Living Richly In Retirement: Downsizing My Closet (Sort of)

Note:  Remember that post about living on a couple hundred dollars after the mortgage?  And the one about the emergency fund needing to be hefty (which it will be in two weeks, not now)??  Well, the temperature in my house is now 90 degrees, with the thermostat at 78.  The best laid plans......

Lately I've been working on paring down my closet.  It's been a challenge. While there's nary a minimalist bone in my body, I have been trying to find ways to make my closet work more efficiently and eliminate some unneeded items. I have a working wardrobe that I haven't used since 2006. I've also lost weight and some items simply no longer fit. On the other hand, I have some color and fashion challenges. I'm unwilling to do laundry more than weekly, and want to be able to wait longer if the need arises.

In my search to make my closet more workable for my life today, I've visited many a web page, including the 333 project.  While I'm fascinated with this challenge and admire those folks who participate, in it's current form it's not a fit to me, at least from my perspective. 

Why?  Well first, I think that this challenge works better for people who live in a climate with few extremes of temperature.  While its 105 (yes, 105) today in Dallas, we also have ice and even the annual snowstorm.  Not just that, but I divide my time between Dallas and Denver. Without a separate Denver closet, I need access to certain clothing much of the year.  I also think the challenge works better for those who keep a "coordinated" wardrobe. That is, those folks who start with neutrals and add a few pieces. My closet is full of color.  A natural "spring" (sorry folks, fashionistas and color mavens will understand), with the exceptions of pants I wear turquoise, yellow, soft green, lilac, soft pink and the like. While many of these colors will mix and match, the fact is I need more pieces to do that. And since I wear colored jewelry rather than bimetallics, I would end up with 33 pieces of jewelry!

What to do?  Come up with a "challenge" that works for me.  In my case my challenge had two parts.  First, to eliminate every thing I did not absolutely love (and had not worn the past season). Second, to limit myself by types of clothing. My (as yet unreached goal) is to limit myself to ten of each kind of clothing (short sleeved tops, long sleeved tops, sleeveless).

While I'm not yet finished with my downsizing, honoring these challenges has been quite revealing.  It's also made my closet much easier to handle (when you have a two person walk in closet and its full, life can be interesting).  In the end, my downsizing (and ongoing challenge) has had multiple results.  First, everything I put on is good quality and comfortable (other than a few items specifically designed for yardwork).  Second, most of my clothes these days can go from quilting to school to book group, wherever they need to.  Third, most things match with little effort. 

While I'll never be a 33 items of clothing kind of gal, I'm glad I went through this purging and organizing session. It shows that even a "hands of my stuff gal" can learn a few minimalist techniques to make herself more organized in the long run.

Living Richly in Retirement: Do We Need As Much As They Say?

Recently Grace over at Graceful Retirement has a blog post on the exaggerated cost of retirement. Grace figures that many of us won’t need the eighty five percent of our salary the analysts tell us we need. While everyone’s needs are unique, overall, I tend to agree.


I’ve made no secret of my financial status, or the fact that because I was forcibly retired at fifty something (and spent all my savings in a few years) that I will need some stream of income to make the difference. But in my case I manage to travel, pay a mortgage on a house, and support a college student part time and still have monthly expenditures of much less than 85 percent of our salary when my husband was working. And by a certain amount of downsizing, I could live on much less comfortably.

Why is this true? I would say that there are three ways that make it possible for many retirees to live cheaper than previously.

First, most of us have most if not all the basics in terms of furnishings and clothing. While we may need to shop to “fill in”, we’re not spending money on household basics. While I occasionally need to replace items, at this point I have a household that functions well with things on hand. I have pots, pans, dishes, pillows, furnishings and clothing, just to name a few. The only “things” I see myself needing to buy in the future are clothes, and that’s only because I’m in the process of losing 100 pounds, other than that I would be set for life. This doesn’t mean that I will never buy a thing, just that those things aren’t needs and that I can pick and choose what and if to buy.

We don’t have work related or financial expenses. I’m not commuting to a job. While I enjoy looking good, and maintain myself well, I’m not spending money in the manner of my former dress for success life. I’m not saving (for college or retirement); paying income taxes for the most part or dry cleaning my clothing.

Most importantly in this equation (at least to me), is time. Because I have time, I can do for myself things which may have been hired out before. I cook for myself as much as possible rather than eat out (although I enjoy eating out, now it’s a special occasion rather than a last minute rush). Having a surfeit of time also means that I can investigate specials and discounts and take advantage of last minute and one time deals quickly. I can take a relaxing road trip to, say, New Orleans because my time is my own. When I fly, I can volunteer to wait until the next flight since I don’t have to be at work. I can travel off season, and on the weekdays. I can take advantage of free entertainment, Wednesday movie specials, you name it.

Obviously, lifestyles will differ. And eighty five percent of minimum wage is certainly less than eighty five percent of say, $60,000 per year. A person whose hobby is flying will need more than I do for quilting, travel and genealogy. And I suppose the argument could be made that we are two now instead of three (although with the exception of some travel expenses I don’t think our regular living expenses would increase by adding another person significantly). But overall, I think many folks can manage well on less than they thought or had hoped they would have, without significantly altering lifestyle choices.

Coming next………what costs increase in retirement??