Purging Your Wardrobe

4 questions to ask when purging your wardrobe.

By Tech Correspondent Paul Olson
Photo:  You wish your closet looked like that.  Shot via GQ of the new J. Crew Men’s shop on the Upper East Side of New York City.  Click here to read their entire GQ Eye Post.

I’ve been trying to downsize things – books, possessions, clothing. This guy, from the Cult of Less blog, is kind of my new hero. There’s a certain stress level that clutter provides, so today I attacked my closet. I looked at everything, and I asked myself four questions:

1. Have I worn this , ever?

The first things to go where the items I had never worn. For whatever reason, I didn’t return the purchase, but I’ve held on to a number of things I’ve simply NEVER worn. Makes no sense. A couple pairs of pants, a sweater, a blazer – gone.

2. Do I wear this every month (when it’s in season)?

Other things I own I simply do not utilize enough. The polo with the stripes I’m not thrilled about, the pants that are a little long , I only wear some items when the laundry pile is at capacity. I could do one more load of laundry a year and only wear my favorite clothes.

3. Do I need two (or three) __?

Three navy blue polos? Wow, didn’t realize that. Two are in the out pile. Four pairs of khaki pants? The two baggy pairs are out. I don’t know what I was thinking when I bought all these nearly identical items. Socks are the exception here. A boatload of blue and brown socks is necessary.

4. For special occasion clothing , do I wear it every year?

We all have a wedding suit, interview suit, funeral suit. Do I need backups? I don’t think I do. Hell, I could get by with nothing but a blue blazer, I bet. I just don’t have a suit-dependent lifestyle. Same with Hawaiian shirts. If I wear them nearly never (occasional Jimmy Buffett concerts, a special occasion), do I need three? Nope.

My closet now has a little breathing room. Enough room for proper storage tools without resorting to vacu-bags and as-seen-on-TV solutions. Give it a try and let us know what you purge.

Question:  When do you know it’s time to send something off to the thrift store?  Leave your feedback in the comments section below.