In the previous posts, we reviewed how to find your personal uniform, how to assess your space, determine how much clothing you should have, how to determine how many pieces to retire, and how to identify unwearable clothing. 

In this post, we’ll continue decluttering your wardrobe by identifying pieces that do not align to your personal uniforms. 

What does non-uniform mean?

For this post, non-uniform means pieces that do not align to your personal uniforms.

Step 1: Determine how many more pieces you need to retire to be within your target wardrobe size.

If you haven’t already, take the current size of your wardrobe and subtract the number of pieces needed for your personal uniforms and/or the storage space available. If you don’t have these numbers handy, be sure to read the “How much clothing should you have?” post. 

For example:

• My wardrobe is currently 179 pieces, including accessories.

• I need at least 70 pieces for my personal uniforms. 

• I have storage for up to 120 pieces.

[Current wardrobe size] - [Storage space available] = Upper limit of target wardrobe size

179 pieces - 120 pieces = 59 pieces to retire at least

[Current wardrobe size] - [What’s needed for personal uniforms] = Lower limit of target wardrobe size 

179 pieces - 70 pieces = 109 pieces to retire at most

Step 2: Identify pieces in your wardrobe today that don’t align to your personal uniforms.

It’s extremely easy to accumulate clothing, shoes and accessories. Even for those who already have minimal wardrobes, it takes a conscious effort to reject new pieces and to remove those that no longer belong. Consider the below questions when assessing whether to keep or retire pieces.

1. Does this piece align to your personal uniforms? 

2. Does this piece hold significant sentimental value?

3. Does this piece hold potential monetary value? 

4. Do you have a similar piece that is in good condition and better fits your personal uniforms? 

Here’s an example from my wardrobe. I received this maroon t-shirt from work, pictured below. Let’s walk through the four questions to determine if I should keep it in my wardrobe or retire it.

1. Does this maroon t-shirt from work align to my personal uniforms? No, it doesn’t align to my personal uniforms because of the color, fabric choice and graphic. My personal style is a blend of polished and practical pieces with a sense of adventure and can be described as minimal, sporty, and chic.

2. Does this maroon t-shirt from work hold significant sentimental value? No, this free work shirt does not hold significant sentimental value to me. I’m not typically sentimental about my job.

3. Does this maroon t-shirt from work hold potential monetary value? No, this shirt does not hold any monetary value.

4. Do I have a similar piece that is in good condition and better fits my personal uniforms? Yes, I have two similar pieces that are in good condition and fit my personal uniforms. See below for a photo of my white and black t-shirts that serve the same function as my marron t-shirt from work, but align with my personal uniforms.

This maroon work t-shirt is a great candidate to retire from my wardrobe because I answered ‘No’ to the first three questions above.

Here’s a second example from my wardrobe. I bought the below yellow cardigan and a matching tank top in prep for a bachelorette trip to Mexico. The yellow tank top is on the left and ended up being a nice fit into my personal uniforms.

1. Does the yellow cardigan align to my personal uniforms? No, cardigans don’t align to my personal uniforms at all. I think cardigans make me look like a librarian, which is not what I want. I only bought this cardigan because I liked the matching yellow tank top and thought maybe this cardigan would be different and allow me to wear the tank top to work.

2. Does the yellow cardigan hold significant sentimental value? No, this cardigan holds no sentimental value to me.

3. Does the yellow cardigan hold potential monetary value? No, this cardigan does not hold any monetary value.

4. Do I have a similar piece that is in good condition and better fits my personal uniforms? Yes, I have a white linen blazer that has the same weight as the cardigan, but aligns with the minimal and chic components of my personal uniforms.

Here’s a third example from my wardrobe. I bought the below v-neck wrap shirt to wear to work and felt at the time that it would be a good addition to my personal work uniforms because it’s white, a base color for me.

1. Does the v-neck wrap shirt align to my personal uniforms? Not really. Most of the necklines for my personal uniforms are crew necks or turtlenecks. While the shirt is minimal in style, I never wore it outside of the office because it didn’t feel true to me.

2. Does the v-neck wrap shirt hold significant sentimental value? No, this v-neck wrap shirt holds no sentimental value to me and was purchased too quickly to fill a work wardrobe need.

3. Does the v-neck wrap shirt hold potential monetary value? No, this shirt does not hold any monetary value.

4. Do I have a similar piece that is in good condition and better fits my personal uniforms? Yes! I have this heavy knit sleeveless crew neck sweater. I feel like the weight of the knit and the crewneck give it a somewhat military style which aligns to my personal uniforms and style. I frequently wear this both in and outside of the workplace.

Step 3: Count the pieces you’ve set aside and compare to the range you need to retire to reach your target wardrobe size. 

See my results as an example.

# of pieces to retire, target: 59-109 pieces

• # of unwearable pieces: 20

• # of pieces that don’t align to my personal uniforms: 30

With this process, I’ve set aside enough pieces to retire to reach my target wardrobe size.

Tips

• Keep your personal style definition nearby. This will make it easier and faster to make a decision if a piece aligns with your style.

• Keep your personal uniforms cheat sheet nearby. This will also make it easier and faster to make a decision if a piece aligns with your personal uniforms.

Coming up next:

Overcome the “just in case” mentality

Unlock a clutter-free closet! 

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