Summer stuff - or not?

I really couldn't cope with having that many clothes. I need to have clear space round me to make decisions on anything, including clothes. I can only buy clothes if I can mentally run through my wardrobe and see where the new garment will fit in.

I have four pairs of summer trousers, 8 tops and 2 cardigans but the only 2 T shirts I possess live in the drawer that contains the clothes that are only occasionally useful but it is disaster if you do not have them when you need them, the thermal long johns DH had when he worked offshore, very thick wool sweater from Iceland both of which I wore when I had to spend a whole day outdoors on a bitterly cold March day this year and they kept me warm all day.

DD &DDiL have cupboards of clothes like you and when I stayed with DD after her accident I only went into her bedroom when I had too because I just found the heaps of clothes too overwhelming.

I love getting out my summer clothes I look through the cases and think "Oh I had forgotten about that" and get all sorts of surprises.I have loads of tops and differant coloured cotton jackets,and endless pairs of jeans !! don't know why as most are all denim blue and white.
It seems a wee bit to cold at the moment to get everything down so will wait a week or two yet.

I have very limited space in my flat, so I have had to be ruthless in culling clothes that I know I will never wear. I will be going home next Wednesday, after three weeks house sitting for Juragran in Switzerland and I was looking forward to putting away my heavy clothes, but this morning it is snowing heavily!
I was helping my sister sort out her cupboards at Christmas and was amzed to find she has seven wardrobes all bulging with clothes. She says some of them are very old but they looked pretty new to me! She always looks very smart and can wear little scarves jauntily and has a selection of velvet bows for her long hair, which she wears in a chignon.
I have no matching accessories and a limited selection of footwear - black shoes, trainers, walking boots and knee boots for the snow. When she takes me to her women's groups, I try to look reasonably normal so as not to embarrass her. My daughter calls me her bag lady but says I don't stand out too much in New Zealand, which is not fashion conscious!

I was thinking of going through my wardrobe and am now thinking...maybe next week...There are three different sizes of trousers, though different brands sometimes account for the variation; t-shirts that should really be relegated to the cupboard under the sink to serve as dusters; loads of shoes, most of which I do wear - sometimes; several jackets, bought almost new from EBay which have been 'outgrown' in the past year, but I live in hope. And what am I doing with four swimsuits?

Nothing focuses the mind on clothes so much as packing. I have had to include a detailed inventory of what clothes and shoes Mr absent and I want packed and shipped by the removal firm, so I had to think long and hard about what we shall need for our first three months in our new home. As it will be winter in New Zealand, I shall be packing boots, jerseys, socks and warm jackets. (It's fortunate that we can each take 46 kg of luggage for the hold.) That list in the last sentence but one is not exclusive – I shall also be taking jeans – warm jackets and jerseys are not really very cosy if you have a bare bum – pyjamas and so on.

What it has made me do is look in drawers and wardrobes and weed out stuff that I haven't worn in the last year or two – summer or winter – and take it to the charity shop. It has also – satisfyingly – made Mr absent discard some very old and tatty shirts and singlets and a couple of pairs of ill-fitting jeans.

I recently took a suitcase and 2 bags full of clothes to the charity shop and my wardrobe doesn't look any less full - how can that be!

Oh I can understand why, sunseeker - it's the same way I took 19 carrier bags of books to the Oxfam book shop and there are still no spaces on the (many) shelves!

Our house is too big for the 3 of us, but whenever the question of downsizing comes up the main argument for staying is "but where will we put eveything?"
I have tried to "buy less and wear more" as Gok says, but I still need space for out of season clothes...not just Summer/Winter, but all those in between days too

Whenever I buy something new/second hand; something has to go.

Have taken the plunge and put away my winter trousers and brought out my summer ones. Having to alternate summer and winter tops and jackets depending on the weather! Hopefully it will be hot enough to resurrect my two summer dresses one day.
After losing a stone one pair of summer trousers has to go and some others are going to need alteration or they'll have to go in the charity pile. Skirts and dresses don't look so obviously too big thank goodness.

My wardrobe is very simple. Jeans, jumpers and fleeces in the winter and jeans or linen trousers, T shirts and cotton tops in the summer.

I haven't worn a dress since my niece's wedding three years ago.

I love dresses as I am having more and more trouble finding trousers that fit ...if they are big enough for my thighs and calves then the waist is usually huge or vice versa. Wide linen trousers are good but they seem to wear out and crease quickly.
Long summer dresses and skirts are a godsend as I do not always have the patience to try and make my legs presentable!!