Ashamed of myself

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

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".

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 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.

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

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

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 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!

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!

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 ?

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

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.

The charity shop should be pleased

I’ve got a disc by Paul McKenna titled How to overcome Emotional Spending. I think it came free with a Sunday paper years ago.
If anyone wants it I’m prepared to post it. Maybe it could do the rounds? Cure all of you??

Thank you Telly for saying you’re enjoying this thread. I’ve got to say, I’m surprised that generally you’ve mostly taken it in the spirit I’d hoped for, lightheartedly. I assume my clothes are bought from the charity shops and don’t go to landfill. I’d find it completely impossible to edit down to 20 pieces and I wouldn’t want to. I like choice and variety. You’re certainly right that it’s to fill a hole in my life. I havent had a particularly happy marriage and I have a blood cancer which concentrates the mind wonderfully. So sod it, I will enjoy what I’ve got and try not to buy anything else!

Please, Pamela, that sounds interesting and I would pass it on afterwards.

I wish that I could just walk into a shop and find lovely clothes and shoes that fit well. I get no pleasure from shopping, and just find it a chore. I'm dreading having to find something nice to wear for my daughter's wedding in November, especially as it is Australia, and the weather will be hot.

I don't really like dressing up, preferring natural fabrics and being comfortable. Anything synthetic is whipped off as soon as I get home.

I have small, but very wide feet, and finding nice comfortable shoes is difficult. Sod's law, though. I dropped on a nice pair of well-fitting, quite expensive, shoes recently. The first time I wore them the heel went down a big crack in the pavement and was badly damaged!

You've inspired me to take a look in my wardrobe. I pulled out 12 pairs of trousers which don't fit any more. I'll never be a 14 again . Forgot about the 3/4 length and shorts which are folded up on a shelf. Maybe I'll look at those tomorrow.

I used to be terrible for retail therapy and had so many clothes in my wardrobe with the tags still on, things that I had bought and liked, the return date had passed and then I didn't like it and yes it is so wasteful. We tried a couple of boot sales but still bought so much stuff back so last year I decided everything must go and I found a place where you take your bags of things and they are weighed and money is exchanged. Its not a lot but something. The more decent things went to charity. I then had a long talk to myself and I do still buy but not so much and can now say No. I ask myself do I need it, or do I want it. Once home I may change my mind and return it. Best of both worlds the pleasure of buying and the pleasure of the money in my bank.

Grammaretto I dont throw things out I pass them on ,clothes to my sister ,furniture and soft furnishing to the local charity that helps people who are starting out or starting agin .Towels and blankets/throws go to the Animal home 3 miles away Underwear goes to Smalls for All in Livingston.Nothing is wasted its all recycled as best I can.My books ,around 2000 of them went to the school when their library burned down,they were very grateful for them and I only kept about 6 books back that I wouldn't part with .As long as someone benefits I wont feel guilty

I am amazed at the number of shoes, boots and handbags some of you have......if I was living near you, I would have come and collected them, especially the handbags . You must be very rich or just big spendthrifts.

I've been having a declutter and sent lots off to charity shops, but while in town today I passed a shop with about 20 bags of (I assume) unsold goods outside waiting to be collected and taken - where? Perhaps, like the Sewing Bee I should think of other ways to use unwanted clothing.

I wouldn't worry about it too much Luckylegs, I assume you have enough money left over from these shopping jaunts to buy food, pay the rent, etc. Perhaps pull your belt in a bit if it makes you feel better.
My obsession is books and china. I don't need any more mugs/cups and saucers but I bought one of each last month because they were so pretty and I couldn't resist.
Plus, I sent off another order to Bibliophile this very morning.
However, in my defence I enjoy them and I don't go on holiday, drink or smoke so does it matter, really?

Had an elderly neighbour who i looked after , clothes were her everything. On her own admission,in her younger day she would go without food to buy clothes(after she'd bought food for her cat). Long story short when she died I packed up over forty black bags of clothes ,lots with labels still on and not cheap either to send to Age U.k (her wish).She was still buying clothes ten days before she passed away. When she found shoes she liked she would buy them in three or four different colours.