Cleaning & Minimalism

Clothes Count, Year 3

I do an annual clothes count to force me to realize how much stuff I own and last year my goal was to get rid of 50% of my stuff. Think I made it?

I do an annual clothes count to force me to realize how much stuff I own and last year my goal was to get rid of 50% of my stuff. Think I made it?

Welcome to the post about my annual clothes count!  I count all my clothes to force me to realize how much stuff I own, in hopes of following a more minimalist lifestyle.  Last year my goal was to get rid of 50% of my stuff… do you think I was able to do that?  Let’s take a look and see!

Last year I had over 500 items in my closet, and I thought that it was an insane number!  I referenced this Zero Waste Home post about her clothes count, and spoiler – she had WAY less stuff than me.

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Now of course, Bea from Zero Waste Home is a true minimalist and that involves EVERYTHING in her home.  I’ve been slowly trying to reduce the amount of things in my home for over a year now, but I don’t think I could every truly get down to the bare minimum.  I’d like to blame that on my hoarding and “I might need this someday” excuses.

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Anyways, today I’m focusing solely on my own closet and all my clothes.  Like last year, I didn’t include Halloween outfits (I think I have 3?) but other than that, I think I counted everything!

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For my clothes count list this year, I kept the same categories as last time (with a couple of updates).  The numbers in {curly brackets} is the +/- compared to last year.  Any clothes in a regular (parentheses) are what I am saving for the future, planning on selling, etc.  Basically, I don’t wear these clothes but I still count them of course!

Clothes Count

  • Sweaters: 26 {-1}
  • Tee Shirts: 23 (+1) {-7}
  • Tank Tops: 36 {-2}
  • Button-Up Shirts: 12 {0}
  • Long Sleeves: 10 {-6}
  • Workout + PJ Shirts: 23 {+3}
  • Workout Bottoms: 18 {-1} (combined shorts and pants category)
  • Regular Shorts: 6 {-6}
  • Skirts: 11 {-7}
  • Dresses: 21 (+6) {+11}
  • Pants/Leggings: 16 (+3) {-2} (combined two categories)
  • PJ Bottoms: 12 {+1}
  • PJ Sets/Nightgowns: 8 {+2}
  • Undies: 61 {-5}
  • Bras: 22 {+2}
  • Pairs of Socks: 58 {+3}
  • Belts: 14 {0}
  • Tights: 20 {-5}
  • Bathing Suits: 12.5 {-0.5}
  • Pairs of Footwear: 20 {-1}
  • Purses + Wallets: 9 {-1}
  • Coats: 6 {-1}

The only category I removed was hats… I don’t wear hats that often and should probably purge those that I do have.  However, when I do wear them, I like to have different options.  Excuses, excuses!!!

Good news: my shorts and skirts numbers went down (thanks to my larger post-baby bum).  Bad news: I made up for it with the purchase of more dresses; and I really need to look at my sweaters, tanks and pyjamas more closely.  I also have a ridiculous amount of socks + undies, but I usually wear two pairs of socks in the winter – and don’t do laundry that often.

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And if we’re being completely honest (how much more honest can I get when I’ve already told you how many undies I own right?) – I have not worked out in a while… so why keep all those outfits?

That brings my grand total up to 444.5 items (+10 that I am keeping/trying to sell at the moment).  Last year my goal was to get rid of HALF of my things.  And I only managed to get rid of about 50.  Not 50%.  Ugh.

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Have you ever done a clothes count in your closet?  Obviously it’s pretty tedious, especially when you get to those socks; but I really think it’s a big wakeup call if you (are like me and) think that you don’t have that much stuff.  Make a fun game of it, think of a number and then see how close you are to your original guess!  I am still convinced that the Husband has more stuff than me, but he keeps not wanting to do a clothes count… weirdo haha!

Hopefully next year I have way less… but let’s be more realistic and get to under 300 items okay!?  As always, I normally track the stuff I bring in and remove from my house in my monthly updates

Wish me luck :)

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2 Comments

  • Reply
    Louise aka Mommy
    August 22, 2016 at 8:38 pm

    11 dresses added in a year?? do purses etc still at your parents count?

    • Reply
      Nicole
      August 23, 2016 at 7:47 am

      I know I recently bought 4 dresses, but I think the big number added includes all the ones that you had brought over to our house this year. As far as I know, I went through all the shoes and purses at your houses and took everything I needed.

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