Has anything in your closet failed to see action in the past year? Experts recommend biffing those items. But, since there seem to be exceptions to that rule, it is sometimes hard to follow through.
Reasons why an item may be languishing:
- You don’t like it enough to wear it. In this case, definitely pass it on. A variation is when you wear it, you don’t feel like yourself or as good as when you wear your favorite things. Honestly, isn’t this the reason the rule was created?
- Or, alternatively, it doesn’t quite fit. The Internet is full of reasons why you should not keep stuff that doesn’t quite fit, and yet most of us do. A variation is stuff you need different underwear to wear. Decide which it is, and then biff or shop!
- The hardest reason to recognize, IMO: you have too many choices in that lifestyle category. If you haven’t worn it in a year, it may be your least favorite. Biff. The exception: if your favorites are wearing out, you may like this lonely piece better than buying new; especially given the fact that you probably need to put more effort into shopping for one or more of the other lifestyle categories.
These are some reasons to adhere to the One Year Rule.
When do you break the rule and keep stuff you are not wearing?
I keep some event clothing — black suit, heels, a few dresses — to meet the needs of special occasions. I don’t want to have to go out and shop for every wedding, job interview, etc. And I find if I have some current accessories — a scarf or a necklace — I don’t look *too* dated. At least, I hope not!
I concentrate my shopping on my 75% — mostly nice casual, some workout wear. Gardening & housework (10%?) is old stuff that I’ve retired from public use. I try to resist the urge to shop for the 5% of my life, the events that (1) don’t happen that often and (2) I have covered already, if a little dully. But it helps that I’ve hung onto that nice teal shift dress that makes my eyes look bluer and can go anywhere in the winter.
That is brilliant! I do alot the same, but hadn’t thought all the way to putting it into words. It really saves on event shopping to have those couple items hanging there (and to have shoes to wear them with). 🙂