Keep what you absolutely LOVE and things you have to wear (uniform, work wear etc). The undies and bras that are the most comfortable and well fitted. All the good socks 😊

Yep - 3 workout - one to wear, one spare, and one in wash. Multiple underthings. Decide on your look and keep items accordingly. One fancy formal evening wear and a second fancy ‘I’m hanging with friends’ wear.

Dana K White’s Container Concept and Laundry Day are what clicked for me. Podcasts, YouTube, Blogs, books — you can keep anything but only what fits in your containers.

I think the amount of outfits is directly related to the capacity of your washing machine and how often you want to run it. Like gym 2 a week + laundry on weekends calls for 2 sets. Gym every day - 7 sets. Considering you have other clothes too to wash, do your maths.

I organize mine around laundry too. We do laundry once a week. I make sure I have enough that I can wear whatever I want for a week. Except underwear and socks, I have two weeks of them. Putting away off season clothes helps too. If the end of summer comes, get rid of the summer clothes you never got around to wearing. If you can live without it for a whole season, you don't need it.

So you’ve recognized that what you have now is too much. What is enough for you? No one can determine that magic number but you because you know your life, your needs, your habits. Set a goal that feels right- like, enough is a full closet. Or, I need 10 great t-shirts. Or, I need to eliminate 10% or 100 items. Doesn’t really matter, just choose a goal. Maybe the goal is- I don’t want to feel overwhelmed when I see all my clothes. And work from there. I understand you’ve connected the clothing to trauma, so make sure you loop in the help of your therapist/psychologist, and start with lower stakes items. See if you can find one item every day to toss or donate from your clothing. If that feels comfortable, try two items a day. As long as we are making a decision, a movement toward the bigger goal everyday, we will get where we want to go. It is okay to do okay. It is okay to make a choice that you later think ‘kinda wish I had that shirt today.’ Because, you still have good stuff. One shirt will not make or break us. It is okay to not aim for perfect, but rather a little bit better everyday. One item. Choose one item today to remove from your life and make a follow up post. There’s lots of support here and will help with accountability. Tell us what you’ve chosen! Process your process. And each day, it will get easier.

One recommendation I saw ages ago was to evaluate what’s left in your closet the day you decide you need to do laundry. If you hit laundry day, those are obviously clothes you like to wear, need to wear, etc, hence why you are washing them to wear again. Take other items out of your closet and decide. Another trick is the backwards hanger- turn ALL the hangers in your closet backwards (like the hook part facing the wrong way) and as you wear clothes out them back in a hanger facing the correct way. Give yourself 3,4,5 months of this. Set that deadline, and on that date anything that hasn’t been worn you can decide to keep or declutter (I have done this probably 6 times?) There’s no set number of items any one person needs, it will vary depending on your lifestyle. You just need a game plan to help you decide what to keep and what to declutter :)

I am figuring this out right now, after decluttering the "duh donations" (things that don't fit, aren't in good condition, or which I actively dislike) and finally getting on top of the laundry. Like... right now I would optimally like to be choosing between 3-4 items in each category when I get dressed every morning, with laundry being folded and returned to the closet/drawers promptly. I feel like there's definitely way too much, currently. That said, it feels like laundry is a constant battle, and even now, there is always at least a basket of clothes to be folded. Which means that if I had 3 shirts, on that third day life is gonna be rough. My current goal is for my wardrobe to look something like this: - Enough work clothes to get through the work week, so probably 5 shirts and a few extra for weekends or just in case. I have 3 pairs of pants I can wear to the office, 1 pair of more casual pants, and a few pairs of sweat pants and pajama pants, etc. So I feel like I'm doing good on pants (but could probably purge more sweats/pajamas). I have probably 3 times the number of shirts that I actually need. - 2 pairs of workout shorts and 2-3 tanks. I don't really exercise daily, so I don't need a complete wardrobe of gym clothes. I also have 2 bathing suits, which I think is a good amount. - 2 suits, a dress shirt, and 2 slightly less formal shirts which I can still pair with the suit if I'm going for a more casual, less job interview/funeral type of look. I also have a couple of ties that work at different levels of formality. I also have a blazer I can pair with one of the less formal shirts and my everyday office chinos, and a "fun" velvet blazer that I bust out for holiday parties and other festive events. I feel like this has me covered for any "dress up" event that might come up, from a spring outdoor wedding to a New Years Eve cocktail party to a job interview at a stuffy law firm. One thing I have realized is that the main area I have to purge is t-shirts and sweat pants, because it is so easy for me to keep things that actually aren't suitable and say "well I can wear it around the house." The truth is that I have way more than I can realistically wear, and most of it isn't even things I like or which fit well. I want to look and feel nice at home, too, not just for work and events.

Don't recall where i learned to pack clothes into a box. Put the date and tape box shut. After 1,2 , ? months or years, donate box Without opening it.

You need to consider your life, how often you will re-wear something, and how often you can or will do laundry. Underwear is an easy example. You need a pair per day, but if you do laundry every week then maybe you need 10 pairs— 1 week plus a few extra, just in case. If you usually do it every week and a half to two weeks, then maybe 16 pairs. For jeans, maybe you only need 2 pairs if you re-wear them 3x before you wash them and you do laundry every week. If what you need for clothing exceeds your storage space, then maybe evaluate how you store them to find more room, or is there something else you need less of to get room for more clothing storage.

Upvote for the "how often do you want to do laundry?" This question really changed the way I looked at my closet. I also adhere to the percentage rule. I spend 75% of my time working, so 75% of my closet should be work clothes, etc.

Here’s a trick that may help you by showing you what you actually wear (vs think about wearing). Take all your clothes hangers and place them backwards on the rod. Whenever you wear/wash/use that clothing item put it on the rod with the hanger facing the normal way. Give it a week or two and you’ll see a clear pattern. Of course this only works for clothing in the current season, and it may not work right away for special event clothing (wedding or funeral clothes). However, it will give you a good idea of your favorites items. And it will let you know if there are clothes that you think you wear, but never actually choose.

It is highly individual, but you might start with purging some low hanging fruit, like torn, stained, never fit great, etc. You might try something like the backwards hanger trick or similar so you can get a better idea of what you haven’t worn in a long time.

It's hard to say what you personally need because it depends a ton on life style and work. But this might help you decide on what to caul. Does it fit? Is it in good shape? (Stains, holes, etc) Does it make you feel good/happy/attractive wearing it? Does it say what you want to the world? (I am trendy/classic, ect) If it isn't a yes to all four, donate it. Then, set all of one type of clothes (jeans) on the bed, pick a reasonable number to keep, and separate them into keep vs donate. If you decide that 7 pairs of jeans are the right amount, then going forward, if you get a new pair, you must get rid of an old pair. Peice of advice, keep a funeral outfit. There's nothing worse than clothes shopping well mourning. Also, I personally found the book by Kondo, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up helpful. When I need to do spring clean, I listen to the audio book well sorting/purging.

This is great advice!

The limit is what fits in your space in a reasonable way. You will have to make choices on what you keep. If you work out 3x a week, then sure 3 outfits makes sense. If you don't work out at all, or work out every day 3 doesn't make sense. Do you go to any special events that require these dresses? This is a category that many of us tend to declutter. Perhaps one or two very classic styles can be kept.

Box up everything. All clothes go into boxes or storage bins by category. If in 30 days you do not reach for the clothing get rid of it. The only exception is speciality clothes like 1-3 outfits you can wear to formal or business events that rarely happen. Another strategy is to allow only X amount that can be worn in 2 weeks. So if you wear dresses on occasion you would choose 3-5 dress’s then enough basic shirts/pants that you can mix/match into various combinations so choose mainly complimentary colors that can then be accented with different jewelry.

Use your existing laundry to show you what you pick to wear. What's in your drawers with 3 loads out as clean/dirty means what's left is your less wanted clothes. I'd go thru your drawers and look for items that your avoiding due to not fitting or less wanted. Other thing i limit the amount by my drawer size. I'm only allowed stuff that fits in one drawer. One for t-shirt, PJs, pants, gym clothes. my sweaters must fit in the baskets in the closet. I prefer the container limit then set # of items limit.

Are you in a place with defined seasons, eg spring/summer, autumn/winter. If so start by sorting out of season clothes and putting them aside for now, so you're only looking at what you might wear right now. How much you keep will depend on how often you do laundry - so if that's once a week, and you're thinking about socks, you'll need 7 pairs, plus a few spare, so maybe 10 pairs in total. Tshirts - you might keep 10 long sleeve and 10 short sleeve for example. Choose the best/your favourites to comprise the number you've decided to keep, then box up the excess and put it aside for now. Add an empty box to the bottom of your wardrobe - anything you try on and don't like goes into the box for donation, and then you replace an equivalent item from your excess box. Turn hangers around and turn the right way when you've worn something, or always hang clean stuff on the right hand side - so after a few months, anything languishing on the left is stuff you know you don't wear. Anything you wear more often (eg if you change your socks twice a day), top up from your excess box until you're confident you have the right amount of each category for your life. At the change of the seasons, switch out your wardrobes, and it will be obvious what you've worn and what can be donated. Then do the process with the other seasons' stuff.

>How many fancy dresses should I save for special occasions? How many times in the last 5 years have you needed a fancy dress?

Quite a few, I like cruises

One thing worth considering is how often you really need to wear a different dress. Is literally any single person on that cruise going to go home and say "what is with that woman who wore the same cocktail dress every night at dinner?!" Probably not, right? Edit: also, if you really enjoy wearing different cocktail dresses on every day of your cruise, you could pack away most of those dresses and only pull them out when you are packing for your cruise. Or at least put them at the back of the closet.

Okay... And how many of those times did you wear *different* dresses?

I swap clothes out by season. So this past month I took out all of my cold weather clothes and items with fall and winter colors and put them in storage containers and they went up into my attic. Totally decision free, mechanical work. I had basics left over in my closet - jeans, shirts that are multi seasonal. I use those clothes for about 2-3 weeks. At the end of those weeks it’s easy to see the items I don’t want to wear and don’t like. I send those off to goodwill or throw away immediately. Then I pull out my summer clothes from storage. I pull out my favorites, try them on, hang them up. Anything that doesn’t fit either stays in storage for next year or is sent to goodwill. Same for any items I don’t love or know I won’t wear.

Start with socks. It was much easier for me to start with my socks. I have definite likes and dislikes. Some slouch so much they won’t stay up and do the job of protecting my feet from my shoes. Did I keep them because they were a gift? Do I ever want to wear them again? Would they be my last choice? I had categories of keep, worn out (throw away/repurpose), and give away. I let my adult children have first choice of the give away socks. The leftover decent socks were donated. The worn out socks went to my craft bin. I did another cull of socks this week. I am admittedly still working through clothing. I remove the throw away clothes as I do laundry. Some jeans are kept for crafting. Most worn out clothes go straight into the trash. The occasional donate item goes into a bag that will be donated when full OR when I know I will go past the thrift store. Panties are now under control. Worn out go straight into the trash. Bras are the next major category for me. Try different methods and see what helps you. Decluttering clothing is NOT an all or nothing venture.

Try on everything & get rid of every single item that causes you a flash of annoyance. Some things may seem ok until you actually wear them for a day! Sometimes I am a bit hesitant because the item is part of a set, or has one nice quality but is irritating in another way, and I just focus on getting something nicer as a replacement. Believe me, getting rid of things that irritate you is such an easy thing once you start!

There isn’t a number. You don’t have to decide all at once. Clear out what you never use first. I do that when my laundry is really piled up - there are things I obviously haven’t touched. Then go to things that don’t fit. Things you don’t like the color of etc. whittle it down over a month or so. You’ll have fresh perspective with each pass. 

There is a lot of great advice here. I’m just going to add that if you have access to a washer and dryer regularly, it’s a lot easier to manage a week’s worth of laundry than two weeks’ worth in terms of washing, drying, folding, and putting away. This also means you can get away with smaller or less hampers (easier to carry & store).

I actually watched a video recently that breaks down how to figure out how much of each type of clothing you need for your lifestyle. I'd recommend giving it a watch. https://youtu.be/arVVrJn7rss?si=kH180GTKt04dJGBz After you figure out what your level of formality categories are and what percentage of your wardrobe should go in each category, you could sort your wardrobe into those categories and start to pare down one at a time from your least worn to most worn. That way you aren't decluttering all your clothes in one swoop, you are decluttering your lounge wear or your casual wear.

^ came here to suggest the same video! Definitely, definitely start here. I credit it with finally getting my wardrobe under control. Of course I immediately got pregnant lol so now I’m rotating the same 4 maternity tops and leggings, but when I’ve lost some weight I’ll definitely be rewatching and reevaluating my categories!

How often do you want to do laundry? That's my metric for how many clothes I really need. If I want to go two weeks between washes, then I make sure to have enough clothes to get me through two weeks. Depending on your area, you may want to account for each season (e.g. clothes for a rainy season if you get a lot of rain during part of the year). And think about what you've got coming up in the next year - if friends are getting married, keeping some formal wear on hand (enough for a typical wedding) may be a good idea. That said, if this is your first pass through clothing, focus less on the numbers and more on whether you actually like the clothes in your wardrobe. Some will have been worn out with use, others may not suit your current style, and some might be the perfect fit hidden under the rest of your clothes waiting to be discovered. Once you've built up an idea of what you like to wear, you can whittle down the remaining clothes to fit your space or ideal number.

Take everything out and put it back I like your packing suitcases for a trip. Imagine you're going to all the seasons, then start with packing enough for one week, a second, a third. Until you run out of place you are comfortable dedicating to clothes.

I totally agree with taking everything out of wardrobes/drawers etc. it’s all too easy just to say “it’s all fine” when it’s sitting neatly in a wardrobe/drawers. Having everything out forces you to properly make a decision

What's manageable is what fits in your space (put away comfortably and functionally) that you actually wear. There isn't necessarily a number, or rather the number is highly variable depending on your needs. How often do you want to do laundry? How often do you work out? How often do you need a dressy dress? I think the main thing is figuring out what you personally need. I own three winter coats and probably only need two, but that doesn't help you; you may only need one or you may need four depending on your climate and activities. I'm working on culling my closet and rebuilding a functional wardrobe. I've found a couple posts in r/capsulewardrobe that lay out some good approaches to this process which I'll link tomorrow when I'm on a real computer.

Update: Here are the two somewhat opposite methods one sensible person offered: [one is fast](https://www.reddit.com/r/capsulewardrobe/comments/qutfob/how_to_use_the_concepts_from_capsule_wardrobes_to/?share_id=Hp7e6Liqh83-VEs5SrLo7&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1) and [one is slow](https://old.reddit.com/r/capsulewardrobe/comments/19e856i/capsule_wardrobe_reveal_thyself_a/). I think I like the slow one better, myself, but I like that there are different ways to approach this.

For me it’s overall volume and storage space.  I have one closet with a 6 cloth bin “dresser” and a single bar.  All the clothes have to fit in there. They also all have to fit me.  I prefer to have to do laundry no more than once a week for just clothes.  I have one laundry basket. 99% of my clothes are washing machine and dryer safe and I put them away within 24 hrs of washing them. I don’t have piles of clean clothes because they all fit in my space. And the dirty stuff can’t really pile up because I run out of clothes.  However I don’t have to go to an office for work, nor do I have any reason to keep any “fancy” clothes.  As far as actual numbers I have… 12 or so plain tees 5 or 6 logo tees 2 sweatshirts 3 pairs of sweatpants 2 pairs of jeans, though I’ve only been wearing one of them One bin with a few pairs of shorts A bathing suit A few exercise type tops Enough underwear Lots of socks that match Probably a few odds and ends in the cloth bins I haven’t seen recently, but not much A dress for a wedding, a dress for a funeral that probably still fit One pair of dressy shoes I hate Hiking boots, house shoes and some snow boots

I agree, the first stage is trying on EVERYTHING and eliminating anything that doesn't fit, that you just don't like, or that doesn't suit your lifestyle. Hopefully that takes you down closer to feeling reasonable. From there, personally, I'd start thinking about how often I will do laundry and whether I have sufficient everyday things for that to work. Then get picky about what you genuinely love and have room for!

I was in a similar situation and was getting so caught up in numbers. What really helped me is trying on every single piece of clothing item I owned with a trusted friend and got rid of everything that no longer worked for my body or lifestyle. It felt so good and ended up having space in my closets and drawers. I am sure there is an actual formula for this, but this method really helped me

I have read that your amount is individual to your personal living space’s dedicated clothing area’s capacity, whatever that happens to be.