A few years ago, after hauling all my stuff from place to place when I moved, I decided I should lighten the load. I began implementing the 6 month rule. This is where I go to my closet and drawers, and if something has not been worn in the last 6 months...it goes in the Goodwill pile. It was difficult at first. I would always resort to the, "well, I may wear that at some point" excuse. I finally realized that most likely, it will never be worn by me again. I also started doing this with books, saved documents and letters, other closets, and the junk drawer.
There are exceptions to the rule though. And these are definitely valid. Feel free to use them yourself or find your own.
Exception #1 - shoes absolutely do not count in the 6 month rule. Why? Because you may have one pair of shoes that only goes with one particular outfit, but when you wear that outfit (once a year or 2 years or so) you HAVE to have THOSE shoes to go with it. Completely understandable.
Exception #2 - seasons can throw the 6 month rule off a little. For example, if I haven't worn a sweater in the last six months, it is probably because Texas really only has a few months of sweater wearing weather. Same goes for summer. If you clean out in the winter and haven't worn that tank top because it is 30 below outside...good reason, save it for summer.
Exception #3 - tshirts are usually excluded as well. For me, this is because I tend to be on the sentimental side. So I keep the majority of my tshirts. Plus there are great ways to save them so they don't take up tons of space. My mom made my high school tshirts into a blanket and I love it! If you are ambitious, you could make it yourself. If you are wondering why I don't do this myself, see # 68 on my list of 100 things about me.
Exception #4 - DVDs, music, and Christmas decoration are completely exempt. Now we all know that some of those Christmas sweaters probably should be donated, but to each his own. I may watch the same movies over and over, but I doubt I will ever deplete my DVD collection or my itunes library. You never know when you may need them!
I used to save all of the discarded items for a future, potential garage sale. I decided to forego that whole process because it is too much work, I don't figure I would make that much money anyway, and I don't have a place to have one. Plus when storing one of my clean out batches, I found the stuff from the last clean out. And if applying the 6 month rule....I will probably never have the intended garage sale.
Let me know how your first clean out goes! I could so work on that TLC show Clean Sweep! Have a great day!
2 comments:
Good rule, I might try to do this. You should just pass those clothes right on to me. You dress really cute...I'm sure I might want to keep some of the things you're wanting to get rid of! :) I must add another exception - post baby and still losing weight.
I'm sentimental about t-shirts, too. I have tons of t-shirts I never wear and probably won't ever wear again just taking up space because I refuse to throw them out. Like my Bongo faded yellow, holey smiley face t-shirt from 7th grade. It's a keeper, baby!:)
Post a Comment