Simple Math: Beginning a Wardrobe Inventory

Current State of My Closet

Inspired by Struggling to be Stylish‘s recent Friday challenge, I decided to count all the clothes in my closet.  I figured this could be a useful exercise to find out exactly how much I have.  I used similar guidelines to hers, with some slight tweaking.  

I made sure to include:

• Shoes (count each pair as one item)
• Special occasion outfits and evening dresses
  
• Items you can’t wear right now because of weight issues
  
• Things that are resting because it’s the wrong season
• Coats

But I excluded

• Underwear
  
• Sports gear & sneakers, swim/beach gear (only items used exclusively for these.  If you wear a tank top to the gym that you also sometimes wear out, count it)
  
• Pajamas
• Clothes that are only worn for yard work
• Accessories besides shoes

Also, because I found one category for blouses too broad, I broke it down further.  Blouses include button downs, woven blouses, polos and knit tops that are not tees (have embellishment, etc).  Tees include long sleeve and short sleeve tees, crew necks, scoop necks, concert tees.  Tanks and camis include all my tank tops, camisoles and sleeveless tops.

Here’s my personal closet breakdown:

• Shoes: 20
• Pants: 3
• Jeans: 3
• Shorts: 2
• Capris: 2
• Skirts: 7
• Dresses: 11
• Blouses: 13
• Tees (long and short sleeved): 20
• Tanks/Camis: 12
• Jackets/Coats: 8
• Cardigans: 6

I don’t think that these numbers are perfect, because I likely forgot to count at least something, but they really got me thinking more about my use of wardrobe space.  Quantity wise, I own a good amount of clothes.  Yet most days, it takes me awhile to put together an outfit.  I end up wearing the same pieces over and over again, while other pieces are never worn because I either don’t like them or don’t have the right pieces to wear with them.  All of this is leading up to what will be my closet inventory challenge.  Over the next few weeks, I want to really analyze what I own – look at what works and what doesn’t.  I’m going to photograph the different groups of items that I have.  I’m going to deal with the issue of duplicates (how many black tees do I really need?).  I’m going to find out which items I wear within a four-week period, then decide if the other items should stay or go.  I’m going to revise my wardrobe gaps list and actually make myself shop only for those specific items.  I’m going to clean out and organize my closet so I can actually find what I’m looking for.

Am I over-ambitious, trying to do this while finishing my final semester of grad school, hunting for jobs and managing my budget?  Maybe.  But I think that taking a good hard look at my wardrobe, starting with this inventory, will help me to shop for what I really need and  create a wardrobe that I truly love (and that can fit in my limited space)  

Stay tuned for more specifics of the wardrobe inventory challenge and feel free to follow along in your own closet.