INVENTORY is step two of The Four Shopping Rules.

Today I want to touch on INVENTORY. I can’t stress enough what a huge step this is in getting to know your wardrobe. When I was at the peak of my addiction, I was so blinded by a good deal, that I would actually think I needed something new in the moment, only to come home and see I already had something very similar (that probably hadn’t even been worn yet!)

Taking on an inventory can be a painstaking process. Especially when you have a lot of stuff! If you need a jump start, I have a free printable INVENTORY template that you can find here:

FREE PRINTABLE INVENTORY TEMPLATE

I choose to inventory all of my items on paper because it is the easiest for me. Then I take it step further and track how often I wear things by making a tally mark next to a garment each time I wear it. You can do something similar with apps like Stylebook and Cladwell. I’ve heard lots of positive feedback about both.

Going forward, an inventory is beneficial in so many ways. Not only can you see exactly what you have all in one place, but if you track your wears, it really helps you get a grasp on the things you LIKE and enjoy wearing. It’s important and I guarantee it will be an eye opening experience. It also gives you an easy way to calculate cost per wear and see how all that money in your closet is getting used. It can help you avoid repeat shopping “mistakes”. And, and, AND! It’s so much work physically and mentally to clean out your closet and write all the items down, that you probably won’t want to do it again anytime soon! It can help curb that shopping bug — at least for a little while.

If it sounds like to much work and is very daunting, trust me. I GET IT. My suggestion would be to start small. Maybe seasonally? Or instead of pulling everything out and doing it all at once, just start by writing down items as you wear them? Make it work for you so that you’ll want to keep it up. Make it fun and rewarding somehow. I like treating myself with tacos, but you probably already knew that.

Do you keep an inventory?

loves,
jaana