Imagine it is a cold, windy day, and you are walking around the stores and then suddenly you see something on one of the store windows that calls your name. You look at that item of clothing – I’m not going to get too specific here- and you know it belongs in your wardrobe. You go in, and ‘click-click’, ‘swiiish’ and a very mental ‘kachiiiiing’ later, it’s yours. Packed in a bag, sometimes wrapped in tissue, that item is yours. Sounds exactly like the first scene of Confessions of a Shopaholic? Well, welcome to my life.
‘The Confessions of Shopaholic Swati‘ will be saved for another time, but today, we discuss a very dire problem at hand – my out of control habit of hoarding clothes that are absolutely unnecessary, completely out of style and don’t even fit me properly. In many normal cases, this wouldn’t be a problem, but here- I’m a shopaholic who continues to buy clothes, likes not to get rid of the things she already has, therefore, continues to dig herself a larger hole to fall into with her clothes.
You would think that writing this post would make me realize that I have a problem and probably do something about it, like – I don’t know, clear my closet out? I am sincerely hoping for a similar outcome.
In this day and age, everyone tends to clean out their wardrobes, donate to the poor and wear out what they own. This way, every year, if not every season, most (normal) people tend to get rid of what they haven’t worn in a while. 
I’ve often tried to do the same- and with a lot of determination, but most of the time, I’ve gotten rid of maybe 5, at most 9 things – which were mostly clothes that were getting too hole-y for my benefit. And for me to get rid of that many things in a single sitting is a lot.
I guess that would have been fine had I been wearing them alternatively, but there are a some that just sit in a huge lot- taking up space and never being touched – except when I’m cleaning my closet (which is a full day task, btw) and they need to be refolded and colour coded.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a very serious mental debate over and over again about this. And the only sound reasoning (I use the term ‘sound reasoning’ very loosely in this sense) that I could probably relate to was that I get emotionally to attached to my clothes.
Have you seen the episode from The Middle (Season 2, Episode 18) where the Hecks are spring cleaning, and there is a broken set of hair curlers that Sue owns but refuses to throw them because (gulp) they might have had feelings? Now, I not saying my clothes have feelings, but I bought them with so much feeling and love that I really, really don’t want to part with them – nevermind the fact that they still have their tag on and I only bought them because the salesgirl was too nice or too mean.
I have a friend, Nicole who is a stylist and a fellow shopaholic. I don’t even need to prove the fact that she for sure shops more than I do. But, as a rule, she always clears out (donate what she doesn’t need or wear) her closet every season. And recommends doing the same.
Would you do it? Would you throw away the clothes you handpicked with a lot of love? Do you get emotionally attached to your clothes? Do you have nothing to wear? Tell me I’m not alone…
SWATINESS 