For this weeks episode, I’m joined again by my pal Shaun for a chat about the contents of our closets. A kind of guys version of the minimal Marie Kondo rage maybe? Well, not quite, but we get into knowing what you have before looking for more, what sort of stuff should be tidied and discarded, and what happens to it after we say farewell to our unwanted garms.
Is our commitment over the moment we have donated a bag of our unwanted clothes? What really happens to them and is this the best way to deal with discards?
Underway there are the usual tangents taken, as fruitful conversational alleys are discovered. We even get to disagree about denim: comfort or cardboard?
And remember, while you can listen to the episode right here on the webpage (all episodes on the Garmology page), the podcast is also available on all the usual podcast sites, like Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcasts etc. This is very handy for listening via your phone while walking the dog, driving, cooking, or whatever activity you do where you want to listen to people talk about stuff.
I think the current state of shopping in the current pandemic needs a bit more analysis. To begin with, I would imagine it depends on where you live. In the US the “stimulus” spending for a while helped with some shopping, but now things might change. People were definitely shopping, but what they were buying is the question. Athleisure… from what I can tell, but also other things. Trying buying a kettlebell online.
With regards to recycling clothing, some of the product surely ends up in the waste even if you donate it. I think there’s an argument for reselling it online. You’re getting paid and the garment is still getting recycled by someone who is clearly interested. As Shaun noted, one man’s rubbish is another’s luxury item. A personal consideration for me as regards selling is getting something for a piece that is still great whether it’s down to condition, style and in most cases both. It’s hard to just discard something like that one way or the other. I do both sell online and give to Goodwill, but I rather enjoy gifting it to a friend or my father.
When it comes to investment pieces, I think it depends on the buyer. For me I have “investment pieces”, largely outerwear, that I’ve had for years and have no desire to get rid of. I do largely wear most of it too. The problem is when you buy more than you need to the extent that you can’t realistically wear it enough. I also think age factors in here. At your respective ages, and you guys strike me as near pensioners, you probably have more “settled” tastes if you will. I wish I had the same taste when I was in my 20s that I do in my 40s.
I think the current state of shopping in the current pandemic needs a bit more analysis. To begin with, I would imagine it depends on where you live. In the US the “stimulus” spending for a while helped with some shopping, but now things might change. People were definitely shopping, but what they were buying is the question. Athleisure… from what I can tell, but also other things. Trying buying a kettlebell online.
With regards to recycling clothing, some of the product surely ends up in the waste even if you donate it. I think there’s an argument for reselling it online. You’re getting paid and the garment is still getting recycled by someone who is clearly interested. As Shaun noted, one man’s rubbish is another’s luxury item. A personal consideration for me as regards selling is getting something for a piece that is still great whether it’s down to condition, style and in most cases both. It’s hard to just discard something like that one way or the other. I do both sell online and give to Goodwill, but I rather enjoy gifting it to a friend or my father.
When it comes to investment pieces, I think it depends on the buyer. For me I have “investment pieces”, largely outerwear, that I’ve had for years and have no desire to get rid of. I do largely wear most of it too. The problem is when you buy more than you need to the extent that you can’t realistically wear it enough. I also think age factors in here. At your respective ages, and you guys strike me as near pensioners, you probably have more “settled” tastes if you will. I wish I had the same taste when I was in my 20s that I do in my 40s.
Mostly agree totally here, Chris, although you do miss the mark by a country mile when it comes to estimating our ages.