Most of us will get to a point where our wardrobes are crammed full of clothes.
But the earlier we recognise that we have too many clothes, the quicker we can deal with the problem.
So let's run through a few tell-tale signs that you have too many clothes. Then if you keep scrolling you can see a few options for tackling for your surplus garments.
Signs You Have Too Many Clothes for your Wardrobe
1.It takes you ages to put together an outfit.
There are few reasons why it might be taking you a long time to put together an outfit. It could be because you need to spend some time thinking about what actually goes with what, but it might also be because you have too much to choose from in the first place.
2. Your clothes go missing.
Is it in the wash? It's not in the wardrobe or the drawers - UGH! It's so annoying when you can't find that specific item of clothing you're looking for. Often it is hiding in plain sight, in an overly full wardrobe.
3. Multiple duplicates of the same item of clothing.
Sometimes it is good to buy two pairs of jeans that you know fit well and will last a long time. But if you're ordering more clothes to replace the ones you thought are missing, then you may have too many in the first place.
4. You can't physically close your wardrobe or drawers.
Overflowing sock drawer? In the rush of getting ready on a morning, the last thing you want to be fighting with is furniture, especially if it is far too full of clothing.
5. You don't like any of your clothes.
It's ok to fall out of love with clothing. It happens. But if that is the case, why not get it moved on to someone who will love to wear what you don't.
6. Having to store clothes in weird places.
Exercise bike, check. Crammed into a random drawer, maybe. If you find yourself hunting down clothes around the house, then maybe it's time for a wardrobe audit.
7. Getting ready to go out means you end up with hundreds of clothes sprawled all over the floor.
We get it. Sometimes it takes a few attempts at coming up for an outfit for that ridiculously themed party. That said, if you commonly find you're having to scoop up piles of clothes from the floor, don't! Have a look through them and see what you could part with.
8. You're constantly having to resort and reorganise your wardrobe.
Change is good. Moving clothes around for ease or space saving is great. But if you're constantly having to move items around so it all gets put away, you could save yourself a lot of time by having a ponder.
9. Too many of your clothes don't feel like 'you'.
Without trying to go all Marie Kondo, do your clothes actually make you feel good and look good?
10. You have various wardrobes, chests of drawers and entire rooms devoted to hundreds of clothes.
We all have different needs and we all enjoy different things. If you feel like you love and wear all the clothes you own, great. But it's a problem when you feel like your home is being taken over by your fashion habit.
11. Constantly dropping off clothes to charity shops.
Hey, we love that you're spreading the love with your clothing. Dropping off clothes to your local charity shop is great for keeping garments in circulation - worn and loved by people. However, if you find yourself 'popping down the charity shop' too regularly, you might need to curb what you buy in the first place.
12. You're spending more than you afford on new clothes.
We all need to update our wardrobes from time to time. Not all the time, though and certainly not at the detriment of your finances. There are cheaper ways of having some regular 'newnesss' in your wardrobe like buying preloved, but this can still contribute to an overflowing wardrobe. Balance is key; one item in, one item out, if you can.
13. Can you remember what clothes you have?
Another reason why it might take you so long to come up with an outfit is that you can't actually remember what clothes you like wearing. A great memory exercise is to actually think about what clothes own. Can you picture them, or write them down?
14. There are lots of clothes you've never worn, or worn once or twice.
WRAP says that 26% of clothes found in UK wardrobes have been unworn for at least a year. If you're in that number, it could be time for a spring clean.
15. You have lots of 'just in case' clothes.
Clothes should fit your body, rather than vice versa. Having various sized clothes is normal, since brands all have different fits. Buttoo many ill-fitting clothes will take up way too much space. It's ok to let them go.
16. You rarely rewear the same items over a 2 week period.
Dare to rewear! It's perfectly normal to mix, match and repeat outfits. If you aren't commonly wearing the same clothes you could have too many items.
17. Your laundry basket(s) are overflowing.
No matter how hard you try, laundry is never-ending. It's made a lot worse when you have too many clothes in the first place. While it is great to be able to avoid having to deal with washing clothes for a bit, eventually it catches up.
18. You feel like you have too many clothes yet nothing to wear.
It can feel so frustrating to have an abundance of clothing in your wardrobe and yet when it comes to actually making outfits you feel like nothing is suitable. This is a good point to stop, sit down and have a rethink.
19. If you split your wardrobe in half, you'd still have enough clothes to wear.
Same goes for the endless pairs of sunnies you might have.
20. You find yourself running out of hangers frequently.
And no, they're not just in the other wardrobe!
How Many Clothes Is it Normal to Own?
The average UK resident owns118items of clothing.
This consists of around:
- 15 pairs of socks
- 15 pieces of underwear
- 12 T-Shirts
- 9 Shirts.
We all have different needs, for different amounts of clothes. But do a quick totalling up of all your clothes, it will help you to realise what you actually need more or less of.
Help! I Have Too Many Clothes But Like Them All
If you have too many clothes but like them all, why not sort them by how often you wear those clothes. One way to do this is the hanger trick, which lets you see just how often you wear those clothes.
Or you could try packing a large suitcase for the best clothes you'd take to go on holiday or to an occassion. These are your favourites to keep. Anything that didn't make the cut may have to be parted with, if you can.
Got items that have sentimental value? There is another way of cherishing clothing. Maybe a photograph is enough. Or if the item is something that is really old, perhaps even unwearable, it could be reworked into something else.
How to Get Rid of Too Many Clothes
- Use a method to organise your wardrobeto figure out which clothes are surplus.
- Donate clothes to your local charity shop.
- Swap clothes with friends or family.
- Try using a clothes swap app.
- Sell on eBay, Vinted, Depop or other online platforms.
- Use SWISH.plus.
- If clothes are really worn, consider upcycling them.
- Check local community groups, schools or homeless shelters to see if they are in need of specific clothes.
- Take them all to a car boot sale and price them to go all in one day.
- Consider giving them away in a Facebook group or Marketplace.
