"Just in case" clothing [Archive] - Simple Living Forums

View Full Version : "Just in case" clothing

Gardenarian

3-24-16, 3:09am

I'm having trouble weeding my clothes. I've got a lot of things I have just in case.

Anyone else have this issue? How did you deal with it?

herbgeek

3-24-16, 6:21am

Combination of strategies:

- grouping things that are "alike" so I can see what and how many I really have. I did this with my work suits, I decided in the 90s that I would never again have a job that required me to wear panty hose, and I wasn't going to interview that way either. So it was time to get rid of my skirted suits. It was difficult to donate those suits that represented not only a large investment for me, but also throwing away of that yuppie image I had held onto. I kept one, with the assumption I could still wear it to a funeral.

- I keep more holiday dresses than I'll ever wear (I think there are 5 or 6) , so I keep those in a protected space in the attic so they aren't in my way. I don't like the prospect of having to spend significant money to replace holiday dresses, so I hold on to those. Plus, they are pretty and I like to look at them.

- I swap out clothes twice a year, and as I'm loading/unloading I ask myself if I have worn them since I last swapped out. This gets rids of a lot of items.

- I took the much smaller closet in the guest room and let hubby have the master bedroom closet. I only have a limited space to work with.

lessisbest

3-24-16, 8:44am

I think we all have "just in case" clothes. Have you read "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo? That one book is fantastic for making these kinds of decisions.

pinkytoe

3-24-16, 9:06am

Doing the same - continually it seems. I think a lot is dependent on the climate one lives in, too. Other than my laid-back retirement attire, I am trying to have certain things on the ready. Something to wear to a wedding, funeral, job interview, etc. Basics like black pants. A minimum of separates that actually go together. I note that I have a few things I like but that require ironing so they are just hanging there. Apparently, I need to stick with no iron options.

Mary B.

3-24-16, 10:58am

I think for me the question needs to be expanded to "just in case of X" and each X thought about separately. For instance, I can imagine having more than one holiday or going-to-weddings dress if enjoying dressing up is part of the fun of those events for you. If it's not, a single plain-isn dress that can be accessorized different ways is likely fine. Funerals? Really we just need one thing to wear, right? It's a just-in-case that i think is wise to have, since the last thing you want to do is have to go shopping for something you feel is appropriate when it is needed.

I have some outfits that I wear when I'm working in an office (I mostly work at home), so they would also be my interview clothes, and then I've got clothes to wear in the garden and such, so I don't really have any other just-in-case options. Oh, and nothing to iron -- I'm with pinkytoe on that, it just doesn't happen!

Miss Cellane

3-24-16, 12:06pm

I agree with Mary B. In case of What? Size change? Climate change? Getting a new job change?

The following things have helped me deal with making keep/toss clothing decisions:

1. Wear the item for a day. Frequently, there is a reason you aren't wearing something--it scratches, the tags irritate, it pulls to the side or to the front or back, the buttons pop open, etc. Either fix the issue, or toss it.

2. Nothing else you own goes with it. Either because what used to go with it got old, ripped, stained, or because you decided one sunny spring day to add more color to your wardrobe and bought a color that goes with nothing else in your closet. Either buy more clothes to go with it, or toss it.

3. Getting over the fear that you will have nothing to wear if you toss everything you deep-down know ought to go. This was me for a long, long time. What helped was finding good, workable, wardrobe-building advice*. Once I started accumulating the clothing pieces that would give me more versatility with fewer pieces of clothing, it was easy to say, "This is not in my color scheme, out it goes!" "This was never a good buy, it shrank and the dye ran and now I have clothes I like better, so begone!" "This always made me feel like I was dressing up like my mother, but it was expensive, so I thought I had to keep it, but no more!"

But I couldn't start tossing until I had purchased the core of a new wardrobe, about 8 new pieces. At that point, something clicked and 9 trash bags full of clothing wafted away to Goodwill. Those, eight pieces, two pairs of pants and 4 tops and 2 cardigans, along with clothing I already had, made a ton of outfits for both work and socializing and at home. There is so much room in my closet now--and it's a tiny closet.

Do keep one or two things for messy work like painting or deep cleaning. I made that mistake once, and just before embarking on a big wallpaper removal and painting project, realized I had nothing to wear! A trip to the thrift shop yielded a tee shirt and some cotton knit pants for a total of $6, but I never made that mistake again.

A outfit or two for weddings and other celebrations, one or two evening outfits if needed, a funeral outfit if you don't have suitable clothing in your regular wardrobe--examine your life style and make sure you have clothing for all your activities.

Herbgeek's suggestion of pulling all of one type of clothing together and examining it is also a good idea. I did that with my sweaters once, and discovered that I had 33 sweaters! No one *needs* 33 sweaters. I laid them out on my bed, starting with the "absolutely must keep," moving into the "I would like to keep," followed by the "I would not be distraught if they left my life," and ended with the "absolutely must go." Got down to 16 sweaters in no time. (And someone is probably having the vapors about 16 sweaters, but I live in a climate with 4 distinct seasons, and sweaters add warmth. There are Office sweaters, Home sweaters, one Huge, Warm, Wool sweater that can fit over three or four layers for really cold days, one or two Going Out sweaters, and a couple of Summer-weight sweaters for my overly-air-conditioned workplace.)

* I found the following blogs to have useful information: The Vivienne Files http://www.theviviennefiles.com/, une femme d'un certain âge http://unefemme.net/, Putting Me Together http://www.puttingmetogether.com/, Wardrobe Oxygen http://www.wardrobeoxygen.com/, but there are tons of websites and blogs out there, and you are sure to find something that speaks to you.

The Vivienne Files talks a lot about a common wardrobe of 12 pieces that, while you can make outfits out of those 12, are more useful as wardrobe building blocks to go with other clothes, and a core wardrobe of 16 pieces, plus accessories, that can pretty much cover your basic, day-to-day needs, not including special events and grubby clothes. I had never been one for accessorizing, but I bought a lot of scarves after reading pretty much all of the archives there, and I wear them almost daily. (Note: she uses a lot of images of clothes she finds on the internet as examples of the type of clothing she's recommending. Some are very expensive. She does not intend for her readers to buy these clothes--they are just the best picture she could find to illustrate what she's talking about. Just a warning so you don't start hyperventilating at the $400 scarves she sometimes posts, sometimes in the same post with a sweater from Land's End or LL Bean.) The other blogs are more about how to make outfits from the clothing you already have, or various ways to wear one piece of clothing in a variety of outfits. They are helpful for inspiration on those days when you just feel "meh" about every piece of clothing you own.

Zoe Girl

3-24-16, 12:19pm

A couple things that are 'just in case' that I never get rid of are
* silk long underwear for a really cold day
* supportive flip flops/sandals for a really hot day
* a couple bathing suits
* a pair of nylons or light tights.

These are items that are really difficult to get at the last minute if you need them, very hard with my shape to pick up a bathing suit off the rack so I keep a couple around.

Gardenarian

3-26-16, 3:29pm

Thanks guys, you made me think!

I case of what?

What I've got are a lot of clothes designed for San Francisco weather - pretty much the same year round, 55-70 degrees. Since I've moved, I've bought a few things for the more extreme climate here (20-105 degrees, and wet.) Not only is SF the same year-round, it's pretty much the same all day - 65 degrees morning noon and night. Now I deal with temps fluctuating 30+ degrees over the course of a day.

So I have all of these clothes in good condition and I am not wearing them. What I need are NOT mid-weight knits, but lightweight layers.

I think I have to go back to my old system of hanging things backwards and flipping them when I wear something. I must do something, my closet is overflowing and I still often feel that I have nothing to wear!

I'm going to ask dd for advice she's a fashionista and very sensible.

ApatheticNoMore

3-26-16, 4:52pm

I guess I keep some clothes I don't wear just in case .... my existing clothes wear out (will happen of course - clothes don't last forever) and nothing nice is available for purchase (probably not that likely to coincide perfectly with clothes wearing out as it hasn't yet - though I am sometimes down to very few clothes I'm actually wearing. It's just I have often gone clothes shopping and just thought: "ugh, yucky yucky yucky, nothing nice to buy right now"). Just in case ... to avoid nudism, I guess. Even though the things I am saving just in case are not what I really like either, but I'm just worried what I can buy will be worse.

Gardenarian

3-27-16, 3:24pm

rodeosweetheart

3-27-16, 3:41pm

It's funny, I did not read this thread because of the title, because I read my own interpretation of "just in case" and I realize how far gone I must be, heathwise--I ws thinking of clothes you pack in case someone vomits etc., accidents (both toddlers and elderly), sweatpants for post operation recovery, or the sweatpants my son wore for like 2 years when he was in bed after surgery on his leg and in cast for 8 months, then following year was in cast with same leg-- the one legged "just in case sweatpants."

Heck I'd get rid of them and buy something nicer, although I do keep a pair of paint pants and tee-shirts, although I don't have any right now, having painted and thrown them out.

Gardenarian

3-28-16, 1:35am

I've got a lot (too many) of those kind of just-in-case clothes too.

Instead of giving things away I think, no, I can use that for gardening or painting or cleaning...but I don't, because they are still too "good", whatever that means.

Gardenarian

4-9-16, 6:33pm

So, old thread but I had a new thought.

Wearing a "uniform" to work (black pants/top + cardigan or jacket) has been working out for me, I'm going to think in terms of creating a uniform for each season. This will be only using the clothing I already have. I may also create uniforms for my regular activities - dance, yoga, hiking, archery, kayaking.

I haven't worked out the details yet - going to take some thought. I'm tired of my over-stuffed closet!

Teacher Terry

4-9-16, 7:25pm

When I semi-retired I gave away about half of my clothes. Now I have stuff I really like and wear and only keep a few crappy clothes for dirty work, etc but not many.

freshstart

4-9-16, 7:32pm

I got rid of 11 bags of clothes, I was keeping 2 sizes down 'just in case' and a ton of work clothes. I kept one size down and a reasonable amt of work clothes.

So I have a brand new $30 clearance dress I was going to wear to my brother's rehearsal dinner that fits perfectly (rare for me) but now I think I am going with pants as it is still cold at night there. So I don't need this casual dress but could make the argument for keeping it 'just in case'. It's been a month and I still can't decide.

nswef

4-9-16, 7:44pm

Freshstart, Maybe it will warm up so you can wear the new dress. You could wear panty hose....thick.