Do you wear all your clothes?

When I was traveling in SE Asia, I carried the same backpack during those five months. It was not a big backpack but had a fair amount of clothes, enough for a couple weeks. However, I was prepared with clothes for both hot and cold weather as I decided where to go next on a weekly basis. I could end up on the Himalayas with snow and I wanted to be equipped just in case.

If I recall, I had about thirty pieces (including underwear) for my entire journey, which at the time I didn’t know when was the end of it and it could last for up to one year.

Thirty items of clothing might sound a lot but in fact, compared to the rest of the clothes I left behind, it wasn’t much.

Up until there, I would buy clothes quite often. I always felt the need to buy another piece as if something was missing in my wardrobe. I would look at online clothing websites and enter in fast fashion stores almost every week. The sales… those I wouldn’t miss as I could purchase good findings with a nice deal. Occasionally I would visit thrift stores with vintage garments but ending up not buying anything. For some reason, it felt strange to have something old that belonged to someone else at certain time.

During my trip, carrying that backpack on my shoulders made me decide to always keep the same amount of clothing, as I didn’t want to add more weight. Every time I bought an item (which was very rare), I had to get rid of another item. It surely made my decisions much more weighted and conscious.

With this trip I learned a special lesson, among many other lessons, related with material belongings. I learned that in the past I was keeping way too many clothing items in my closet and drawers. Items that I would only get rid of/ donate once the capacity of my closet was so full that no more pieces would fit.

What is the need to accumulate clothes?

Some of them might have a special meaning, others may fit again one day and others are so unique that we only wear them once a year. It becomes a habit to buy clothes every season because the ones we have are no longer in vogue or we don’t love them anymore.

If I was able to live five months with the same clothing, did I really need the other items I left behind?

Looking back, I can now analyse my previous believes related to clothing and other material belongings. I believed that wearing the same clothes over and over meant lack of caring, low self-esteem, low purchasing power, lack of creativity, no sense of styling, insecurity and the list goes on. These beliefs were totally unconscious as I was not aware of them.

Buying clothes brought me joy somehow. Wearing my brand new purchased garments to an event felt amazing.

I know now that those believes are exactly what big companies and corporations want us to have. They thrive because of those believes. Thinking like that is a huge reason to keep buying from them.

Well, guess what? Once you realise it’s all a trap, you can avoid being fooled.

Declutter is the next step. Is there something in your storage that you keep just because you might like it again at some point or can be handy sometime in the future? Time to give those things a new home. Donation is great because someone else will give better use to your stuff than you do.

I still didn’t find the “perfect balance” regarding material belongings — buying, keeping, getting rid of — however am trying my best to make better decisions when buying wearing apparel:

• I avoid at all cost to buy clothes from big corporations, made in Bangladesh and other underdeveloped countries. By purchasing from those brands, we keep supporting children exploitation, measly salaries and lack of fair trade.
• I do not support brands that use animal products such as skin, feathers, silk, etc. for their outfits.
• I choose to buy more local to where I’m living at the moment of my purchase. In this way supporting the local economy and small businesses, even if that means paying a higher price.
• I choose to either buy goods that have better quality and will last longer or items that are second hand.
• I only buy if it is absolutely necessary.

Are you conscious of all the clothing you possess? Do you need all of them? What for?