No, I haven't started yet, other than what I decluttered, earlier. But, I am thinking about it. Not so much because I will be switching out winter clothes for spring clothes; I generally don't do that, my wardrobe tends to be year-round, with only a few items that are strictly for winter or for summer. I keep my sweaters in a dresser/chest of drawers, but, since I often feel cold, especially at the office, I will wear some sweaters well into summer and my cardigans year-round.
But, I won't be going to the office for much longer. And that's what has me thinking about wardrobe decluttering. I am thinking ahead to when I will retire.
I didn't think I had an exclusively office wear selection of clothing, but, today, I washed a skirt that I wear to the office, but I know I won't wear anywhere else. That made me realize that there are one or two suits (leftover from when I used to wear suits to the office on a regular basis) and a few other skirts that I will wear to the office, but not to family gatherings or the monthly prayer gatherings. I will probably hold on to them for a few more weeks or months, at least until I have a firm retirement date, but I will be evaluating some of the clothes I do wear to the office to see if I might wear them once I am retired.
I know some people will wear suits to their places of worship, church, perhaps, but I wear a white long skirt with a white blouse or a white sari to temple, depending on how formal an occasion it is, not a suit. I can see myself holding on to the suit jackets, though, as they maybe worn with a different skirt or a pair of pants on occasion, even if it is to run errands or to a doctor's appointment, especially in the fall and early winter.
If you are still working away from home, do you have a special office/work wear wardrobe? If you are retired and used to have an office wear wardrobe, what did you do with your work wear? Did you incorporate some of it into your after-retirement wardrobe? Did you find another use for it? Did you donate it?
I am also doing my change of season stocktake this week. I still have some of my work clothes and need to donate most of them as I never wear them - too formal, even for church.
ReplyDeleteWinter is starting to rear its head had to have the heating on this afternoon. So need to change the bedding as well!
The change in season is a good time to go through the closets and wardrobes and review our clothes. I looked at one of my suits, today, and I don't know if I'd keep even the jacket - it looks outdated.
DeleteI really need to clear out my wardrobe this week, but mainly because it's in such a mess. My clothes tend to be practical and I don't keep many summer clothes as it doesn't last very long here. Another reason a clearout is good, is that I always manage to discover an item of clohing I'd forgotten about! X
ReplyDeleteFinding something "new" that is already in your closet is always nice, isn't it? Have fun sorting through your wardrobe. :)
DeleteI'll soon have to think about doing this. I have a set of clothing which I only ever wear for teaching commitments but is not the style I'd want to wear anywhere else. I will donate all of those outfits and will need to invest in something more suitable, but I don't know what sort of thing I want to replace it with yet.
ReplyDeleteHi Eileen, nice to hear from you. Sounds like you are at a transitioning point in your life too! Are you planning to stop your teaching commitments? What will you be doing afterwards? Maybe take time to look through some catalogs and see what sort of clothing you like and take it from there? Thank you for commenting; I will be stopping by to check out your blog.
DeleteIn my present job, I don't really have special work clothes. However if it were me decluttering, I'd save one suit, just in case, and get rid of the rest of my work clothes. Then after a year or so if I didn't wear it, I'd get rid of it then.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good idea, Live and Learn, to keep one suit, just in case. One never knows when one might need to wear one. :)
DeleteI'm not retired, I guess, but I haven't had a job in many years. I still have all my work clothes from when I worked at a school about 8-9 years ago though, "just in case". I'm now almost at the weight that I was back then so I might be able to start wearing them "just for fun" when I go run errands. Most of them were not suits but rather office casual wear. I have more bags of clothes in all kinds of sizes, because I usually don't follow trends so I figured I'd be able to wear them again in the future "when I lost weight". At some point I'll have to open the bags and see if the clothes truly withstood the test of time :)
ReplyDeleteYou are sure to find a whole new wardrobe among the items you've stored, Nathalie, now that you've lost the weight! Some things are classics and never go out of style; but, some others do date. A good idea to sort through and see what you have, what you want to continue to keep, what you might want to donate, etc.
DeleteI had started pairing down my wardrobe in the last years of my working career even though I worked in the business office of a nursing home. Management decided everyone was required to wear the company approved polo type shirt and khaki/tan slacks. It did make it easy as to what to wear to work. Now retired I still need to thin my closet. I need to get rid of some formal wear but it seems hard to let it go. I seem
ReplyDeleteto wear the same comfortable things over and over at home and casual clothes are the normal these days even at church.
Sandy, good that you were able to pare down your wardrobe even while working; having a uniform makes it easy! Formal wear is always more difficult to declutter - a lot of my formal wear tend to be saris which never really go out of style! But, as you say, these days, even the more formal occasions call for more casual clothing.
DeleteNot working outside the home means that I tend to go for comfortable clothes, especially in winter. I would like to dress up for church but warmth takes precedence over skirts and the like and I mostly keep my winter jacket on in there anyway. Summer can be hot, and then clothes have to adapt for that, so that light jackets are restricted to a few days in spring and fall, or for trips to more temperate climates. It's too bad, as I like the look of a light jacket to pull an outfit together. But shopping in a rural town doesn't lend itself to dressing up at all!
ReplyDeleteI've noticed how I tend to reach for certain items all the time, what my friend calls her "go to" clothes. I think most of us could exist with fewer garments than we have in our closets! I just wish my favourite "go to" items wouldn't wear out!
Bushlady, don't "they" say that we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time? I, too, find that I have my favorites that I reach for all the time! Remember when I turned my clothes hangers the other way around? It's been a year since I did that and I see that there are maybe one or two items I haven't worn - mostly because they are formal wear and too big for me! I will be giving them away, the next time I go through my closet. Replacing the favorites is a problem, though, isn't it?
DeleteChange of season is when I change out my wardrobe. It is also when I pitch the items I no longer wear. I take them to the Thrift stores...even the very worn items. I know they will tear into rags anything they can not sell on their racks and sell or donate the bags of rags to painters/mechanics. I had no trouble getting rid of my work wardrobe. I kept 2 skirts for each season, some blouses, 2 suit jackets, 2 pairs of slacks. My working uniform now is a pair of jeans and a tee shirt (winter or summer) I keep some Bermuda shorts and Capris for summer. Basic pieces are black, white or denim because they go with everything and makes packing for a trip much easier.
ReplyDeleteSusan, it sounds like you have the art of wardrobe planning down pat! Well done in paring down your work wardrobe! I can see myself having a uniform of sweat pants for most of the year with skirts for summer and perhaps two or three pairs of pants to wear when running errands! Plus the tops to go with them, of course. I do have several different colors, though.
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