How many unused clothes do you have in your closet?

[Phteven]

I thought this was an interesting survey. How many unworn/unused clothes do you own?

Average Woman Owns 22 Garments She Never Wears But Refuses to Junk
by Bridgette Meinhold, 01/31/11

A wardrobe full of clothes but nothing to wear? You’re in good company. The average British woman has 22 unworn items in her closet that she refuses to throw or give away, according to a survey by QVC U.K. The price of hoarding doesn’t come cheap, notes the home-shopping channel. Across Britain, women spend more than $2.5 billion on over 500 million articles of clothing that are left untouched—enough to run from London to New York four-and-a-half times over on an imaginary clothes rail. But while it’s easy to pin unchecked clothing consumption on the fairer sex, their male counterparts hardly fare better. Male respondents admitted to an average of 19 unworn pieces.

UNTAPPED POTENTIAL

QVC questioned 1,000 adults to discover the depth of Britain’s clothes-hoarding habits, as well as the reasons behind them. Nearly half of women blame impulse buying for their overstuffed and underused closets. Similarly, 37 percent of men admit that their unworn garments are mostly sale purchases.

Only 12 percent of people regularly clear out their closets.

As for why we keep what we don’t wear, the excuses run the gamut. Besides the fact that only 12 percent of people regularly clear out their closets, 54 percent of respondents feel guilty about wasting money, 41 percent plan to lose weight first, and 17 percent are holding out for a fashion revival (our advice: don’t).

How do we stop hoarding and love our wardrobes? Minimizing impulse buys by weighing your decision carefully is one obvious solution. So is buying quality, long-lasting items that coordinate with your existing pieces. To deal with existing baggage, solutions are more than plentiful: You can get creative and refashion your duds into something you’ll adore, recoup your losses through eBay or a secondhand store, or clear your slate with donations to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Better yet, consider hosting a clothes-swapping party with your friends, pick up a few “new” pieces for yourself, and donate the leftovers to charity.

I'm one of the 12% who tries to clean out my wardrobe regularly but I do have a number of clothes I hold onto for sentimental reasons. I have my Mum's silk dress from the 60's. It's in perfect condition but we have different figures so it won't fit without alteration yet I can't bear to throw it out. I have the skirt I wore to my cousin's funeral. I can't bear to think of it falling into the wrong hands so I keep meaning to find a friend about my size who would want a sparkly tartan mini-skirt. I have 2 traditional Pakistani outfits I bought in London that I love but never seem appropriate. And so on........

[toomanyshoes]

I go through stages of keeping everything to clearing everything out. I was pretty brutal this week going through everything and have bags and bags of stuff to get rid of but there are still a few items I couldn't bare to part with.

Shoes are another story though, I have shoes that are 5-6 years old (some never worn) but I can't part with them.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

Oh wow. I have my wedding dress and the dress I wore to my sister's wedding. OK the latter I may find somewhere to wear that to again. I don't really need my prom dress from when I was 18, but it still fits and you never know.

I do have a few other ballgowns, but they do get worn. They're a bit less showy and easier to launder.

There are some tops that only get worn a few times a year due to laundering restrictions too. And some clothes that I'm waiting for the weather to turn before I wear, so haven't worn for quite a few months now.

My issue is handbags - despite culling them every other year I still have about 15. I buy 2-3 a year and I am going to get rid of the worn-out ones again this summer (did it last year too), but there are some that are perfect for a particular use and I can't seem to find a replacement. I usually have 3-4 bags out at a time and swap like mad between them all.

[~TT40~]

I recently did a clean out and got rid of everything I dont wear. I have stuff in there that I'm not sure if it will fit me though, but being pregnant isn't the best time to go through and sort it. I think though it would easily be over a year maybe 2 years since the last time I did a really good clean out like that.

DH on the other hand... has about 3x as much clothes as me, which he would easily only wear 10% of, if that....he is starting to take over my space too!

[~TT40~]

Oh wow. I have my wedding dress and the dress I wore to my sister's wedding. OK the latter I may find somewhere to wear that to again. I don't really need my prom dress from when I was 18, but it still fits and you never know.

I do have a few other ballgowns, but they do get worn. They're a bit less showy and easier to launder.

There are some tops that only get worn a few times a year due to laundering restrictions too. And some clothes that I'm waiting for the weather to turn before I wear, so haven't worn for quite a few months now.

My issue is handbags - despite culling them every other year I still have about 15. I buy 2-3 a year and I am going to get rid of the worn-out ones again this summer (did it last year too), but there are some that are perfect for a particular use and I can't seem to find a replacement. I usually have 3-4 bags out at a time and swap like mad between them all.

well yes... handbags is a WHOLE different matter =P

[Jellyfish]

I was just gearing up to do a cleanout this weekend!

I do the trick that I learnt somewhere but can't remember now; you put all the hangers in the wardrobe the wrong way and then when you take it off, wear it and wash it, it gets put back in the right way. At the end of the designated period any piece of clothing that hasn't made the hanger switch moves on... obviously have to allow for seasonal things and such but works pretty well for me, has definitely made me really think about my purchases and make sure things are complimentary.

[~Hestia~]

I regularly clean out my wardrobe - did it just last week and got rid of all the maternity stuff! Now I've barely got anything left

My DH is shocking at hanging onto clothes though, has so much stuff but only wears about half a dozen actual items.

[Astrid]

A few unworn items, some I keep on thinking "I will wear if I can find a matching top/bottom" They really must go.

I am not too bad though, I do a swap when the seasons change. Any winter only items get put away and the summer items come out, (and of course in reverse). When I do the swap over, I will often get rid of a few pieces.

Actually at the stage of updating my wardrobe due to working again, so a lot of the home stuff is starting to get thrown.

[~me~]

I clean out reguarly. I only have one unused never worn garment still with tags on.

Some I have not worn for a while. I clean our pretty much every season, I don't necessarily replace, just clean out.
I have a few items that would be classed as vintage now Those I keep!
My wedding dress I have only worn once, will keep it for DD. I know of couples that regularly get back into their wedding gear for a night in.

[LuluHB]

I'm pretty good but will hang on to sentimental things too. Will also hang on to things that I really love but don't fit me anymore as a bit of inspiration.

I have my wedding dress and can't imagine ever getting rid of it. Its the most incredibly gorgeous dress I have ever or will ever own and represents for me a day where I felt truly beautiful, which is definitely not something I feel the rest of the time. DD1 has already told me she wants to wear it when she gets married - long way off and I certainly won't hold her to it but I would love it if one of my girls did wear it.

[AngelPants]

the majority of my clothes in my wardrobe i dont or cant wear and i have a whole double built in to myself... most of them im keeping in the hope i fit back into them at some time in the future....

[luna moth]

Zero. Everything in my cupboard has been worn at least once. Just not necessarily by me I buy and acquire a lot of vintage and pre-loved clothes.

I try to wear my wedding dress on every anniversary. The last two we have been separated by distance, but I love wearing it. I spent months making it, I like to make the most out of it, by randomly wearing it out, and getting my photo taken with plush shark mascots outside the aquarium.

If I have something sentimental that I'm not wearing, I like to give it to somebody worthy, tell them its story, and hope that they will keep its legacy alive. I have a few clothes from my MIL that are like this.