Monday 13 February 2023

How much is too much?

 Happy Monday!  Today finds me in a couple of hours of looking after grandchildren, which means that in an hour's time I will be ankle deep in lego!


This was taken the last time they were here.  We have two containers filled to the brim of Lego.  Some handed down from my sister from when her son was little (he's now 51 so we are talking vintage bricks here!) some is from when our children were young.  We have accumulated a LOT!  Oh but they love tipping it all out, that deafening roar of bricks cascading onto the carpet then sifting through it to find the shape and size bricks needed to make a desert island and a pirate ship.  Not to mention the pirate with a wooden leg and the parrot that sits on his shoulder - they're in there somewhere!

I keep thinking that I could easily give half to a charity shop and there'd still be more than enough to play with.  We clearly have too much Lego.

In a timely fashion, this morning I read an article which someone had shared on Facebook.  It had been published in Vogue and asked 'How many clothes should we own, exactly?'  Even though I don't feel that I own a lot of clothes, after reading this I feel like my wardrobe is a bit like those boxes of Lego.  Some of it is really old, but still gets used, some of it is used on a regular basis and some of it has been outgrown.

According to this article we should only have 74 garments and 20 outfits in total.  For example, six outfits for work, three for home wear, three for sport, two outfits for festive occasions, four outdoor jackets plus trousers and skirts.  I don't consider myself to have a large wardrobe but I am sure I have more than that!  As I live in a country which has very distinct seasons, could I perhaps double their allowance for a winter/summer divide?  They say that people should only buy about five new items per year which is 20% of the amount the average person buys. I can't believe that the average reader of Vogue abides by this!

Food for thought eh?  What do you think? 

5 comments:

Ruth said...

I don't think you can have too much Lego ... we were able to donate ours to a single mum and her son.
Like you, I don't think I have too many clothes, but that's just my opinion!

Patio Postcards said...

An interesting article - I don't think I could adhere to just 74 clothing items - we have four very distinct seasons ... but maybe I do have too many white blouses, maybe. (col)

I imagine all those Legos are appreciated by the grandkids, maybe consider donating when they have outgrown them in 4-5 years. :)

Susanne said...

Interesting observation on clothing. My problem is that I might not be over say 75 pieces (but for 2 different times of the year as we switch our closet out every 6 months), but it is the 30 or so things I cannot fit into that I cannot bear to part with that make my closets crowded. I am trying to let my closet naturally pare itself down by attrition and I am allowing myself only 1 new purchase per month in 2023. In January I was able to catch a nice long winter robe on sale, as it had been 5 years since my nice one finally wore out. In the meantime I had been using a lightweight summer one instead all year round. It's about worn out too.

Barbara Eads said...

Legos---the bane of my existence! I never understood the appeal. I'm just not creative enough. Unless I have a design to copy, I can't do them!! About the clothes--I can see a comparison with the Legos. Although I'm confident in how I dress, I would love for someone to come in and put outfits together for me. I'm sure I would have a whole new wardrobe! And, yes, I have more than 70 items in my closet! I think I have at least 20 white tops alone!

Gail Is This Mutton? said...

Five items a year? Eek. I've already done that in February, buying new Spring/Summer pieces. I keep meaning to count my shoes and boots, but counting clothes is a step too far!