WalletRehab - Ways to save money

It’s spring cleaning time in the Wallet Rehab household. It is almost never a fun time. I hate doing it, because I am fundamentally a packrat. Whenever I throw something out, I just know that I am going to regret it a couple days later. As if I will suddenly need 30 heart-shaped magnets (don’t ask) in the next 30 years.

The most painful thing for me to do is go through my closet. it’s amazing how many random t-shirts, socks and shorts I accumulate in a year. I like to think that I plan out my dress shirt, pant and jean acquisitions, but invariably, at the end of the year, my closet and drawers are full of clothes.

It’s always surprising, because I am not a very fashion forward man. I wear black or gray slacks most of the time, and jeans when I can get away with it. I only wear t-shirts at night. I like button downs during the day. And I always wear the same 6 or 7 shirts/pants/jeans, much to the chagrin of my friends.

They keep telling me that I need a man makeover.

Regardless, I always have more clothes than I know what to do with. So, thanks to Leo at Zen Habits, we can edit our wardrobes.

1. Take all of your clothes out and throw them on your bed.
2. Throw anything that doesn’t fit you anymore and throw it on the giveaway pile.
3. Take anything ugly and throw it on the giveaway pile.
4. Anything you haven’t worn in a month goes on the giveaway pile. Seasonal apparel, like jackets, gloves and hats go to the giveaway pile if you haven’t worn them in a year.

And that’s it. It’s not terribly difficult or painful.

So now, you’ve got a pile of clothes. What should you do with it?

First, I had a giveaway party. I called up a bunch of my friends and told them what I had done, and that I was going to have a movie night sometime in the future. They could come by that night for a movie, popcorn and some free clothes if they wanted.

Second, everything I had left, I took to the salvation army.

Third, now that I know about clothing swaps, I’ll probably go check those out. Though, the purpose of editing my wardrobe was to get rid of clothes, not to get more!

Edit your life part 4 - Your Wardrobe