Closet Inventory #1 (Fall 2014) + Digital Organization

I've been overhauling my wardrobe for about the past year, but I haven't really been aware of how much I owned until now. I figured it was time to do a closet inventory to figure out where I'm at after a year of purging and buying items that fit better and that better fit my personal style. I've been slowly but steadily selling and donating things that no longer work for me, but I thought I was doing a pretty good job at ridding of things and not buying as much in order to decrease the size of my wardrobe, but I'm not sure if that has actually been happening...

Here's where I'm at right now!

TOPS: 81
Sleeveless: 5
Short-sleeved tees: 10
Long-sleeved tees: 12
Blouses: 9
Collared shirts: 6
Cardigans: 17
Sweaters: 18
Sweatshirts: 4

BOTTOMS: 32
Shorts: 6
Skirts: 13
Pants: 6
Jeans: 7

DRESSES: 30

OUTERWEAR: 13
Vests: 1
Blazers: 1
Jackets: 4
Coats: 7

SHOES: 34
Sandals: 6
Sneakers: 2
Flats: 12
Heels: 6
Boots: 8

These numbers don't include a bunch of shirts and shorts I have around for sleeping and working out, leggings, tights, pajama pants, and a lot of old shirts I have on probation and will probably be donating in the near future. I also have a basket of older shoes that weren't counted because I don't really wear them, but I can't bring myself to get rid of them just yet (they're on probation too...or just not currently in style!). A good number of items in my closet I count as "utility" items--necessary because of just typical day-to-day life: snow boots, running sneakers, my down coat, etc.--and were not counted in the total.

In all, I have 190 items that I wear regularly. That's more than what I was expecting, but it's not too bad considering how much I've gotten rid of the past year. I'm pretty happy with everything I have right now; there's only a few things I'm hoping to add before we dive head-on into fall and winter (though I have to try and hold off on buying anything until next month!).

The photos don't show everything I own. My stuff is split between the bedroom closet, which I share with Chris, and a dresser. My jackets and coats live in a closet by the front door, and my shoes are scattered between the bedroom closet, the spare bedroom closet, and the closet downstairs. (I also have a bad habit of kicking my shoes off and leaving them in the living room, so you can pretty much find shoes everywhere...) I've been trying to better organize my things. The things I wear regularly are in the bedroom closet, and they are organized first by type and then by color. I keep the things I've worn but that aren't yet dirty in the front of the closet separate from the clean clothes. I don't have good organization for my shoes, though the shoes I baby more (my leather shoes) are in the bedroom and spare bedroom closets so they are away from the cats and getting banged up by other shoes.

Speaking of organization, I'm kind of a freak about it. I have three different ways of organizing my closet (besides actually organizing it): I am building an Excel spreadsheet with details about everything I own including whether the item is a core piece, spring/summer piece, or fall/winter piece; I have secret Pinterest boards with the actual items in my closet (and links to them if applicable); and I recently downloaded the Stylebook app on my phone, because I've been wanting a way to digitize my closet and keep track of what I'm actually wearing.

After using Stylebook for just over a month, I can say I'm really pleased with how it's been working for me so far!

With Stylebook, you add the individual pieces of your wardrobe, and then with those you can create looks. My favorite part is keeping track of what I'm wearing every day by adding looks to the calendar. Once looks (or individual pieces) are added to your calendar, it keeps track of how often you wear the pieces as well as calculate the cost-per-wear of each item (you can input the price of each item when you view it). I love that feature because I've been wanting to know cost-per-wear, but I didn't want to calculate it myself. It's much more fun (and much easier!) to create looks and add them to the calendar--then all the hard work is done for you!

I LOVE seeing how often I'm wearing pieces. Since I just started keeping track of my outfits on August 1st, it doesn't look like I've worn my clothes that much, but I know in a year it will really be telling. If I get sick of an item before I get a lot of wears in (which is subjective because it depends on cost-per-wear), I'll know it wasn't a good buy and I need to be more mindful in the future. The app also shows you your 25 Least Worn items. (Note that I wore the shorts six times in August but they have been worn seven times according to this list. That's because I wore them today!)

Here's what my best cost-per-wears look like after August (and two days of September). Of course, my cheaper pieces, even if only worn once, have the best cost-per-wears right now. See my tan sandals, though? I've worn those so much in just the past month (six times) that my cost-per-wear is looking quite good! I generally aim for a cost-per-wear of $1, but it would be fabulous to have cost-per-wears that are below $1. That is what I'm hoping for with the (hopefully) better quality pieces I've been picking up recently. Stylebook also keeps a list of the 25 Worst Value.

I'm planning on doing another closet inventory and Stylebook update in about a year. I'm excited to see what my most/least worn pieces are and all the various looks I can come up with. I'm also hoping to reduce the size of my closet a bit more--think I can do it?! ;)