When I first reviewed Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I mentioned that I was already an old hand at cleaning out my closet. I had already been accustomed to going through my closet every few months and following tips like those found on Into Mind to identify what could be donated or thrown away. I never made a single "mistake" in terms of accidentally getting rid of something and eventually regretting it. After reading Kondo's book, I've become a bit more aggressive with my tidying-up, and that has recently resulted in my first real mistake while getting a bit overzealous with putting together my next Thredup bag last week.
I bought the pictured Ann Taylor top about a year ago and wore it a few times, mostly to work during the summer. It isn't a very summery color or style, but it was light enough in texture. It definitely didn't pass muster under Kondo's "does it spark joy" criteria. Practically every time I wore it, I noticed how the satiny-textured polyester of the front panel (the back panel was a different more viscose-textured material) seemed to attract stains from antiperspirant and who knows what else at a remarkable rate. The embellished neck didn't work that well with many of my necklaces. I wear many black skirts to work, and I found that I didn't like the navy and blue combination much. Into the Thredup bag it went.
Now, however, I find myself thinking (for several days in a row) about whether I made a mistake. I didn't love the top, but I suspect that it is normal enough for one's work wardrobe to be stocked with quite a few items one doesn't love, for necessity's sake. I would still have worn it to work with reasonable frequency and I can't guarantee that the next Ann Taylor or Loft work top I buy (at an average price of $25 or so each) would be better than this one.
Given how long I've been editing my closet and how many pieces I've gotten rid of, this isn't exactly a cautionary tale. I still have close to a 99% success rate, most likely. (I never counted how many pieces I sent away, so I can't be scientific about the numbers!) Have you ever regretted throwing away, donating, or selling anything while editing your closet?
There have a been a couple of times that I've sold something on eBay and then felt a pang of regret as I was packing it up. But it always short-lived -- I never truly regretted getting rid of anything.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't know, the issues you mentioned with that blouse (prone to staining, hard to accessorize) seem pretty significant. I think that you can find work-basic type top that you'll like quite a bit more than that!
Yeah, I think the norm is definitely for me to not regret anything (out of sight, out of mind, and I think maybe modern-day consumers tend to start out with too much stuff to make use of all of it anyway).
DeleteAnd I definitely still have plenty of business casual clothes in my closet too.
I think that's definitely the norm for me too.
ReplyDeleteOff the top of my head, only one - a bag. I sold it for very little, and for that amount, I should have just kept it - it wasn't exactly my style, but it was a beautiful bag. Oh well. I hope it's new owner appreciates it.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, I have a handbag right now that I don't love, but I don't think it has enough resale value for me to try and sell it or consign it (and it cost a bit too much originally for me to think about donating it, at least at this point). I think I'll be keeping it for the forseeable future!
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