Ashamed of myself

Love this thread, making me feel so much better. Have had a clear out recently but the idea of editing down to 20 pieces is really good. Not that I am going to do it, I just like the idea. A lady I worked with in my first job said something like 'time to be getting out the winter woolies'. This was a whole new concept for me as I had so few clothes there were no seasonal variations.

My shoe rack hold 30 pairs. That includes slippers, sandals, trainers, work shoes, boots and everything. One pair in and one pair out.

Thanks jane10 it's getting easier and one thing I didn't chuck out was my sense of humour. Much needed and hopefully, not too much longer now until back into womens' clothing dept instead of camping ?

I feel buy too many clothes, but I try to keep my environmental footprint down, so I’m never entirely comfortable buying ‘stuff’. I only buy good quality stuff. Cost per wear, it’s much better value and therefore better for the environment. I would never put clothes in the loft. If it gets to that, you are obviously not going to be wearing/using it!

Breeze, I am also in your shoes. I decided a while ago to forget dieting though. Life is too short and all the evidence shows, it’s a losing battle. I believe it’s important to only have clothes you feel good in whatever your size. Buy nice clothes. Spend more in the quality ranges. One or two are worth a dozen cheaper things that you don’t love. You will feel better about yourself that way. When you are in your deathbed, it’s unlikely that your thoughts will unclude, “I wish I’d lost another stone”!

Regarding selling on ebay, auntie google will tell you how to do it!

i was in a shop recently and heard a lady say' I could do with another set of bedding, one of my 2 sets are getting a little worn' the assistant replied 'have you only got 2 sets?' the reply was' 1 on ,1 off how many more do I need?'
hoarding affects most of us it can escalate to a real problem .A friend of mine ,a hoarder, recently downsized, it took a good 4 months to sort the old place out.she has turned a new leaf and is shopping to a minimum now.
The Buddhists talk about how some us are constantly hungry looking for stuff to fill us up,In the bible there are similar stories.The big question is why do we do it ? there are many answers to that one, I haven't quite worked mine out yet!

Check out the charity “Smalls for all”. They send unwanted ( can be worn) knickers and bras to Africa. Many ladies there can not afford them and it leaves them very vulnerable.
If you are looking for a holiday destination go to Cuba. I was shocked by the lack of possessions people had and the emptyness of the shops.
I was on a cruise with my
Sister and, on the last day, we sorted out lots of the clothes we had taken for ourselves and make up, jewelry etc and gave them out to ladies we saw in Havana. They were a little surprised but highly delighted. Wish I’d have known in advance, I could have taken half my wardrobe.

I have a lot of nice clothes that don’t fit any more but I live in hope!

I only wish I could afford them.......Money and space short.

There is a huge difference between NEED and WANT. And where is this mythical place that people throw things away to? Oh! you mean landfill.

I lived in a touring caravan for twelve years and learned to manage with few clothes. If I bought something new something had to be got rid of. Although I now have more room I till stick to that principle. You can only wear one outfit at a time.

It’s not me, it’s my husband who loves to shop and has way to many clothes. At a guess he has about 50 pairs of shoes and 150 shirts. Luckily he doesn’t need handbags! Many of his shirts are duplicates and quite a few are charity shop finds. But honestly, I despair.

I am in this situation at the moment. Clearing out, 14 handbags have gone I had 24 hats, kept 6 hot rid of rest. I have large very narrow feet and have lots of shoes about 100 icluding sandals and boots I have given only 2 pairs away. I like the rest so they are not going. I hope to move soon so will need storage downsizing so could be a problem. I have been good for a few months though when out I constantly say "you must not buy amything".

Boots are my downfall,I have dozens of pairs ankle ,calf length,knee high and over the knee and I'm not parting with any of them .
I did give 27 pairs of shoes to a charity thing in our Library that was collecting shoes but only the ones with lowish heels(2 and a half inch) as most of mine are very high
.My OH is as bad as me as he often buys boots for me when he's shoe shopping for himself and thats a lot .

I dont have any problem giving clothes away though and quite regularly fill a bag for my sister who is always keen to have something I've bought and worn once .I'm not a handbag lover so I use the same two all the time until they fall to bits but my SIL buys me bags and they stack up .I must tell her not to buy any more

You say throw it out but where does it end up?
Eventually landfill or the ocean.
Our society is so wasteful we have to learn to use less and cut back on everything from water onwards.
Having stores of clothes doesn't seem anything to be ashamed of as long as they are still worn and used by some one.

DDs and I are trying not to buy any clothes this year. We are allowed underwear and socks/tights, and we can swap with/lend to each other. There's a family wedding in June which will be a challenge.

Such sensible advice on here.

I too am trying to follow donating 40 things for charity for Lent. So far the pile is mainly books.

You have made me consider how I hoard clothes and accessories too Lucky. As one ages, some clothes simply no longer suit - so they can add to the charity donations for me. Also the 2 year rule is sensible.

If only I were sensible

I don't have a large number of shoes because I can never get any to fit me.
On the other hand I vowed that I would not buy any more trousers as I have so many but couldn't resist seeing some cutoffs for the summer in M&S the other day as I had 20% off on my Sparks card.
They are clever these retailers giving me money off as I cannot resist a bargain!

We’ve moved several times and I’ve cleared out each time, supposedly downsizing! The last move was 9 years ago but the box of handbags was moved from loft to loft so I suppose it’s the last 20 years or so. I’ve got them all lined up in our hall so my daughter can choose any she wants and then I’ll cull them very hard. I’ll do the sandals bit by bit as they fit, are comfortable, just depends on the height really. I do use most of them during the course of the summer, it’s the handbags I’ll have to bite the bullet. We have a local selling page so I’ve tried to sell handbags before but they don’t seem to go. I’ll try the Kipling ones there, I’ve got 8 of those!

Loads of my ' not worn for years' clothes have made it to bin bags but not yet out of the house. They have been in there about 2 years but I still cannot bring myself to get rid of them ' just in case'. I DID take some shoes to the clothes bin in local car park but they were ones I never much liked anyway once I got them home & they had been in wardrobe at least 10 years.
Maybe this week I WILL take those bags down. Maybe.

How many years have you been buying these, Luckylegs? I rarely dispose of footwear but have nothing like this number. I love my shoes and keep them all in their right boxes, but have far fewer handbags.

I have a thing about handbags, and ended up with plastic boxes full of bags. Last year I culled them and now have three or four. Charity shops love to see me coming. I have an ongoing collection bag which sits in my bedroom. As soon as it's full I donate it. My daughter put her charity stuff in my car yesterday. She said she was sick of driving it around and she knew I'd actually take it to a charity shop.

Urmstongran Ha, Trafford Centre - STAY AWAY! it's fatal. I go for a specific item and cannot resist coming back with something I like, not need, like. Bags are my thing, not bothered about shoes. Buying a little top or jeans brightens my day. Note to self, must check my t shirt stack!

Yes, I don’t drink or gamble or any other vices. I do do other things, lots of them and try to keep away from shops.

I wish I knew how to put stuff on eBay because it breaks my heart to just chuck it to the charity shops but they rub their hands when they see me coming. I don’t think I could go through all the aggro with eBay, packing up, getting paid. I’ve bought very little there as I was stung with an item so I’m very wary.

As someone said, it’s beautiful suits and shoes bought for weddings that I can’t bear to throw away so I just keep them. A lot of t shirts and jumpers are too short now so I can get rid but I always think I could wear a cardigan over so end up keeping. I try to give friends clothes but they don’t want them either. I’d better get off here and get the makeup, lotions and potions sorted!

The year before last I drove 200 miles to help my sister clear her garage as she was selling her house. Apart from an old washing machine it was filled floor to ceiling about 10 feet deep with black bin bags .We went through them all, more than 30 of them with me ruthlessly going bin, charity shop or keep item by item. 3 bags contained curtains which went to charity as she was moving to a house with much taller windows but the rest contained clothes. Some still with tags. I found it very shaming but it took us 2 days. I did not appreciate she still had more than that still inside the house. Yes she could afford the clothes but it somehow felt immoral and when I went home I spent days editing my own much much smaller collection of stuff. I still only wear a tiny fraction of what I own but try now to be more careful with what I buy and go for well made more individual pieces rather than cheap mass market stuff. I also do keep taking bits to charity shops if I buy more as unlike my sister I refuse to put in more wardrobes, or in her case move to a bigger house!
Watch Sewing Bee and be inspired to repurpose.. That's my project for this summer

A few years ago when DH was away I got all my shoes out and counted 70+ pairs (not including boots!)....have got rid of some since then, but have also bought more, oh dear! My wardrobe sounds similar to yours Luckylegs but I am doing the Lent charity shop thing, one item a day in a bag for charity = 40 items down! Trouble is when I take things to charity shop I always see something else I like!