

This tip helped me donate at least half of the running shorts or bras I was holding onto that “might come in handy later” or “will be nice to have if I don’t feel like doing laundry.” For example, I tried on shorts in comparison to a pair that I absolutely loved. Morgan Petruny The “Wear It Now” Litmus Test

Luckily, there are a few great companies that will spin your tees into a quilt. I have zero skills on the sewing machine. Give your friend a call or make plans for a run together instead. If it’s something I’m having trouble parting with for no reason other than because I care about the person who gave it to me, I’ll chuck it. Ask yourself, would I buy this item again? And if you spent literally zero time shopping for it, or you didn’t even buy it yourself, don’t spend any time deciding whether to keep it. It’s rare that I’ve ever actually used any of those things rather they’ve just decorated the inside of my junk drawer. Would I Buy It Again? (Did I Even Buy It the First Time?)įreebies that come in race day swag bags (like pens, stickers, single-serve drink mix packets, stress balls, keychains) usually fall into this category for me. But if you’ve got a massive jar of rubber bands, paper clips, and safety pins for securing race bibs ad infinitum, it’s probably okay to recycle some of those. So, for example, maybe this past winter you were injured and didn’t wear your $150 running tights for super cold weather. If you get stuck on whether to chuck something-for me this was debating whether I needed a backup of something-ask yourself if you could replace it for less than $20 and in under 20 minutes. Personally, I think race medal displays are peak running decor. Race officials typically provide collection bins near the course so those items can be donated. Keep an old spare jacket and a pair of sweatpants that you can easily part with when it’s time to de-layer in the race corral. (Read: Don’t trash your race spikes just yet.) And, here I’ll echo the words of gear editor Amanda Furrer.

There’s likely still items in your closet that you’ll need for the start line. Maybe you haven’t raced since 2020 or you’ve been injured. There’s one important caveat here: race day stuff. Chances are, if you barely wore it this winter, you won’t wear it next year either. Toss or donate right now what you didn’t wear this past season. I’d suggest that you start with gear from whichever season has most recently passed since that’s fresh in your mind. That’s why I prefer the one-year rule instead. In the winter, you’ll likely go more than three months without wearing shorts, but you’ll still need them for summer. I found the common “90-day rule” doesn’t quite work for runners. Ask, “Have I used it in the past year?”.The “rules” below are those that I’ve found most useful after months of research combined with my own personal experience. To help me-and you-through overthinking these tough areas, I have some tips. Morgan PetrunyĪ lot is easy to ditch or dump, but certain stuff is a struggle-especially sentimental items like race medals or gifts from runner friends and teammates. But I regularly wear all the pairs I’ve kept. Minimalism’s basic premise is that we’ll be happier and healthier people with less stuff, both material and mental, in our lives. Instead, the ideas and principles of Minimalism stuck with me, and I’m not talking about the barefoot running movement. (How the hell am I supposed to know if this roll of nipple tape “sparks joy”?) Marie Kondo’s decluttering and organizing KonMari method worked for me up to a certain point, but it had some shortcomings. I even turned my most memorable old race bibs into a giant abstract poster, and recycled the rest that were just collecting dust. I cleared out my favorite race tees and had them made into a quilt. Personally, I’ve struggled to part with dead GPS running watches long gone to Garmin heaven, overflowing dresser drawers of sentimental race tees, and even trainers with 700-plus miles that I “might still wear for just walking around.” Based on conversations with fellow runners, there’s a lot of people like me. Our sport doesn’t require much gear, but we runners still manage to accumulate a bunch of clutter.
