Clothing is not only for decency, but for protection of your skin. You would die if you stark naked in below freezing temperatures. Thankfully, most people probably have the bare minimum. What would the bare minimum be. If you don’t meet or exceed the essentials, I implore you to get to the minimum as quickly as possible. It will be the following:
- 1 hoodie or sweatshirt
- 1 pair of boots
- 1 pair of gloves
- 1 Winter coat
- 2 pairs of jeans
- 2 short sleeve shirts
- 4 pairs of underwear
- 4 pairs of socks
The hoodie or sweatshirt is for Spring and Autumn where the nights can get chilly. It will also help you build layers in the Winter. You would need a pair of gloves for the Winter months, and you should place them in the pocket of your Winter coat. Even if your Winters aren’t bad, you still should have these things to keep yourself warm if things were to temporary get bad.
You will also need 2 pairs of jeans. Assuming you don’t sweat much, you could wear a pair of jeans for 2 weeks. When you are wearing you last pair of jeans, then you should do laundry. Likewise, with the shirts. As for the underwear and socks, you should wear those for one week. The boots – while slightly uncomfortable in the summer, it would be just be uncomfortable. In the Winter, they would prove invaluable. And keep in mind, I am offering the bare essentials as for clothing. If you can get a pair of sneakers for the Summer, fine – but if you had to choose, then boots will be preferred.
What I Do
First, I have a medical issue with my feet. I have to wear boots for the support on the ankles that I need. I put cleats on the heel of my sole, and those cleats helps keep the sole sustainable. If the sole wears away, it will cost more than $10 to replace the sole. You are likely able to buy your shoes from any source, but I would suggest to visit a cobbler, and get cleats on the heels.
I have a Baerskin hoodie. This hoodie has stood the test of time with the winter, and is actually warmer than my coat. With that in mind, I wear this hoodie when it drops below a certain temperature. For other times, I will wear a jean jacket, or just a shirt such as in the summer. I still have a winter coat, but hadn’t used it in a few years because of the hoodie. I also have another hoodie for when it is chilly in my apartment. I would rather wear some layers than to have the heat on.
I also have 5 pairs of pants, 5 T-shirts, and 10 pairs of underwear and 10 pairs of socks. Once I get down to my last set of clean clothes, I will take my laundry down to the basement of my apartment building and do my laundry. One load is $3.50 for washing and drying. The process takes 1 hour: 45 minutes. After I am done, I put my clothes in the cleaned laundry bag, and take them up to the apartment where I fold everything, and place them away.
My pants, shirts, hoodies, and coat are black. This makes the choice of what to wear a simple one. I just grab what’s on top, and know what I would look like. Last, I have a linen laundry bag which I would load my dirty clothes in for doing laundry.