Clothing Adventure Part 3: The Purge

Ah... Yes, I've been working out my wardrobe situation. I hate not knowing what to wear in the morning and staring blankly in my closet for 10 minutes a day. It drives me nuts. As you know, I've been reading and working my way through the No-Brainer Wardrobe (ebook by Hayley Morgan- click link on right to buy for $7.99).

I mentioned in the last post that I was getting ready to purge my closet. I did it. I spent a Saturday afternoon alone and decided I would work my way through the closet. It was so good to do and I feel great about it. Yes, I found it difficult, but it was definitely worth it.

I went through EVERY item in the closet. I tried most on to make sure they fit. If I had worn it recently, I didn't bother trying it on. I even went through things in the drawers (t-shirts, shorts, work out gear, camis, shoes). I left no stone unturned.

Having said that, imagine my surprise when I pull out a dress bag. Uncertain of what was in it, I opened it and pulled out a dress that has NEVER been worn and still had the tag on it. I remember I bought this dress about 7 years ago at Express when I needed a little black dress. Check it out....

Front detail

Bias cut hem... LOVE IT!

The tag in tact- BTW, I highly doubt I paid that price. You know me, I'm frugal

After I went through everything, here's what my closet looked like. I'll even put a before and after together- not that you'll notice much until you see the stacks of purged clothing.

Before the purge

After the purge and I was able to hang clothes from the drawers!

I didn't really get rid of any jeans on the top shelf. I have a dressy pair, gray pair, regular light blue pair, and another darker wash jean. I also own 2 other pair- bright blue skinny and cute dark flare jeans. I had just lost 2 pair to tears/holes.

The dress pants didn't change either. There are 2 pair of khaki capris up there (1 green 1 tan), a gray dress pant and black legging. I got rid of quite a bit of skirts and a favorite dress. I actually almost shed tears over my dress. We've been together for 12 years and to say goodbye was hard.  I'm certain more will be purged as I just realized I have 3 pair of black pants, not including the cropped black pants I wear year round. I've just gotta figure out which to keep and which to purge. All are different styles so all may stay.

The purge pile is overflowing. I have friends who want me to save it all for a June clothing swap, but I'm noticing the danger in this. I keep grabbing things out of the pile.... That's not purging.

I will not grab anything from this pile of 3 garbage bags... will not, will not....

Next up, I'll be piecing together outfits and adding a few things that I really want for in my wardrobe and a few things that will replace others (the basics- tees, tanks, etc.).


If you're interested in purchasing a copy of the book to learn more about what's happening here and help yourself through the process, click the button on the right. You can also visit The Tiny Twig's 31 days series about The No Brainer Wardrobe here.