Photo Credit : 45R
For those on the outside, zero waste can seem like a pretty daunting idea. It’s easy to get scared by the intensity of an idea like ‘zero’, or feel overwhelmed by the amount we’d love to change. I think some of this comes from human tendency to think dualistically; reducing concepts to black and white thinking leaves us seeing zero waste as the all encompassing challenge of removing each and every piece of plastic from our lives, only able to touch things if we know they biodegrade, and feeling intense guilt if we ever make a mistake. If this is the image people get when they think of zero waste, of course it’s a hard sell.
But for those of us on the inside, we know that this isn’t the case. If I could have my own way I’d love to rebrand zero waste as ‘low waste’, as this is a much easier idea to get people on board with and a more realistic reflection of what the lifestyle looks like (after all, it is essentially impossible to produce no waste across our lifetime). I don’t quite wield the ability to rename an entire lifestyle movement however, so instead I love to use this platform to share the stories of organisations and ideas the truly embody the ideals of zero waste as I like to think of them.
I believe a real, achievable type of zero waste is one that embraces a more holistic way of living. Whilst on a practical level it can look like replacing items and eliminating plastic, especially at the beginning of the journey, it’s also about extending the lives of the things we use, and finding ways to utilize every aspect of the resources and materials that are offered to us.
There’s a Japanese word, mottainai, which I think sums up the fully realized idea of a low waste lifestyle. It’s a term used to express regret or distaste for wasted resources, but at the same time it encompasses a deference for nature and a gratitude for what it supplies us with. You’ll often hear the sustainable community talking about the R’s (refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rot) when it comes to eliminating waste, but mottainai adds a sixth element, that of respect. The aversion to waste and tendency to recycle has a long history in Japan (the upcycling of kimonos has been around for centuries), whilst the regard for nature is rooted in shinto beliefs that all objects have a soul and should be respected. But even without this belief in animism, I think we can all benefit from taking on this spirit of reverence. By cultivating gratitude and acknowledging where our items come from we are more connected to the stories of our possessions, and we are often more willing to work to protect our resources.
– Francesca Willow
I was wondering about how the mindset of zero waste extends into closet building. ( Is it only about buying second hand garments in natural fibers ? Or can this mind set be extended to the ENTIRE life cycle of the garment ? How they are made ? How they are worn and cared for ? Are they really worn out ? How they are up-cycled or down-cycled ? How did they rot ? Designing this entire cycle is a fantastic problem to take on. I am glad that mankind is paying attention to it. ) Her words struck a chord.
I have a wardrobe filled with mainly secondhand or sustainable, ethically made items, all of which have either already proven themselves to be durable, or are deliberately designed to be. And because I haven’t grown since I was maybe 14, some of these items stretch back a decade or more. In fact, I just rifled through my wardrobe and can specifically name my oldest items. In reverse order: a vintage jacket from Ebay that I’ve owned for 12 years, a vintage faux fur coat handed down from my grandma that she got in the 1950s and a 100 year old winter coat/kimono that I got in Nara, Japan.
And you know what, I’m actually really good at wearing everything in my wardrobe. I make a deliberate effort to rotate through my clothes because it’s a better way to care for them, and for every minimalist simple piece I’ve got a fun little pattern or print somewhere, so I’ve got something for every season and mood. Because most of my pieces were discovered, and because I have a ridiculous memory, I can also put a story and place to everything. Want to see the blouse I got in Paris at a vide de grenier 5 years ago? How about the four pairs of secondhand Nike shoes I’ve acquired since 2013 (I’ve never bought directly from them) from thrift stores in Seattle, Chicago, Brooklyn and Stoke Newington respectively. The shirt I got from a Methodist charity shop and wore the first time I went to winter wonderland, the vintage jacket I found the first time I went to Kyoto, the mom jeans I bought in Houston when Air France lost my suitcase. I could literally go on for every single thing I own. I look at my wardrobe and I see a wealth of stories, my life lived out in the clothes I’ve worn and where I’ve found them. And I think, this is really what fashion should be.
My wardrobe has been compiled and curated over multiple years, thanks to a totally coincidental combination of factors, so for me to now have a capsule wardrobe just doesn’t make sense. In order to do that I would have to get rid of a lot of stuff, just to fit into a lifestyle concept. It seems silly to create waste in order to live a lifestyle that might seem more outwardly sustainable, but in reality wouldn’t be. And at the end of the day, why would I want to get rid of all the stories and memories I see every time I open the doors to my wardrobe, just to fit into what sustainable fashion ‘should’ look like?
Instead, I do my best to not purchase much, only getting something when it is really necessary or really, really loved. When I do buy things I make sure they can go with things I already have, so as not to create a need for more consumption, and I just enjoy my clothes. Instead of thinking capsule wardrobe, I think durable wardrobe. I consider longevity, with the full confidence that everything that I currently wear, I will also happily wear in ten years time.
And that, for me, is a type of conscious consumption that fits my context. I never want to create more problems in order to fit the aesthetic of ethical, eco-friendly living. Instead of trying to fit myself into a mould created by someone else, I find a way of living sustainably that actually makes sense.
– Francesca Willow.
( The word respect is not often used when referencing clothes. We don’t discard our past in a second and go searching for the next best thing. Perhaps Lemaire had that in mind when he said ‘treat clothes as friends’. )
Do check out Francesca’s blog : Ethical Unicorn.
OOTD : *Celine double wool coat. *Wool turtleneck. R13 raw denim. N.D.C taupe boots. *APC dusty pink bag. *Canon 5D Mark-ii camera (the best accessory I could ever carry).
OOTDs : Everlane Cashmere Sweater. *Wool Funnel Coat by Stella McCartney. (in black) R13 raw denim. Clarks dusty pink flats.
* indicates second-hand
Possible Axioms of a Zero Waste Closet :
- Stop with this whole aggressive counting of garments. Get out of the buy and cull cycle.
- Want a minimalist closet ? One doesnt become a minimalist by constantly throwing their stuff out but by keeping the stuff out. Stop shopping. Too much emphasis is put on decluttering side of the story in the current culture. Remember that clothes wear out. Even the well made ones. Throwing some stuff away to repurchase again after a year or two is wasteful. Think of a long term strategy. Shop your own closet. Store some clothes for the time being and bring them back when something wears out.
- One can have a zero waste closet without maxing out on minimalism. As long as you don’t waste things, it doesn’t matter if you have 20 more garments than the most popular minimalist on the internet. In fact, I will argue for owning enough garments to let each garment rest between wears. Clothes/shoes do last longer if they are not worn back to back.
- Wear the clothes till they fall apart. Mend them. Wear them some more. Don’t get rid of them at the earliest stain or scuff. Wearing the garment 30 more times has a significant impact in reducing the emissions its responsible for.
- Clothes made by fast fashion companies ? Someone probably suffered to get that garment into my closet. Show them extra love. Don’t reserve the love just for the designer pieces and the upgrades that one can make. Once a purchase has been made, I am responsible for it. I need to respect it.
- I put on some weight in the last year. Two of my shift dresses pull at the hip. My black leather jacket just about fits me. I can no longer zip it up. This may be the last year I can wear them before I spill out. Wear them as many times as possible before they have to be retired. I call this the mom-frugality axiom. When I was a child, my mom would stack up my clothes in the order in which I will outgrow them. The shortest and tightest garments were on top. She wanted us to get the maximum use out of the clothing before she passed them on to a younger cousin.
- Buy second hand. Buy natural fabrics in durable weaves. Buy recycled polyester if its needed ( I own a camping tent ). Buy traceable down feather goods for winter needs ( I own a sleeping bag for backcountry camping ). Reduce usage of leather products.
- Support the designers who take steps towards reducing their environmental footprint. Stella McCartney for example, releases a environment tax report every year. She talks about the switches she made in introducing solar energy in her factories, how much of recycled fiber was introduced into the fabrics that made the garments, conservative usage of cashmere, using alternatives to leather, technological advances in weaves, pattern cutting with least wastage, carbon footprint of transporting her raw materials, etc. And every year, she beats the goals achieved during the last year. Every step of the cycle is being optimized constantly. Engineering and mathematics when applied to fashion == makes me very very happy ! Amour Vent, Christy Dawn, Everlane, People Tree, Elizebeth Suzanne, Eileen Fisher, … have been trying hard to move the needle. Support the designers who design for durability. Support the designers who chase quality and improve their own garments by the year.
- When buying a garment, think of the entire life cycle. Will I love it after the year ends ? Will anyone want it if I tire of it after 3 years ? How do I plan to recycle it ? Do not buy if there is no chance of a long life in your closet.
- Buy simpler garments that are versatile, are easy to pair and wont get tiring on the eye. They are easier to recycle too, fabric wise.
- Do not buy things that are not worth repairing. Do not buy things that need upkeep that you are not ready to put in. Develop a mindset that repairs the things acquired cheaply too. 30 more wears, remember ?
- Improve the utility factor of the clothes you already own. I derive some happiness in wearing my favorite things all the time. Some of my garments go untouched for long periods of time. I want to use a circular queue sort of data structure to pick out the garments in the morning. I have the size of my closet under control. I want to increase the efficiency of wear. They say, if you haven’t worn something in a year, get rid of it. I would ask : why havent you worn it in the last year ? Find a way to wear the clothes instead of disposing them.
- Take care of the garments properly. Sweaters should be folded and stacked. Clothes should be washed as little as possible. I spot cleaning my silk garments for the most part. I make sure I do laundry every week and don’t let the body oils/sweat sit on the fabric rotting them faster. I hang my clothes inside out on a wooden hanger at the end of the day for it to air dry before next wear. I use a gentle detergent. We line dry our clothes. In the winter, I find a place to let the garments dry inside our small 400 sft apartment. In the summer, they dry outdoors. Store out of season garments properly.
- Learn some mending skills. I see rips and seams coming apart in my older garments. A stitch in time, saves nine.
- Clothes look their best just before they are worn out. Stylish people look their best when they wear their most beloved worn-in items. New clothes seldom look effortless.
- Explore the boundaries of what we call ‘old’. And stop treating the old as ready to be disposed.
- Push the boundaries of what we call ‘worn out’. Wear the clothes till the fabric becomes thread bare.
- Do not equate love of fashion with love of shopping. Fashion can be like a drug. Newer, faster, cheaper ! New purchases often give a high. Practice appreciation of the existing garments instead of constantly chasing the next thing. Pick materialism over consumerism. Experiment and do the additions responsibly.
- Know when to declutter. I have a 7 year old saree that I have worn 10 times so far. I can hold on to and might wear it once more 2 years from now. It’s not about how long one can hold a garment in the closet. It’s about how much wear it will get in the years it stays there. Every time I bring a new garment in, the likelihood of older garments getting worn goes down. Will it be useful to someone else right now and get worn a lot more ? Is there someone who needs it and is looking for it ? My letting it go might help that person find it on the second hand market. Do not hoard the clothes that hardly get worn.
- The pipeline should be optimized for the community, not just the one human – me. There are x resources and n humans. As n grows, x becomes more scarce. Stop thinking of just myself when it comes to saving for the future. The more I hoard, the less all of us have. Its a waste to buy or own things that get worn once a year but have to stay in my closet all year round. When we talk of waste, its usually form a view point of one human – me. Its also a waste to have things that don’t get used. Its wasting humanities resources.
- Stop accepting free products that you don’t like or need. Yes, most of us have these bourgeoisie values that we cant shake off. We feel the guilt of waste. We try to find ways to use things we don’t need. Its all valid. But with time, we can learn to be content with what we don’t need. I rather wear a worn out garment that I love than a new freebee that I was guilted into accepting.
- Never send the clothes to the landfill. Try to sell them. Or look for the right place to donate them. Or drop them off at a textile recycling facility if you can find one. From my understanding, they do not belong in the compost bin either since the fibers have undergone a lot of processing. Declutter responsibly. There is no getting rid of it even if it leaves our home. It’s our problem once we summoned it into existence.
- Make an effort to encourage lending and borrowing of garments in the community you reside in. A few of us have these clothes that we can only wear to weddings or the holiday parties. A few of us have friends who own a lot of clothes and friends who own very few clothes. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to share ? If we can find our sartorial tribe and rotate our garments, I suspect we would have more choice and hoard less.
- Train the mind to want less. Downsizing or decluttering doesn’t automatically make one shop less. That is all in the head.
( to be updated as I discover more … There is no one size fits all zero waste method. I am trying find a way to make it work for me. All these years, I concentrated on optimizing my closet to my whims. If felt good when I unloaded my discards onto the thrift stores. I felt good when my closet looked sparse. I felt good as I made upgrades. I let go duplicates that I repurchased again after the originals wore out. It was all centered around my short sighted impulses. It was all centered around a very selfish self. Going into the future, I want to optimize it for less waste on a long term basis. These are my closet resolutions for 2018 and beyond. )
Thank you for your enlightening blog! Always full of deep thoughts, well put! I use your essays as a tool to re-educate myself and it works quite well for a recovering shopaholic! BTW, if you do write a book, I’m the first to order it 🙂 Greetings from Germany!!! Jutta
Thank you so much. I was having a terrible day yesterday and your comment cheered me up.
I have been trying hard to re-wire my habits as well. its a marathon, not a sprint.
I really want to write that book.
I really enjoyed this post. It does feel strange that the idea of minimalism or anti-consumerism disposed of disposable fashion. There was some irony there. I looked at My Green Closet’s video on Zero Waste and I enjoy this post too. I guess the move towards buying clothes and then wearing them out would seem obvious to our parents and grandparents. My mother held the essence of a capsule wardrobe for years and years. She’s of French descent, so she bought clothes she liked and wore them until they were all done. She taught me about fabric, cut (she said this was everything) and simplicity. She always said that bling was there to distract from bad tailoring. These current conversations would seem obvious to her.
I have had a different experience. I wanted to fit in and look like everybody else when I was younger. I thought my mother was boring and that I would like to fit in with everybody else and wear cheap clothes and have more of them. My mother was, needless to say, very frustrated. I thought she wouldn’t let me have an opinion of my own and fought her about it. As I get older, and my daughter focuses on personal style, I am coming around in a full circle and seeing my that my mother’s views make a lot of sense. At the same time I come out of this with an awareness of how culture and belonging shape clothing choices (and even the new conversation on personal style).
I know clothes do not represent internal qualities, but they do seem to be about messages of identity, independence, freedom, separation from parents, culture and belonging. In other words, they have strong psychological implications. In other ways they are psychological too. I hoard, wear my worst clothes and often look frightful. Why? Psyche. We live in psyche, with all we see around us changing and evolving. As one story ends, another begins. Conversations become circular but evolve in new dimensions, like Khun’s evolution of knowledge. It’s interesting to watch our own ideas change and grow as we add new conversations into culture.
I was thinking a lot about a style blog, but think the conversations on this site and the people who contribute via the comments add such a lot of interest. It’s more interesting than content writing I think. it’s more like chapters than posts. The blue dress chapter came to an end, I think, and perhaps there’s something new brewing for you but I don’t know what it is yet. It’s interesting.
I dont mean to make my closet building into a drama with love stories starting and ending. But its become that. I hope the graph levels out this year. Enough of the highs and lows. I want peace.
Sustainability is a new concept for all of us right ? We have all tackling it the way we think is right. We were taking advice from who ever had something to say about it. But I think it should be data driven and backed by science. We have enough trial and errors to start thinking of long term plans ( atleast I do ). Our previous generations had the wisdom. I hate to admit it, but the mothers are right about this one. They may not choose what is most stylish but they do choose the most durable / least wasteful option. They have the discipline to wear it till its thread bare. Discipline is never talked about in relation to personal style. I am glad that shopping fasts and yearly round ups are surfacing on the internet.
Again, I know very little on this subject. All these points I list are the ones that are intuitive. Lets see how I do at the end of the year. I really want to put zero waste above my own whims and impulses.
I really enjoy the blog and the way it is presented, just as it is. If it emerges differently I would enjoy it too. If you write a book, I would order it. I like the thought behind your work and the attention to detail. My research for my PhD is on sustainability. Initially I was looking quite widely but it’s zoned in on the feeling of home now and about being displaced from home too. Mainly I’ve been looking at the bonds between people and earth and how they became disconnected. Children have them very naturally.
When I started reading I felt quite lost and upset by all the devastation, crisis and climate change. I felt lost and guilty. I do think science helps us and guides the way. One of the lecturers who was from Urban Ecology said though that science could reverse climate change in the snap of a finger, but it is the cultural relvolution which would make change or solutions sustainable, and this is what science cannot influence.
I started to look at the psychology – at how people were disconnected from earth and therefore do not think of nature as a part of their lives. It becomes an abstract concept. I noticed that when children saw the wonder and beauty of even just flowers they started to see their own wonder and beauty as well. It motivated me to learn more.
Theodore Roszak, the Ecopsychologist, looks at how guilt or shame can’t create change but a sense of belonging with the wild makes people feel better and brings about a sense of peace or contentment. Some of the research says that this is how we get rid of excesses – that we’re searching for something we’re missing on deep levels. We miss beauty or gathering up wild flowers so we go shopping instead. They speak of finding ways to meet our human needs and how if we can do this, we will feel better. He found that when people felt too much guilt they became overwhelmed and upset, but connection created changes quite naturally.
The cultural ecologist David Abram spoke about wind or air as a shared connection between all life and as a spiritual force or psyche. He shared that to many indigenous cultures air is seen to possess wisdom and to be revered. She has movement and life, can ruffle our hair or bring hurricanes, but as we’ve forgotten her we fill the nothingness we see around us with toxins and dump it. But when we see the wild as sacred and as spiritual, we couldn’t do that.
I’ve begun to think that showing nature for the beauty or wonder it holds can make big changes. It was how I found your blog. The rest, the small acts, we show one another. I was interested in your hiking posts, but I’ve learned such a lot from your style posts. Would love to learn more about the science too.
I didnt know that. I hope you guys publish some guidelines for us to follow instead of me doing some intuitive measures. I wrote to Brandon, founder of Ordinary thanking him for using glass bottles for his skincare products. He was talking about how important it is for him too, but pointed to the carbon emissions from packing glass – which is heavier / breakable when compared to plastic packaging. I never though of that. The pros and cons !!
Please please correct me or add information when I speak out of turn or put out undercooked arguments.
No 5 = Yes. Some of my favorite garments are fast fashion items I’ve had for years and showing those items the same amount of respect as I do the more expensive items has helped them last longer. They might be fast fashion items, but they serve a purpose that still exists so there’s no need to replace or upgrade them with clothing made by sustainable designers.
I think that’s my biggest pet peeve with some bloggers who just want to show off items they bought through sustainable companies with all natural fibers, etc… They look to “upgrade” items they already have just because they want to buy more and then be able to say they bought it from a specific designer. Just keeping what we have already is more sustainable and low-waste than upgrading/ replacing the wardrobe to begin with.
A story :
There is one interview where Garance sits down with Stella McCartney. They talk about how clothes are made, the clothes being made for curvy women, etc etc. Garance then says that her fav winter coat is from Stella’s line a few years ago. Stella MCCartney immediately says ‘we have a new one this season. Its better. Get rid of the old one. Get the new one ! ‘ with glee in her eyes. That moment always feels like a slap in my face. Sustainability has become all about buying the right things. Its this culture we live in. Its unfortunate but true. Hopefully, we are on the right track with good conversation and good measures being taken. I made a lot of the mistakes I mention in this post. I dont want to make them anymore.
My biggest pet peeve is ‘buy and cull’. It physically hurts my head and I sign out of the article. I cant read it.
I think I really need to work on 3, 9, and 11. 3 – I need to let myself have enough shoes so that I’m not wearing the same pair (by necessity) days on end. It’s hard, too, since shoes are something you need to think a lot about before buying (and be willing to spend the money). 9 – I seldom think about the full life cycle of a garment, and I now think that’s a very necessary exercise. You’ve listed some questions that I’d find tough to answer for most of the clothes that I own. Definitely need to be more alert about the before, during, and after of my ownership of any item of clothing. 11 – this is very true, come to think of it. I’m willing to pick up a needle and thread for almost any simple imperfection, but what about shoes? I don’t know if I have the expertise or the financial willingness to get some shoes repaired, even if it will extend its lifetime.
Overall, very good points to think about. I’m not in a stage of my life where some of the points are at the top of my priority list, but it’s all about remodeling the framework we have around personal consumption and ethics. Always, always room to improve in that respect.
I need to work on each of the axioms listed. I dabble on the surface of everything but am master of none. I want to work on 12 & 14 this year. Mend and rotate. I am romantic enough to believe in the “one small step for a man one big step for mankind” sort of thinking to this problem.
This comment is the reason I almost never declutter >>> “And at the end of the day, why would I want to get rid of all the stories and memories I see every time I open the doors to my wardrobe, just to fit into what sustainable fashion ‘should’ look like?”
I declutter only to get rid of old basics like T-shirts, which i usually recycle into “home-only” wear, or cut into rags for cleaning (especially for cleaning shoes). I give away clothes to people whom I know will love the item, and only if they are great condition. I think buying and culling only works if it acts as a restraint – I won’t because I can’t wear to get rid of any of the ones I already own.
I have been under-utilising my wardrobe in recent months because of big lifestyle changes, and it has been a valuable lesson – very few things are truly forever items, because there’s no telling what we do with our lives. So while I still love clothing and design, and I’m banning myself from shopping, I’ve resolved to be extra circumspect when I eye things up, because what on earth will I do with my 98% of my clothes if I really chuck it all in and move to an obscure Indonesian island and become a diving instructor?
Re #5 – I’m not proud of the fact that I’ve continued to buy from fast fashion brands like Uniqlo and COS, but I never think of them as disposable. While travelling, someone made a well-intentioned but rather misguided comment by telling me I could lighten my load by throwing away any “cheap clothes” I brought with me. I was indeed, travelling with some truly cheap (and increasingly ratty-looking) clothes, but I bought them because they were special in some way (great fit usually), and no way I was going to trash them unless they were beyond all hope of rescuing.
Re #12 – This is very easy if you, like me, own more clothing than you can possibly wear 🙂 Shopping your closet is one of the easiest and effective ways to smack away the desire to buy new things, and I want to improve on this too. I do this by choosing my outfit the night before. This lets me: 1) sleep in because i spend less time getting dressed; and 2) i can leisurely pick through my options before I go to bed, and pull out things I might miss if I were rushing in the mornings.
#12 : that is a great idea. I usually have this ‘clutter chair’ on which garments somehow pile up. I constantly pull what ever is on top of it without thinking.
Fast fashion. I don’t even know what that means. Thinking about it gives me a head ache and then depression. I wonder how the folks who work for social causes keep their spirits up while being in touch with the nasty side of things. I am going with ‘there is no fast fashion. Just accelerated consumption’ as a definition for myself. I shut my brain off for now. I cant figure out whats right and wrong. Its too much for me.
I have that same memory when it comes to clothes, where I bought everything is stored permanently in my mind along with memories of where I’ve worn things. I tend to agree with the perspective of capsule wardrobes as well, but am shopping my own closet to create seasonal capsules for this year in order to get my excessive thrift shopping in check and wear all of my clothes in rotation. I’m anticipating doing this for a year will reveal both the favorites I’ll keep until they’re worn out and the noise that should be removed so going forward I can truly replace only items that are worn out…and my big goal is to then replace items with handmade. It’s taken me 3 years to get here!
P.S. I linked your last post where you suggested anyone with the urge to start a style blog to do so, couldn’t agree more. It’s helped me immensely.
I tend to learn towards a capsule wardrobe as well. Bea Johnson of Zero Waste Home once wrote ‘ you hoarding unused items prevents folks like me who only shop second hand from finding the things we truly need’. How much can one really wear ? If I had 100 dresses, I can wear each one four times a year on an average. Is that appreciation of a loved garment ? Not for me. If I need a memory saved, I will take a picture or a video of the item. Clothes need to be worn to be loved. And my nostalgia is not that important if we are talking from a view point of sustainability. What I do dislike is the constant buying and culling of things to keep a minimal wardrobe. Nothing gets worn till the end of its cycle. Seems pretty wasteful to me.
Thank you Kaci. It neednt be a public blog. A journal in some form can be helpful. Or atleast, it has helped me. Most of us don’t have a point of view on a lot of topics. But if we were made to sit with a draft, we can think for ourselves and come up with an initial view that can be evolved with time.
I really like the Bea Johnson quote. Especially when it comes to more classic/professional clothing I’d would rather Thredup, donate, gift it. (If Thredup doesn’t choose to sell–they recycle/donate unless you want to receive the items back). I feel wasteful wearing my nicer wool sweaters to bum around the house because someone else may benefit more from finding a good quality, professional item secondhand.There are some things I will wear/have worn until they fell apart (and were beyond their worth in continued repairing); but if its something that I no longer have the desire to wear and it’s still in good condition–I’m not going to destroy just for the hell of it–I’d rather it go on to someone else. I shop secondhand too, and I appreciate finding items in good condition.
I can relate to Lin, having a lifestyle change, in which a big chunk of my wardrobe is not relevant to me at the moment. I won’t get rid of ALL of it, but as Lin once again wisely said “because there’s no telling what we do with our lives.” Especially when it comes to pants and jackets–they would be too time consuming and costly to replace. Right now I’m wearing a blazer that I bought probably 10 years ago–and I still get compliments on it. So buy the good stuff and it can last you “forever.”
Also I’m only listing this as a resource, H&M has (or had?) some sort of clothing recycling option. Usually the bins to place the recycled clothing are near the cash wrap.
-ps. it seems taken down now, but I really enjoyed your personal style post.
Ofcourse ! I wouldnt presume to tell anyone when to let go of something. We got to figure it out for ourselves.
I want to think I will use my coats a decade from now. Lets see. I love my leather jacket more now that its older and it makes me sad that I am struggling to fit into it. On one hand, I am glad that I am putting on the healthy weight with exercise. Mostly on the shoulder and back. But the clothes ! the clothes ! Sigh ! My shirts wear out after ~2 years of heavy use. Denim gather rips after 200 wears. In the last two years, I wore out my clothes from heavy use and replaced them with exactly same garments. With a 50 item closet, I doubt I will get my clothes to last a decade. But I think the trench coats and jackets might. Lets see.
The previous post : didn’t want professional red flags.
Hi Archana, I love your zero waste lessons for closets and how you stress respect of the items we’ve bought. It’s something that’s also been on my mind these days – I’ve been minimizing by selling to the secondhand market instead of just making sure the items get out of my house by all means necessary. It feels more sustainable for sure.
They say : find a way to make zero waste work for you. Selling is a great way to get the clothes to homes that want them than to risk them to a lifecycle which make send them to be down cycled. ( It polishes the marketing skills too ! )
Good rules. I love the mom frugality axiom! I sort of did that when I became pregnant: wore the heck out of some of my normal clothes while I could so I wouldn’t grow tired of my limited set of maternity clothes when they were all that was left to fit me. I have changed my mind, however, on the idea of culling. Before my pregnancy I had gotten rid of many clothes as it was the height of the minimalist mania (e.g. trousers that did not fit right after I lost some weight) but after having my baby my body had changed again and I was in dire need of some larger sized items. If I’d kept some of those clothes, I wouldn’t have had to go out and buy quickly and cheaply (not knowing if I would end up skinnier again). Also, I got rid of some wide legged pants a couple of years ago that were in good condition but looked outdated then. I’m now starting to realize they are coming around again and because I like my silhouettes to look somewhat current, I will likely repurchase items much like those I let go years ago. And I also started wearing a pair of long forgotten tall boots again. So – provided I have the space and don’t overdo it – I am thinking I will now rely even more heavily on storing things I tire off temporarily. So far I only did seasonal roations, now I might also rotate some stuff in cycles of several years. I know it comes with the risk of hoarding and/or forgetting entirely what’s in those boxes in the garage :). But it’s definitely waistful (of time, energy, money AND natural resources) to toss and then repurchase similar items infinitely!
I am in the midst of some body changes. After years of being a starved grad student, I now live with a husband who has made it his mission to see me well fed. I am bigger now. I dont know if I should hold on to the clothes I no longer fit into. I don’t want to loose the weight again and look like my old self. I have been doing yoga regularly and hike with a backpack. My shoulders have put on muscle. I am not sure if it will all stay. If it does, I see a round of declutter coming my way. Its always tricky. Nobody outside myself can make the decision for me.
I am glad of all those boyfriend shirts and shift dresses I own. My mom frugality axiom made me buy bigger clothes in the first place and I get to use them now. Moms !! they definitely are right on a lot of things 🙂
I’ve been missing these kind of reflections in the minimalism and zero waste community. Decluttering is seen as the solution to our consumerist problems, but I’m very aware of the problematics surrounding clothes donations and what happens to the clothes afterwards. I often feel guilt for donating clothes I havent used since I could be getting the wear out of them, and I’m unsure of their future.. also it seems wise to wear an item until it falls apart because them you get more out of it. Some things are just not my style any more, so those I donate in hope that someone else might like them. 🙂
Decluttering on repeat to become a minimalist is like throwing up food after binge eating to keep weight under control. One has to eat healthy and in moderation instead.
I just bundled up a few dresses that I no longer fit into. Its always a pain when I decide to let go of something. Selling/giving to folks who actually need it is my first option too. I luckily have nieces around who have reached their teens and are beginning to fit into my clothes.
Fantastic posts lately! Looking forward to every update. I am trying to decondition my consuming=happiness-tendency because of my shopping fast, do you have any tips on how to condition the mind to want less? What works most of the time for me is trying to be mindful and activating my rational, prefrontal cortex that worries about the climate and consumerism. But sometimes I just want to be self-destructive and not think long term (but then I’m also destructive to the world in extension, and I do feel bad about that afterwards). 😦 It’s really silly, but I try to not beat myself up about the ingrained habit and the way I feel about shiny, new things (thrifted things 90% of the time – I’m a master of secondhand findings) – but I really need some input or concrete tips, so speak up if anybody has some! (Reading through this comment, I feel like it sounds like an addiction… Maybe it is in some ways.)
I wish I knew how to shop less. I wouldnt have the large yearly roundups I do … This year, I am doing the following :
1. 10 items per year. No breaking the rules.
2. I wrote some code to block most of the browsing I do from 1 am to 11pm. No seeing is not being tempted.
3. Cleaning up my reading. I dont want to think that its normal to buy 10+ items a year. If I see everyone else flaunt their finds, I get tempted. I follow the minimalists who inspire me to not shop.
4. Went on a tight budget. I want to live like a student again. Eat those lentils. Wear the same clothes. There is no money to spend. I dont want to look at nice clothes and make myself feel sorry for not being able to afford them.
5. Love my older garments dearly. I want my fabrics to age like all the fabrics I see on Japanese monks.
Lets see if it works. I struggle with this too. I dont buy much else for the house or in any other category. Clothes are the black hole.
That was very helpful, thank you! Knowing you are aspiring to do better and writing about it publicly, will hopefully make me more accountable aswell. My shopping fast is three months at a time to make it less of a hurdle. Maybe I can manage a year in that way?
I have enough clothes. Hopefully the urge will subside (I feel bad for even calling it a troublesome urge – it’s a privilege to have money to spend!). Thinking about the workers in the industry makes shopping a strong cognitive dissonance for me. It’s about finding a balance between morale, bad conscience and realising it is human to have materialistic urges, I guess.
PS: Which are the minimalists you follow who inspire you not to shop?
Ariana of Paris to go. Nicky of Sarteruese. on the top of my head. I try to link a blog every month during my monthly link round up. I have been very careful with who I choose. No fast fashion or excess consumption is my filtering criterion. I hope I can find more blogs to feature.