Wardrobe Collections - When to say when?

[sheeplady]

One great one is Unclutterer that has a regular newsletter that I find very useful.

I actually found this site hilarious. It has some useful tips, but I was laughing out loud when I got to the section on books. Keep only 30 books? Keep only cookbooks that you cook out of at least once a month? Not written by somebody who reads for a living (or reads as part of their living). I shut down that tab because I started to get very worried that I thought it was so funny. If that is how normal people think I'm not normal.

I can't imagine what those people would think if they came to my house.

My rule for stuff is this: if it makes me happy to keep it, I keep it. If it makes me unhappy or stresses me out, I chuck it. I basically look at it like this: if me having this is not hurting me or my family, and brings me joy, there is no reason to get rid of it (unless I think that giving it away would bring me and/or others more joy than keeping it).

Once something ends up in my closet it either: dies as rags (and/or a pattern) or is given to my mother. I've gotten much better about wearing all my clothes now that I lay everything out for a month at a time.

 

[MariantheLibrarian]

Keep only 30 books?

I think I have 30 books just on my bedside table...

 

[MikeBravo]

It has very minimalist vibe to the advice, and probably not suited to many Loungers.

I am fairly minimalist, but I definitely have more than 30 books! They are, in fact, a big feature of my decor. And once I go through my father's estate there will be a lot more

 

[Barbigirl]

I will have to check out that "Unclutter" website. I had really big blank walls in my bedroom so I just installed closed closet racks, which typing that just made me realize I effectively turned my whole bedroom into a closet with a bed in it.

On books, I probably only own about 50 which are stored in my ex husbands basement. There are only 7 books in my home but I am a reader. The library is a great place for storing books.

 

[MikeBravo]

I will have to check out that "Unclutter" website. I had really big blank walls in my bedroom so I just installed closed closet racks, which typing that just made me realize I effectively turned my whole bedroom into a closet with a bed in it.

Actually, that's brilliant! Defy convention (shouldn't be too difficult for folks like us), and have a closet with a walk-in bedroom, rather than a bedroom with a walk-in closet.

 

[Lady Jessica]

I have... a drawer and half a closet of clothing. Not much of a clothes collector. I used to have too much trouble finding anything to fit me to buy clothes really... now I'm super excited to get out and buy some clothes! Especially vintage repro or inspired. I have lots of clothing bookmarked and I'm getting a wardrobe for my birthday!

 

[Miss Golightly]

I use Tim Gunn's 10 Essentials as my guide.

I love Tim Gunn - he's a lovely man - he's kind to the ladies taking part in his show and doesn't paw them or make them feel bad unlike some other presenters of makeover shows - one writer described that kind of behaviour as "a creepy mix of insults and caresses" which I think is spot on.

 

[Lauren]

HA! When I tried out for Project Runway years ago I brought some of my vintage designs and he told me they were "very well made but too costumey". I wonder what he thinks of this resurgence of vintage style now...

 

[Drappa]

^Really? But they had actual costume designers as contestants before!? He does seem nice, but his show is so formulaic and the makeover is never individual. I also wouldn't want to have the exact same ten items as tons of other people. It depends so much on lifestyle.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I am the anti-minimalist. There is stuff everywhere I my house. It's not like hoarders, it's all well organized. But there's so many tables, shelves, console TV's, and radios and such that you're hard-pressed to see baseboard in my house.

It has very minimalist vibe to the advice, and probably not suited to many Loungers.

I am fairly minimalist, but I definitely have more than 30 books! They are, in fact, a big feature of my decor. And once I go through my father's estate there will be a lot more

 

[Lauren]

^Really? But they had actual costume designers as contestants before!?

I know, right? lol But I think it was like the third season or something. They were actually pretty understated- a 30s style draped evening gown in white chiffon and a 40s style shirtwaist dress in linen were the main pieces- but I think it was late in the day and they probably already had who they wanted in mind. I was flattered to make it to the last round, though.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It has very minimalist vibe to the advice, and probably not suited to many Loungers.

I am fairly minimalist, but I definitely have more than 30 books! They are, in fact, a big feature of my decor. And once I go through my father's estate there will be a lot more

30 books? I have that many in my bathroom.

 

[rue]

^ I was thinking the same thing lol

 

[Miss Golightly]

I was flattered to make it to the last round, though.

That's really good going - well done!

 

[Land-O-LakesGal]

I have a two and a half closets full of clothes and definitely more than 30 books. I was excited last week end to unload two truck loads of my childrens old clothes and toys. I am all for uncluttering to a point but..... aren't most of us loungers more about preserving the past???

 

[MikeBravo]

I am the anti-minimalist. There is stuff everywhere I my house. It's not like hoarders, it's all well organized. But there's so many tables, shelves, console TV's, and radios and such that you're hard-pressed to see baseboard in my house.

There's a good reason for that. You're a custodian of the past. Keep on cluttering!

 

[flat-top]

I might win the prize for the biggest vintage hoarder ever. I can't even begin to explain what I've got going on, but I'll try. I'm ashamed in one respect, and quite proud in another.
I've been collecting and selling vintage clothes since the early 90's, and spent nearly all my money and time searching, buying, digging ,etc for stuff. During this time, I converted my basement into a giant closet/ warehouse using store fixturing. I currently have 6 giant "H" racks, and one circular "rounder" set up, not to mention countless shelf units, boxes and totes full of t shirts, shoes, pants, etc.
The problem now is that I'm pretty much done selling what I've wanted to sell, and eveything else I just can't part with.
For example, I have one entire rack of just gabardine jackets. Some priceless. But I just won't sell them.
It's gotten so out of control down there in recent years that I've avoided the basement altogether. My wife and family are disgusted by the chaos it has become.
Only in the past few months have I ventured back down there and begun to go through everything and now have a new appreciation for the incredible stuff I've accumulated. My goal is to clean it up and organize it and turn it into, for lack of a better word, a showroom. Not to sell it, but to show off an amazing collection of vintage clothes.

 

[sheeplady]

I am the anti-minimalist. There is stuff everywhere I my house. It's not like hoarders, it's all well organized. But there's so many tables, shelves, console TV's, and radios and such that you're hard-pressed to see baseboard in my house.

But that makes a home feel cozy! Did you ever see a house on TV where they have no furniture- it is this huge expensive house and they don't have a thing to put in it? What's the point, so they look rich from the outside?

My largest problem is china and glass, especially hard-luck sets and odd pieces: things that nobody else is willing to buy and they are about to get thrown out (and they are probably worthless too, but I love them). I'm just going to say that if any of you come to my home, you could stay quite a while without eating off the same plate. And you could have a reasonable stay without eating off the same pattern, although some of the plates are cracked through the middle.

I'm also a researcher, so I need my books handy when I think in the middle of the night "I read about a study that was like x, the authors name was like or rhymed with cat or rat or pinetree, and it was in one of my books with a blue or purple cover..." If I had to wait the two weeks for InterLibrary Loan to get it to me, I'd be dead in the water. (Although ILL and the library is the main way I find new books, I then purchase my own copy if I like it. Librarians rule! I love the library...)

The size of my closet is nobody's business. I firmly stand behind that statement- don't ask a lady her age or how big her closet is.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I have no intention on ever stopping!

There's a good reason for that. You're a custodian of the past. Keep on cluttering!

I completely agree. I see so many new constructions and they're decorated as if it were a spec home.

I always get too involved in things and end up with zillions of them. Radios, you bet. Brown Drip Dishes, Tons. A plethora of Console TV's, rotary phones, decorative ducks, Gone with the Wind lamps. Not to mention the huge amount of clothes. I have a full walk-in-closet and i mean FULL. I have so much I never wear, but why rid of it? Nobody would want them but me lol

But that makes a home feel cozy! Did you ever see a house on TV where they have no furniture- it is this huge expensive house and they don't have a thing to put in it? What's the point, so they look rich from the outside?

My largest problem is china and glass, especially hard-luck sets and odd pieces: things that nobody else is willing to buy and they are about to get thrown out (and they are probably worthless too, but I love them). I'm just going to say that if any of you come to my home, you could stay quite a while without eating off the same plate. And you could have a reasonable stay without eating off the same pattern, although some of the plates are cracked through the middle.

I'm also a researcher, so I need my books handy when I think in the middle of the night "I read about a study that was like x, the authors name was like or rhymed with cat or rat or pinetree, and it was in one of my books with a blue or purple cover..." If I had to wait the two weeks for InterLibrary Loan to get it to me, I'd be dead in the water. (Although ILL and the library is the main way I find new books, I then purchase my own copy if I like it. Librarians rule! I love the library...)

The size of my closet is nobody's business. I firmly stand behind that statement- don't ask a lady her age or how big her closet is.

 

[MikeBravo]

Here's an "interesting" site for book lovers. Don't worry about the name, you will get it once you access the site. Enjoy

Bookshelf Porn