Zig Ziglar often preaches the 80/20 rule of life. It’s a basic philosophy of how things work in the world. For example, 80% of the world’s wealth is owned by 20% of the people. There are a lot more examples. You can look for his website or books if you want to learn more.
I actually subscribe to his newsletter. Several issues ago, he touched on this rule again. One of the examples he gave is that we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time. He admitted to not understanding this one in brackets after the example. But as soon as I read it, I knew exactly what he meant.
I have clothes in my closet that I very rarely wear. I also have clothes in my closet that I have never worn. I wear the same few pair of pants every week. I even have pants in my wardrobe that I haven’t worn in months. Why is this the case?
I think clothes are something that we get really comfortable with. We all have favourite outfits, favourite pants, and favourite shirts. I also think that we have way too many clothes. So, if we only wear 20% of our wardrobe, why don’t we do something productive with the other 80%.
My unworn clothes could be worn by someone. I could donate them to the Salvation Army. I think I am going to go and clean out my closet now. I don’t think I can get rid of 80% of my clothes but I betcha I can do half that. Let’s see if I can donate 40% of the clothes I very rarely wear. Why not? It sounds like a good idea to me.
5 responses to “Unworn Clothes in the Closet”
Oh Chase,
I think this is true for a lot of things in our homes. I have the same situation in our closet, my sock drawer, the linen closet, and some of the kitchen cupboards.
I’m currently on a simplifying kick and am getting ready to have a garage sale. I’m going through the house, decluttering, and have already taken several bags of clothes to my favorite charity (clothes don’t sell well at garage sales).
I read somewhere that for every piece of clothing we bring into the home, we should remove two. (and I guess this is suppose to hold true for other items as well). It’s a good theory, but I don’t know if I could stick with it.
That’s a great comment Barbara. I think we can simplify our lives and reduce out clutter in so many ways other than just our closets. Thanks for the tip!
i like the 80/20 rule. i have a few clothes in my closet that i rarely rare and when i do my spring cleaning i get rid of them too. my taste in clothing changes every few years….
i do what barbara suggests – when something comes in, something goes out.
Of course, mathematically speaking, getting rid of 40% of the clothes you rarely wear means getting rid of 32% of all your clothes.
You know what, Chase? Nice point. Another friend of mine mentioned he was going to give away some of his clothes. I think I’ll go clean up my closet a bit, too.
And the thing about wearing the same stuff over and over again? It’s true. Wow.
Hi Trisia, nice to hear from you. I think donating clothes is something that we can all do and probably should. Many people benefit from it. Thanks for the comment.