Comments on: Why You Keep Those Old Clothes And How To Let Them Go.

By: How to Look Fabulous, Frugally: Part One — Almost Frugal

How to Look Fabulous, Frugally: Part One — Almost Frugal — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:46:59 +0000

[...] My Two Dollars shares how to let go of those old clothes. [...]

By: Rachel

Rachel — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:08:26 +0000

Great article!! I understand some of those points for sure! Check out this post about what i do with old t-shirts:
http://ourfrugalexperiment.blogspot.com/2008/10/my-quilting-experiment.html

By: Sunday Link Love | Remodeling This Life

Sunday Link Love | Remodeling This Life — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 10:02:32 +0000

[...] Why You Keep Those Old Clothes and How to Let Them Go from My Two Dollars [...]

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 04:05:10 +0000

I purge things, but not often enough. Our neighborhood is doing a group yardsale next month, and I plan on cutting loose a lot of our “stuff.” Anything that doesn’t sell will get donated. Great article.

By: David

David — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:20:46 +0000

It was very surreal Ashley!

By: Ashley @ Wide Open Wallet

Ashley @ Wide Open Wallet — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:10:44 +0000

How weird that you actually saw a homeless person wearing your shirt.

But I do this all the time. It’s basically an ongoing thing. I HATE having clothes in my closet that I know I will never wear again. Especially if it’s because they don’t fit anymore. Nothing makes me feel worse in the morning than trying to find something to wear and having to dig through a bunch of stuff that I’m too fat for. Or heaven forbid if I forgot it doesn’t fit and try to put it on. There’s nothing more depressing than trying to put on jeans that you’ve gotten too fat for. Not really how I like to start my day.

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:07:13 +0000

Great post – I try to purge my closet about once a year using the criteria you mention above (or close to it). One of the things I do on top of this is that I also look at clothes that are starting to look worn and get rid of them. Chances are if the clothing is worn and looking tattered then I’ll stop wearing it pretty soon. Sure you want to have some grubby clothes around for when you clean or go camping or to the cottage but lets face it you don’t need half a closet worth of this stuff.

By: David

David — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:07:43 +0000

Shay – great idea!

Bellen – 5 things a week is great, I imagine more people would be more successful with that system…

By: Bellen

Bellen — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:54:17 +0000

It is difficult to separate emotional attachments from what you really need. Twice I have run across situations that needed separation: my sister was thrilled to wear a 40-year old dress she had made. Yes, it was very nice but way out of date, faded and terribly inappropriate for a 60 year old. The second was the recipient of a truly horrible vase that was in a color she despised, the wrong size, etc. But she kept it, for over 5 years, because it was a gift!

For me, I have a limit as to how many of anything I will keep – 10 each of clothes (slacks, shorts, underwear, tops both Ts and nicer), dishes, cups, glasses and silverware – service for 8 because it’s what fits well in my dishwasher. Sheets – 2 sets for each bed; towels 4 bath & washcloths $ 2 handtowels for each person; and so on for almost everything we own. If we don’t set limits we become overwhelmed, and end up paying for storage space instead of square footage we can use.

To purge – for several months I did the 5 things out each week – could be old magazines, stuff in files that we no longer needed, shirt I didn’t like the color of, the last glass of set of 4, etc. Anything of use I donated to our local Women’s Abuse Center thrift store.

We also believe in and try hard to always practice the ‘one in, one out’ method of accumulating.

By: Shay Jansen

Shay Jansen — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:37:35 +0000

I put all my coat hangers the same way around then when I wear an Item I replace the coat hangert he opposite to what the others are..that way I know what i have worn in a 6 month period and can get rid of the rest. I have also implemented a new rule in my house you want one thing somehting has to go…for example my husband has a thing for gadgets you know computers etc etc etc…..I tell him now if he wants to buy something else something has to go…needless to say he hasn’t done this yet as he hasn’t brought anything yet either because he dosn’t want to part with what he has at the moment…also saving me money! I am like this with the kitchen stuff as well if it hasn’t been used in 6 months (with the exception of crock pots/slowcooker) it goes… works well house stay’s uncluttered.