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The last time I did a closet inventory was over 2 years ago. My living situation back then was very different. I lived with my (now ex-)fiancé in a two-bedroom apartment, which had 5 large closets. I had plenty of space to indulge my acquisitiveness, and as a result I accumulated a ton of clothes. Now I live with my boyfriend in a tiny one-bedroom condo. It only has one regular closet (plus a linen closet, which doesn't count) and a dresser that we share. Before I moved in with him, I purged most of my belongings Konmari style, including a large fraction of my wardrobe. It was hard to let go of some pieces, but I felt lighter afterwards, freed from my material possessions. Because I didn't have the time or patience to sell things individually, I bagged up the nicer clothes and sent them to Thredup. I donated everything else to Goodwill. There are a few items I regret giving up, but honestly I never thought about most of it again.
I thought it'd be interesting to do another closet inventory to see how much I own now. I was actually a little surprised by the results. Some categories definitely shrank, but there are a few that grew too. Also, for consistency, I didn't count the activewear that I've since accumulated. In 2016, I was only just starting to think about personal fitness, so I didn't really own any activewear. Now I live a much more active lifestyle, which naturally means I have clothes that I wear for those specific activities. That includes workout tops, leggings, rain jacket, skiing stuff, cycling stuff, fleeces, etc. I own a decent number of items in those categories, and obviously they take up space in my closet too, but I'm okay with said purchases since they're enabling me to live a healthier lifestyle.
So here's the breakdown of what's in my closet today. The number in parentheses indicates how many I had in 2016 (after a similar Konmari purge).
Outerwear
Coats: 3 (6)
Jackets: 4 (7)
Blazers: 3 (5)
Vests: 1 (2)
Total: 11 (20)
Tops
Sweaters: 6 (7)
Sweatshirts: 0 (3)
Cardigans: 4 (8)
Button-downs: 7 (13)
Blouses: 7 (11)
Tees: 19 (15)
Tanks: 8 (6)
Total: 51 (63)
Bottoms
Jeans: 7 (9)
Casual pants: 2 (3)
Dress pants: 1 (2)
Skirts: 7 (4)
Shorts: 3 (4)
Total: 20 (22)
One-piece
Dresses: 10 (10)
Suit: 1 (0)
Total: 11 (10)
Shoes
Boots: 3 (5)
Sneakers: 1 (3)
Flats: 5 (14)
Sandals: 3 (5)
Flip-flops: 0 (2)
Total: 12 (29)
Bags
Totes: 1 (3)
Crossbody/shoulder bags: 4 (8)
Clutches/wallets: 3 (6)
Total: 8 (17)
Accessories
Hats: 0 (3)
Belts: 1 (10)
Scarves: 3 (12)
Total: 4 (25)
GRAND TOTAL: 117 (186)
So now I own 62.9% of what I owned in 2016. The most purged categories were belts, scarves, and shoes. I rarely wear belts, and I only wear scarves during the winter, so it made sense for me to get rid of them. I also got rid of the uncomfortable shoes I never wore even though they were pretty. Lesson learned (hopefully).
The hardest categories to purge were outerwear and bags. I love outerwear. Love love love. Nothing makes me feel more put-together than a beautiful jacket or coat. Unfortunately, they're also pretty bulky, so out they went. Same with bags. I have such a weak spot for both of them though. Need to be careful going forward.
The only categories that expanded were tanks/tees and skirts. I wear tanks or tees almost every day, because they're just so easy, and my grad student life allows me to dress super casually. Also that number is a bit misleading, because there are a few I am getting ready to retire. Skirts I have been intentionally buying. I feel pretty wearing them, and my boyfriend always compliments me when I wear one, so win-win.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed seeing the state of my closet! Have you ever Konmari-ed your wardrobe? What's your biggest clothing category? What are your weaknesses in terms of clothes you love to buy but just don't wear that often?
What is Konmari? Never heard of it! I have purged my closet in recent years, and probably should do it again. My greatest weakness is shoes and they take up a lot of space. I haven't really purchased much new clothing because I haven't really been enthralled with what J. Crew seems to be doing these days. So, I'll do some sewing of skirts and dresses for myself this Spring/Summer and wear the sandal collection I already have.
ReplyDeleteKonmari is Marie Kondo's method for organizing/tidying. Basically you take out all of your belongings, go through them one category at a time, and only keep the things that spark joy in you. Then you put everything in its own specific place.
DeleteI agree with you about shoes taking up a lot of space! My boyfriend still complains I have too many. He doesn't appreciate how many pairs I got rid of!
I love closet inventories! I'm impressed that you were able to pare down that much. I could probably do that if I had to, but luckily our house has a huge walk-in closet (plus two other closets) so I can store my main wardrobe in the master closet and my winter coats in one of the other closets. I could fit more if I wanted to but I've been on an unintentional shopping pause recently and haven't added that much. It's nice to have the space, at least, because my stuff isn't crammed together.
ReplyDeleteI just started reading Marie Kondo's book and while I don't need to apply that method with my clothes, I definitely need to apply it to all the other crap I've accumulated, haha. If you have any tips on downsizing documents (or whatever else you Konmari-ed) I'd love to read about that!
* I suppose I should note that I don't take up the WHOLE master closet, LOL. My boyfriend and I share it and we use about the same amount of space each. He has SO many clothes that he doesn't ever wear and I'm hoping he'll find the urge to clean it out someday (I swear he has more clothes than me, haha).
DeleteIt's amazing how much you can live without when you just don't have the space! Well, I Konmari-ed EVERYTHING before I moved in with my boyfriend since I had to move out of my old apartment. My main tip for documents is to scan as many of the ones you need as possible. That way you can still keep them but in digital form. However, I think we have a tendency to hang onto more documents than we really need (e.g. statements, bills, magazines, newspapers, articles, etc.) I'm not sure what documents you have, but try to sign up for online bills, statements, etc. so you don't keep accumulating those at least!
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