My Closet Runneth Over

25 percent of clothes in women's closets never leave the hanger.

Why? Because they don't fit.

This was an interesting fact to find after spending the weekend contemplating my own closet. They say that, in general, we wear only 20 percent of the clothes we own. I think that's actually being generous. Even after purging dozens and dozens of shoes and shirts and skirts and pants over the past year, I still find myself with much more than I ever wear. Does one person really need more than 15 sweaters? Even if I wore them every day, I will still have two full weeks of sweaters at my disposal. Seems excessive.

Now, I am not one to advocate wearing the same outfit day in and day out. Gilligan's Island my life is not. Nor am I the type to push for a wardrobe made up of only five pants, five shirts and five pairs of socks. There is always the need for that special outfit that you pull out only for the holidays or a party. For a polished suit that looks great in a job interview or a meeting. But, does a woman really need 10 different pairs of black pumps?

The reality is that the need for things has gotten so bad that it has impacted every part of our lives. We have to pay more for bigger houses to hold more things. And when we fill our houses, we rent storage lockers, which often come on 10 different sizes that are able to accommodate everything from the measly mess-maker to the perfected pack-rat.

That said, even though I know the pitfalls of consumption, I would still probably buy another pair of black pumps if they were the exact color I needed and they made me feel as though I were walking on pillows all day. After all, I may be trying to live simply, but I am still a woman.