Ask:
Being a stay at home mom, my uniform is tshirts and jeans. I have about 2 pair of dress pants and 4 dressy shirts, 2 black skirts. I want to keep an outfit for a funeral(god forbid), but my dh never go out to fancy restaurants where formal attire is required. Do any of you have advice on this? I don't want to clutter my closet w/ stuff I won't wear but once a year, but would like to have an outfit if the need should arise. My closet is one of those freestanding things (3'w x 18"d) until we move upstairs and that one isn't much bigger.
Answer:
What you have in terms of dressy clothes seems like a reasonable amount if you can find the space for it. One other idea is just to go down to one pair of black dress pants and one black skirt if they are similar in style. You might even be able to sell the other things and make some money.
I keep all my dressy wear (one long black skirt, one at the knee black skirt, one black dress, and two dress shirts) in a garment bag at the back of my closet in case I need it. Even if you have an extra closet in the house or a storage room where you could hang a garment bag for when you need these things, that might help free up some space for you.
Answer:
I was a skeptic but I finally broke down and bought a couple of those 'space bags' advertised on TV. I packed up my out of season clothes and suits (since I am now SAHM, I won't be needing those!) Anyway, they work great! Now I have about five of them compressed and hidden under my bed. They have them at Linen's & Things, if you have one in your area, and look for their 20% off coupons to save a little cash.