Way back here I rather piously blogged about decluttering my wardrobe. Then here I made an inventory of all my clothes. Then I went and hid in the corner for a while and now I am back on the wagon.
For most of us decluttering is an ongoing process. Most of us have accumulated so much stuff that it just cannot be excised in a flash. There is also a psychological and emotional element. Much as we want to let go it is hard, or at least it is at first. Believe me, it becomes much, much easier with time.
For charity
For Ebay
This is the latest wardrobe cull. Six months ago I could never have believed I would be getting rid of these items, but I have learned that I don’t wear them. I don’t wear them because I don’t know they are there, I don’t wear them because either they don’t feel right, or my lifestyle no longer needs them. And therefore I don’t need them either.
This afternoon I am going through the t-shirts and accessories and then tomorrow I will do a new inventory. It has not been all one way. I have bought clothes. The clothes I have bought have all been similar in style, cotton jersey/bamboo/linen and very relaxed and easy to wear. Easy mix and match and easy to layer. I have noticed a general trend towards similar colours and no patterns on my main items, using scarves and jewellery to add colour.
My next step is to start making my own clothes using ethically sourced natural fabrics. I have made up a few toiles and am waiting for the first fabrics to arrive. I’m no great seamstress, so it is fortunate I don’t need to wear a fully fitted suit every day. But fortunately I can make the kind of simple clothes I do like to wear, and like the food I make or grow myself I know where it has come from and how it was made.
one pair of shoes at a time 
Ah, your pix remind me of what I went through for my first downsizing. (Thanks to the mover’s care [sic], I still have two rooms that look like that…)
Time to put it all out Roy! Bag it and move it out 🙂
Gillie, me too! I have edited my closet so many times within the past year that I didn’t think I had anything that I wasn’t wearing. But I did! Recently I boxed up and gave away another big stack of things that six months ago I could never have believed I would be getting rid of, but I have learned that I don’t wear them.
It’s so refreshing isn’t it?
Hey Gillie! I’m in the middle of a Lenten De-Cluttering challenge, myself, and I think about you and your mad de-cluttering skills EVERY SINGLE DAY. You’re my hero!
I’ve been thinking about you too. You are doing a brilliant job!
It’s taken me 15 years to move from the “age of accumulation” to the “age of subtraction” – don’t beat yourself up about it!! My 15 years included two house moves, too. Only now do I feel I’m getting somewhere and have made progress on not constantly introducing more, it’s a gradual thing!! Over the years I have become a lot less attached to my belongings, even my books (!!) and I feel all the happier for it and for having a different emphasis in my life. My two elder daughters have done very well so it’s just the youngest (18) who needs some attitude adjustment, now (and my husband has also been late on board but is totally with it, now, yay!!)…
I’m not beating myself up about it, just shocked (and pleasantly surprised) at how much I thought I needed to keep in the first round which I am quite happy to dispatch in the second!
I don’t shop, aside from food, really…and yet I never seem to run out of things that can be donated. Funny how that works. And someday I hope to have a wardrobe of only garments I’ve sewn. I only use fabric from second-hand stores. I can’t say where it originally came from, but I don’t buy new. Good luck as you keep on truckin’ down this road to less!
I am starting the second round of Project 333 this week, and I can see all of the things that I chose for the first round that I HAVEN’T worn. And yet I’m still reluctant to part with a few of them because what if I want them next year?I’ve let go of a lot, and I honestly haven’t missed any of it. So what am I having a hard time now? I have also added things to my closet this past winter without subtracting anything. I shouldn’t be doing that. I’m hoping that as I go through my clothes this week to get ready for the next three months, I’ll get my motivation back.
I’m still keeping track of what I wear and there is a big theme going on. There is a look to which I aspire and a look I love and with which I feel comfortable….