I do have a photograph of myself wearing it, if I could find the right fabric. It was an unusual green and red tartan. Thank you for the suggestion!

Rarely. Though when I was younger and had my first full time job I bought this beautiful pair of Gina shoes - high heeled, red, very sparkly, utterly beautiful. I sold them on eBay for a fraction of their cost when I was a single mum and desperate for money. I still mourn those shoes.

The only clothes I regret are my prom dress which I got rid of because it had bad memories, but I wish I had kept for dd as I reckon she’d love it now, and a couple of tops which I loved because they were beautiful but I know I culled because they had holes or were faded and just no longer wearable. I miss them, but even if I’d kept I would no longer wear so it’s not regret really. Just a miss

Not really, but my memory is terrible so once they are out of the door I forget about them.

I wish I’d kept my midi and maxi dresses from the 1970’s as some of them were identical to this years in Monsoon!

Mostly I am OK but there were a couple of 80s frocks I still pine over.

One was a flapper-style dress made out of black and white striped jersey, the stripes were diagonal on the top bit (parallel to the diagonal dropped waist) and vertical on the skirt.

The other was a hessian-type dull pink fabric dress with a cowl neck, gathered front pockets and a rope belt.

I suppose on reflection I might not want to wear them now as I am very much not 18 any more, but I still poke around on eBay looking for them...

Only recently as my dd10 would love the original 90s pieces! I had some awesome clothes, I keep seeing replicas in shops and wish I'd kept some bits.

I still mourn a handbag I sent to the charity shop about 8 years ago and a dress I gave to a friend

Yes! From age 13 to my mid-20s I collected vintage and antique clothes. It wasn't fashionable to do that back then and a lot of people thought these clothes were a bit odd. In my late 20s I was chasing after a certain career (unsuccessfully at the time) and had a boyfriend who didn't like my vintage clothes, so I decided to get rid of them all to make space for this new shiny amazing, smart version of me that would go forth and get the job of my dreams.

I ditched pretty much everything, a massive collection that would probably be worth a fortune now that vintage is fashionable. I had some 1920s dresses and Victorian bloomers and undergarments etc, beautiful velvet jackets with tiny buttons, gorgeous embroidery, suede and leather jackets, fabulous shoes, all sorts of wonderful things. I put all of it outside my flat on the landing to take to charity. My Danish neighbour ended up with most of it.

About a year after getting rid of it, vintage started to come back into fashion.

This still makes me sad now. I'd love to wear those velvet jackets.

Try to forget about the stuff - it's too late so move on - take up charity shop rummaging as a hobby and get some nice stuff very cheaply - maybe different styles as an experiment & don't get caught up in regret or looking back - waste of time

No

Yes, I got rid of loads of shoes last year and I haven’t got any sandals to wear now!

Sort of.

My weight fluctuates by a lot (no, I don't crash diet or anything daft like that). Sods' Law has dictated that each time I have had a massive cull of things that are too big or too small for me and spend a fortune on replacements in the correct size , I inevitably find myself gaining or losing a couple of stone unintentionally as life seems to change shortly afterwards or I get ill/better.

And this time, whilst I've been doing more exercise by choice (because I like it and I've been feeling better since starting a different medication), my shape has changed, so even the smaller things I didn't throw away don't fit right - I wasn't planning on my legs becoming so much slimmer before my stomach decides to join in the fun.

You've got all that space to do something us mere mortals don't have a chance to do - buy a capsule wardrobe.

Shit. Just realised this means my first nice winter coat since I donated my old lambswool one is going to be way too big for me this year

Some strappy platforms that made me feel like a Spice Girl.

I thought I was too sensible, professional and grown up for them.

I am an idiot.