May 5, 2011

The Contents Of My Chest Of Drawers. Oh Dear.

I decided today that a massive clean out of my chest of drawers was required.  It had got to the stage where I could hardly fit my clothes in, and knew I only used about half of what was stashed away in there.  For years I have struggled to throw away clothes.  Stupid really, because there is only so many that actually get worn on heavy rotation - the rest get worn for specific occasions once or twice a year, or just never get an outing.

My tendency to hoard clothes, combined with my champion online shopping skills often results in a bit of a wardrobe quagmire.... Over the last few years I have got brutal and much better at culling. (Maybe wisdom comes with age?) Obviously I still have room to improve though, as I realised today that I owned sixteen pairs of jeans. If I wanted to I could have worn any of those jeans with one of the nine long sleeved black T-shirts I owned.  And if I wanted something a bit more comfy I could pick from six pairs of black or grey leggings.  Today's inventory made me realise a few things -

  • I wear way too much denim.
  • I wear way too much black.
  • I didn't even have the excuse of having lost or gained weight because all the jeans were exactly the same size.
  • Ten year old jeans aren't vintage, just shapeless and daggy.
  •  I have no excuse to internet shop for a while (although homewares could be kept in mind if I need a fix)

So I got busy and the Good Sammies bin in town is about to receive an influx of jeans, black tees and leggings.

Here are the denim survivors of the Great Wardrobe Cull of AW 2011.

The Lucky Survivors

Now I just need to get the nerve up to deal with my shoe collection. Before I do this I need to have a good think about exactly how many pairs of ballet flats a grown woman needs. Because I am pretty sure the answer is not eleven.

(I promise some farm news soon - we are still seeding, and it is still dry, with the rain forecast weakening. All a bit depressing really so I am trying not to think about it...)

20 comments:

Makeminemidcentury said...

You need to pull on some ballet flats, whack on some denim and get out there and do a rain dance.

16 pairs?

A Farmer's Wife said...

Ridiculous, isn't it? 5 pairs were skinny jeans. How old do I think I am?? (Although, now I think about 4 out of the 5 skinnies made the cut...)

We would do pretty much anything to get rain. Farmers north of us have stopped seeding - we are pushing on and will reassess in a week. Hopefully it will be OK. We are in a reliable area so at some point we should get wet.

Donna said...

Yep, love to have a good cull every 6 months or so - I'm definitely not a hoarder!

We started seeding last week but we had an inch of rain on Monday and a small breakdown on the air cart so we stopped for 2 days, but back to it now. Really hope you get some good rain soon!! Thinking of you all in the West!

Anonymous said...

This is impressive - I don't think I've owned 16 pairs of jeans in my whole life! Love a good clearout. Now you will just need to stay away from your usual online shopping haunts.

Kakka said...

Sounds like me with black handbags - how many does one person need? So I started buying other colours - and now I have too many of those as well. Oh well got to have something to spend my money on I suppose.

Sending some rain god thoughts your way for the seeding.

Fiona said...

I see your sixteen and raise you ... hhhmmm about another twelve.
I've no doubt I have probably close to thirty pairs of jeans in my cupboard!
I am working towards clearing the pile though. Bags of clothing already in my car for next town trip.
Do hope the rain's on its way for you. Know the feeling of looking skyward day after day after day.

A Farmer's Wife said...

Fiona - thank you! I am not the only denim tragic....

Semi Expat said...

Good for your cull!! Am impressed - now need to do one too for sure although did a little bit of cull today - bought two pairs of boots very similar in the last 2 months -niece loved the first pair so they have gone off to her... see her post! XXX

Sydney Shop Girl said...

I can so relate, AFW.

I could only manage a baby cull...

SSG xxx

Sydney Shop Girl blog

Bungalowgirl said...

Good for you, a cull is so therapeutic isn't it? We are getting rid of everything that is not nailed down around here, it's fantastic. The poor kids won't know what's hit their toy cupboards! By the way I live in denim and black t shirts as well! Trying hard to wear more colour.Melx

The Distressed Mother said...

Ugghhh I so need to do mine. I'll live vicariously through you for now though - I'm sure mine can wait another week.

Hope the seeding goes well.

TDM xx

This Mid 30s Life said...

Wow owning 16 pairs of jeans is an achievement you can be proud of. And I will swap my shoe collection for yours any day - mine are dire. As soon as our ship comes in (when?? When will this magical ship come in??) I am going shoe shopping.

And I'm impressed with the legging collection too. Would you believe I've never owned a pair?

Emma said...

You and my husband have similar hoarding issues in the wardrobe! He has more shoes than me... something that I really should do something about actually. I used to hoard clothes but have now become a minimalist. If I haven't worn it for a year it goes, unless it is evening wear or vintage. So much easier to work out what I want to wear now. For husband I was obliged to introduce the "if something is coming in, something else must go out" rule. It has helped keep things under control. xx

Amanda said...

My goodness, where did you fit all those jeans!! I had a recent cull too and still have a few items I'm tossing up on. If it hasn't been worn in the last year, it's bye bye :)

G said...

I purposely don't have drawers because I'm sure I would never open some of them... only shelves in this household. Sixteen pairs of jeans deserves some sort of denim award, surely?! gxo

Catherine said...

I've been in a similar situation with the jeans but mine were different sizes- several of which I will never hit again.

My opinion- you can never have too many pairs of ballet flats!

Anonymous said...

Very impressive to have that many jeans. I hope you kept the ballet flats though!

Life In A Pink Fibro said...

Love this. You and I have the same wardrobe. I take your nine long-sleeved black t-shirts and raise you one.

Visiting via the Rewind.

Leah said...

So, have you bought new jeans since May?

Penny said...

9 black t-shirts and 5 white t-shirts at the last clearout over here! Have a thong collection (not like a gstring) too that I shudder to think about if I ever had to find all the pairs to count them.