Maybe a bit more of a lifestyle post, but it does link slightly to the budget part of personal finance.
I am a bit of a hoarder. I tend to collect things and I have a hard time letting them go. This also tends to include things which have lost their usefulness.
So I decided to go through my closet and look at what I have, what I am missing and what (for the love of God) I should get rid of. This is important for several reasons...
First of all, if you are a hoarder like me I think it is important to take the time at least once a year to go through all your clothes and look at them closely.
Is it still in good condition? Yes? Great! Does it need mending, does it have stains etc? If so, will you take the time to correct these problems? Great! Or is it likely it will still need mending in a month or two? If so, it should be thrown out. You can also test it by collecting all these items to a selected place and give yourself for example 30 days to mend them. The ones not mended by the deadline, need to go.
I do feel it can be OK do keep one rather worn out favorite jumper to be worn just around the house or maybe one old pair of stained jeans which are great for gardening, painting a room etc (where ruining the next pair is likely to happen). But really, why did I have 5 pairs of old worn out jeans in my closet? 4 of those MUST go! So I had a hard look at my closet and throw out quite some things where I had no real idea, why I had been keeping these.
Also on the clothes which are in good condition- do they still fit you and do you wear them? It is appropriate to this season, and you have not worn it yet? Make a plan for the next few weeks to wear all the things you have not worn in a long time, to see if you still love them. Maybe it itches, or the hem tends to ride up when you walk or is actually a bit too tight/loose etc. Then get rid of it- if it is in good condition you can sell it and make some money in the process. Testing the weather appropriate clothes is a good thing to be done once every season. I plan to test my winter clothes in next weeks, I will see how it goes.
It was also a good time to reorganize my closet again, as wearing things means they are not always put back in the right place and this, in the end, means I forget about it and will not wear it. For example, if I want to wear a cardigan and look at where my cardigans are folded, I will not see the one I have absent-mindedly hung on a hanger next to my blouses and shirts...
So to sum up:
1) Clear out broken things;
2) Test the things not worn a long time;
3) Reorganize
And why do I feel that the end of a year is a great time to do all of this? Well, it might end up that you realize you actually are missing something you wardrobe really needs. And after the holiday madness, the shops tend to do sales, as they need to draw in the customers somehow. And maybe you received some gift cards for holidays you should use up, and the best thing is to use them up for a thing you actually need, not on an impulse purchase. So, I think it is a great time to plan these purchases to January.
What do I need?
I work in a quite casual office but from time to time, I need to dress more formally, so I, for example, need to look for a new pair of dress pants, and also a warmer weather suit jacket/blazer. The jacket will be really hard as my body shape means I almost never find things suited for me... But at least I can look for it.
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