Walking the road of minimalism means getting rid of things. I decided to reduce my wardrobe first. I was thinking about what I should keep and what I should throw out. This proved to be more challenging than I originally thought. What was challenging was the fact that I had no goal. "Reducing my wardrobe" wasn't really much of a goal. How do I know when I've reached that goal? Do I keep 10 t-shirts or 5? How many socks should I have? How many pairs of pants?
I decided to take a different approach. Rather than make a vague statement about reducing the pieces of clothes I own, I set a goal as to how often I want to do laundry. Having this number gave me insight into how many pieces of clothing I need to have to reach that goal.
For me, I want to do laundry every other week. So now I just needed to figure out how many pieces of clothing I need to last me two weeks. Once I got this far I realized I have a few more requirements:
1. I live in Phoenix and it's often HOT. Phoenix can also get pretty cold in the winter. I also travel to Flagstaff, Arizona throughout the year and it's much cooler (and colder) than Phoenix. I need the ability to dress cool during the summer and warm(er) in the winter.
2. I work in a business casual environment. However, my work requires that I dress up from time to time.
3. I frequent the gym, so I need to have clothes I can sweat in while working out.
My wardobe goal is as follows:
- 3 pairs of chinos
- 3 pairs of jeans
- 9 business casual work shirts
- 9 sports tees
- 3 pairs of shorts
- 3 pairs of workout shorts
- 3 pairs of business casual/dress shoes
- 3 pairs of casual shoes
- 1 pair of sports sneakers
- 3 pairs of dress slacks
- 3 dress shirts
- 3 ties
- 3 suits
I opted to take a multiple of 3 approach.
The ties, suits, dress slacks, and dress shirts will be worn when needed. The reality is I may only wear the dress garments once a month or every other month. The chinos, jeans, and business casual work shirts will need to consist of colors to allow me to mix and match. The sports tees and shorts (as well as the jeans and chinos) will be worn on the weekends and when I go to the gym.
This is a huge reduction from my current wardrobe. I'll continue to evaluate it going forward and perhaps pare it down further.