In your current situation you may have ample room for your entire wardrobe.  You might possess 2 or more dressers in your bedroom just dedicated to your clothes.  If your adult children have vacated the family home, along with their belongings, then some of your clothing may have migrated into the drawers and closet space they left empty.

Now imagine that one day you will be faced with moving to a smaller location. When everything you own needs to be reduced to what a one bedroom apartment can comfortably handle, you will have difficult choices to make.

By taking inventory of the contents of your dresser drawers you can get a better sense as to what should be on your endangered species list for consideration. One category comes to mind immediately: sleepwear. Granted, we spend roughly a third of our lives in slumber and at least that amount binge watching streamed entertainment at home. Comfortable clothing like pajamas serve as appropriate attire for relaxed activities like nodding off on the sofa.  We understand the love affair with pajamas. Once you don them it signals you are done for the day. But, how many pair do you really need?

Needless to say, we see large numbers of pajamas, nightgowns, bathrobes and loungewear in our clients’ closets and drawers. To some degree, they are seasonal items. You can’t wear your flannel p.j.s topped with a velvet floor-length housecoat in the blistering heat of July. This is why people need to double-up on sleepwear, to cover all eventualities, unless they reside in the tropics. Still pajamas a hefty category deserving of frequent purging.

CRUD Challenge

If you have already invested a good percentage of your net worth in designer sleepwear then this may prove too challenging. On the other hand, if your p.j.s look like your dogs played tug-of- war with them, or the bottoms have morphed into a permanent, tangled wad that prevents you from closing the drawer in which they reside, then this should be a walk in the park. Don’t despair. Your washer and dryer won’t let you down if you run out.

Unload the drawers and closets, examining each garment for wear and tear, as well as sizing. Your discard pile should look something like this: things that are too small, faded, stained, full of holes or the flannel has lost its nap.  Toss or make rags out of the unwearable ones. Donate the pajamas in decent condition to shelters and other non-profits. What you wear or don’t wear to bed is really none of our business. Making sure your home is functioning with the right amount of stuff is.