Each season I go through my old clothes. Anyone who knows me well know that there's something of a conflict. 

I love decorating and a cozy look, yet I'm also a minimalist. 

I don't like having a lot of things, and I'm SO not a packrat. 

With clothes, I like having colorful items I can mix and match, but I hate having a messy closet that vomits clothes everywhere. When you haven't grown more than an inch since you were 12, having too many clothes from way back when is a challenge. Thankfully, some are still in great condition and I love them. Some aren't, however, and it's not really worth holding on to them for the 1x/year when I wear them. 

I read somewhere about a capsule wardrobe. The premise is that 90% of the time you wear 10% of your closet. Everyone has their favorite pants/skirt/go-to shirts etc. My philosophy has always been if I didn't wear it last year and didn't miss it, get rid of it. The concept of a more capsule wardrobe, however, forced me to look at the other 90% of my closet. 

Most capsule wardrobes set a limit e.g. you can have 33 items, including accessories. It frees you to spend a bit more money on things you love vs. having a lot of items that end up in the landfill. 

I didn't go with a rigid number, but I did follow a lot of the steps for going through my closet. You take all the items out of the closet, and then first put back only items that you LOVE. L-O-V-E. 

My big realization with doing that was that quality items tended to make the cut. For a few of the college years mom and I shopped the really big end-of-summer sale at White House Black Market (and sometimes Ann Taylor Loft). Those items were still in GREAT condition, and I still loved them. White House Black Market has gotten more expensive the last couple years, but I realized that if I'm looking at the number of times that I wear the item over a number of years, it's totally worth the investment vs. a target shirt. 

Anyhow, the next step is to go through the "really likes" and determine if it might be a staple as a layer, age appropriate, or go with the few items I put back in my closet. I saved a couple. The rest I got rid of. If this step intimidates you, some people recommend storing those items in a box in the garage for 3 months. If you don't miss it, donate the items at the end of the season to charity. If I saved it, it had to be a versatile item, not a stand alone piece. 

Some also suggest picking a favorite outfit and asking "Do I love this more than my ___________?" If you won't be reaching in your closet to pick that over one of your favorite outfits, don't buy it and/or give it the boot. 

Another thing I did to determine whether to save or toss was take the Love items that I put back in my closet and categorize them. I had "sweaters," "fancy/work," "night," and "day." I was afraid if I threw out a "night" top out, I wouldn't have enough tops for a night out. What I realized is I did in fact have a lot of things to wear out. I threw out those "maybes," whereas I realized I could benefit from rescuing a couple of the "day" items. Now I look at my closet and know that I have a complete wardrobe, and no reason to shop. 

Here are the benefits so far
1. Much, much neater closet

2. Less laundry- do it every week, and there's less to fold

3. Better organization

4. No impulse purchases. I realized that I could use a couple pairs of pants, and so I went shopping to get them. I didn't really look for tops though, because I knew I had plenty. 

5. Splurge on quality items from $25-60, and still end up paying less overall each season

The goal is not to wear the same 10 outfits over and over again for weeks. The goal is to have pieces that are versatile and mix-and-match well. Can you wear a sweater over that dress to give it a different look? Can the shirt go with red pants and blue jeans? Workout clothes, PJs, and undergarments do not count towards the total. I also don't count accessories, because I think they can change an outfit completely for very little $$. 

For winter, I was more lenient with numbers, because in the northeast, you generally NEED layers. I didn't count t-shirts for my summer wardrobe, and I'm not counting plain, inexpensive long-sleeved shirts for winter. 

Great link on how to mix and match  --definitely a good place to start