My self imposed ban on buying clothes has been going for 8 months now and so far so good. It’s really focusing me on what I actually need versus what I want, and I feel much better for it.
Ever since I can remember I’ve had too many clothes; some unworn and some too small. Not anymore. I’ve finally took the plunge and cleared them all out. Last year I made half an attempt at reducing and simplifying my wardrobe, now I’ve gone even further.
This morning I had 67 items of clothing, (not including coats, swimwear, scarfs and underwear) now I only have 29. I’ve basically left myself with a small work collection and a small casual collection. Time will tell if I’ve gone too far, or not far enough!
Work:
- 9 Assorted Tops
- 2 Suits
Casual:
- 2 Jeans
- 2 Linen Trousers
- 3 Ribbed Gap Jumpers
- 4 Gap Sailor T’s
- 3 Gap L/S T’s
- 1 Vest top
- 1 Pair Black Evening Trousers
- 2 Evening Tops
What do you think? Do you think this is still too many or have I gone too far? Please let me know.
{photo credit: hey mr glen}
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No dresses or special outfits?
To me, it sounds fine as a very bare bones closet. You are going to get a bit bored, I think with only a couple of Ts and some evening tops. Even *I* am not that minimalist.. I probably have triple or bajillion-iple what you do just because I love variety.
But it’s sufficient for living and working, in my opinion.
Hi fb, no, no dresses; I’ve always been a t-shirt/jeans person, no variety, so I won’t get bored with them.
I feel myself getting more and more minimalist, I love your apartment! I think I could quite happily live in a studio, but no room for the kids
I’m going to do a post on studio/hotel living soon.
I agree with FB, it is sufficient for living and working. I love jeans though…so I think I would of had 4 pair of jeans to that list.
Last night I just decluttered my closet to rid of about 50%. I would have rid of more but hubby decided to pop in to see what I was doing. Most of those clothes were ones he bought me (but I rarely wear) and I didn’t want to crush his feelings. So, I will wait til later to rid.
I just woke up the other morning and wanted to throw out my clothes in the closet. LOL. I think its just time for a change. I didn’t completely do it to be minimalistic. Now, I just need the $ to buy new pieces. ha.
So, now that I have decluttered the bookcase, my closets and drawers, a big cupboard… I am going for the linen closet and my daughter’s room this weekend. After that, maybe the kitchen (I dislike how all the pan are shoved in our cupboard). I feel like I am nesting but with no child on the way.
What are your plans next? Do you feel the minimalistic approach as you pay down more and more debt? I do. I think I am realizing that the $ attached to having stuff is not what my life is all about (aka – keeping up w/ the Joneses).
But after all the declutter I found nothing worthy on my part to sell on ebay and make a buck! lol.
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Money Funk´s last blog ..Player Highlights
Hello – just rediscovered you blogging again. For some bizarre reason it wasn’t updating on my reader?!?
Anyways…! I’m really impressed with the cull though I agree with Fabulously Broke that the worry is you’ll get a bit bored? Though Gok Wan agrees with you that for a capsule wardrobe you only need 20+ pieces so maybe you’re on to something
My fear with doing that is I’d want to fill up all that empty space again
xx
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kat´s last blog ..Review : An Outrageous Affair – Penny Vincenzi
Hi Christine..eBaying some clothes right now. I’m determined to reach my challenge this month
Hi Kat, i won’t get bore: since I jumped off (just about) the consumer bandwagon, clothes buying in general has not bothered me…also when you get as old as me, lol, it’s not so difficult. If I was in my twenties I would probably not be able to do it
Bloody brilliant I say. I am reducing mine too. although its not gone as far as that. Not that I am counting things either. But I aspire to being that minimal. I reckon its the way forward. I certainly only have a few ‘looks’ now and I am not getting bored with it. In fact I find it really really liberating. I would like to have better quality stuff, so I hanker after finer fabrics, but I don’t feel the need for variety at all. And I used to. A LOT. I only wear shades of denim type blue, navy, black, grey and a sort of natural / taupe type of colour. I have one colour apart from that which is pink. But I don’t wear it much. I am in love with muji and comptoir des cotoniers now.
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mo´s last blog ..launching my etsy
hi laura,
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thanks for letting me know about simply breakfast in easy living mag. i had no idea! do you know what month it is in?
jen´s last blog ..more sweet relief.
WOW – 29 pieces? I gulped when I saw that figure.. If you can work with it, go with it… I admire you.. I have too many clothes, but they fit the ’smaller’ me and I don’t want to chuck them out until I find her again!
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apieceofwood´s last blog ..Protected: I am slightly nervous
I am the same as apieceofwood- though I could imagine becoming more minimal when I am at my ideal weight- definitely as I slim down, the “fat” clothes will go.
Well done you, though! Packing will be a lot easier!
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RML – Being More Through Having Less´s last blog ..September Goals
Hi apieceofwood and RML, I’m wondering if now that I’ve got rid of my ’small’ clothes I might actually lose some weight!
I’ve kept hold of smaller stuff for so long and not lost any, perhaps psychologically, the weight will fall off now!! …of course I’ll have to buy new ones then
Wow – I am impressed how much you’ve done! I’m always a bit torn abut this. I love the idea of a small simple wardrobe but then I find something buried in a drawer, see it in a new light and am glad I kept it. That said, I’ve got rid of three or maybe four binbags of clothes this year and definitely feel better for it. And I haven’t regretted getting rid of a single item so far!
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Shoestring´s last blog ..Blustery days
OMG, 29 items – that is seriously hardcore, Laura!! I’m very impressed. Thought a bit worried you may have over-decluttered a little bit. I could never go that far myself, I don’t think, though I totally need to reduce the amount of clothes I’ve got. I can’t resist a charity shop/bootsale bargain, and I also have a massive pile of ‘when I get a bit thinnner ….’ clothes as well. Yes, I need to have a sort out.
wow, i’m impressed! i’ve been trying to downsize my wardrobe, too, but I’m not doing so hot. thanks for the inspiration!
D
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Shopaholic D´s last blog ..Pop of Color-icious
Thanks Shoestring and Caroline…I’ll let you all know how it goes over the coming months
Hi Shopaholic and thank you for visiting, good luck with your downsizing
I am seriously inspired by your post. It’s a job I’ve been meaning to get around to, and this is validation that not only can it be done, it can feel good too!
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kath´s last blog ..Hey, Bobby, are you asleep?…
Hi Kath; thank you for visiting. It feels great so far, I’m now turning my attention to the whole house
Wow! That really is a radical clear-out. I wish I had the confidence to do that, rather than just ditching a couple of pieces at a time. I’m intrigued to see how you’ll feel about it in a few weeks – liberated or keen to top up with a couple of fresh items.?
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Alexis´s last blog ..Hobbs In A Huff
Everytime I read some guy’s description of how he’s cut down on his wardrobe, I roll my eyes and think to myself, “A girl could never do that.” You just soundly proved me wrong. I’ve been looking into a minimalist lifestyle for a while and my big hang-up was the lack of clothing. I grew up in an affluent community and have been expected to dress well all my life. I’m not saying that I would ever cut down to 29 (props for the number) but the fact that a woman can says a lot.
Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.
29 articles?!!
Holy crap… I think I have 29 pairs of pants ALONE. (I KNOW that I have at least 4 months worth of just T-shirts – not counting dress shirts or casual tops….)
I was looking at just reducing my wardrobe by 50% – now you’ve got me thinking that I should go to 75%. I mean, when I think about it – I typically just wear the same two weeks worth of clothes in the summer and then a different two weeks worth of clothes in the winter – I have PILES of clothes that I haven’t even LOOKED at since moving into my apartment a year and nine months ago – yes, you definitely have me thinking!
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SS4BC´s last blog ..Tidbits and Miscellaneous
Hello Laura!
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Catching my reading here.
I´d love to declutter my wardrobe and be able to have nearly the same items you have, just a few more. I have a few dresses and leather jackets that are precious items, although I don´t wear them much.
The fact is I have many clothes but I keep wearing the same over and over…
Recently, I lost over 15 kg and now most clothes don´t fit me, a great time to make a “revolution” on my wardrobe. The problem is I´ll have to buy new things if I don´t want to look like a clown in XXL clothes.
I wonder if I could sell those clothes… In Faro there are no second hand clothes stores and Portuguese don´t have the habit of doing garage sales.
Hugs, from your Portuguese friend,
Mizé
Mizé´s last blog ..E-mail Marketing
OMG you are my hero… I don’t think I ever could never scale down to the degree that you have! However I must say that by looking at your list I see just how over indulgent I have been in most instances. 99% of the time I buy at thift shops or on serious clearance, but I still have way too much stuff. So thanks for being an inspiration to downsize more in the coming months!