I had a really great idea for Week Three of downsizing my wardrobe. I decided to enlist the help of one of my friends!
As promised, here is another update on what I accomplished in my real closet clear out.
Truly, posting about this is holding me accountable… but don’t worry, I am not going to start blogging about laundry and dusting for motivation. Yet.
I am relieved to learn that I am not the only one who feels overwhelmed by their personal closet!
With that said, I have decided to document downsizing my wardrobe. I’m not going to promise that I will be able to guide you through your journey BUT, hopefully inspire you to get started!
I don’t really want to post a picture of my closet. However, it’s probably necessary.
This is how I started out Week One…
I like to travel, for the most part. When I was younger I loved packing for a trip. I would have my suitcase open in my bedroom a week prior as if to prolong the vacation experience. I would pack and unpack and carefully arrange things while daydreaming of the fun that was about to happen. Now, packing is the worst part- yet I have it down to a science. I have come to the conclusion that I could pretty much survive any trip with 2 shirts, denim, and a cardigan. So I start with that and go from there. This ability and desire to wear just a couple of my favorite pieces when I go out of town really makes me think that I could benefit from a minimalist wardrobe.
For as long as I can remember, I have desired to only own my favorite things. I want to open my closet and instead of choosing the shirt, dress, sweater that I hate the least that day, be overwhelmed because I want to wear everything right now!
I’m also the person who won’t wear my most favorite shirt because I don’t want to ruin it.
Streamlining my wardrobe has always been a dream, but making it a reality is something I have been putting off. I have read the magical decluttering books and believe me, they have helped. Also, selling clothes online with apps like Poshmark has been a huge motivator. But I think the time has come to REALLY do this.
In case you are wondering what my point is in doing this… here’s what I want to see happen…
I am not sure when I became a person who can’t make a simple decision between Consign, List, or Donate.
I mean there are ONLY three options!
Let me back up… I am going to make a huge confession that is one of my biggest struggles as a seller on Poshmark:
The stacks and bins of clothing that consume my personal space!
Typically I can make immediate firm decisions; I usually have a strong opinion before a question is even posed.
But when it comes to clothing- that’s where it ends. True story… I got back from Vegas almost 2 weeks ago and there is this pile of clean clothes that I didn’t wear that I unpacked from my suitcase. This stack has been living in my desk chair. Every morning I have made my bed and then transferred this stack to my bed with the shallow promise that I will put it away. Come bedtime, I remove the stack and return it to the desk chair. Read more
If you follow the Gray Asparagus on Instagram you have probably picked up on a bit about my personality and what I love.
There you will find pictures of cats, my succulent collection, and of course books.
I have been trying to determine how to incorporate more of my passions into this blog.
If you are like me, you may have a love-hate for New Years Resolutions. You might say I have resolution reservations.
I love the idea of starting over and starting fresh. The New Year means a new beginning! Right?
And I think we can all agree that closing the door on 2016 is definitely something to celebrate!!!
When the new year approaches I will ceremoniously make a list of all the things I want to accomplish or change in the coming year. I do this knowing good and well that I WON’T in fact…
Work out everyday!
Drink more water!
Save $ !
Yet, I go in with blind ambition thinking this is definitely the year. I say this not to set myself up for failure in 2017… actually the opposite. Looking back at my list from 2016, I realize I did quite well… I made major strides to achieve most of the goals on my list.
I never really had hobbies growing up… unless you count daydreaming. I was really good at that!
During school, I was far from athletic. Although I dabbled here and there in a few sports, I never committed for too long.
Then there was the time I decided to join band and picked up the trumpet. I immediately put it back down because there was NO WAY I was going to a band festival and playing in front of people.
I have no regrets about not continuing in sports- I would not have gone pro or received a scholarship (not being negative- just being a realist)… Sometimes I wish I had stuck with band but maybe gone with the piano or something more useful. If you are a party and there is a piano in the corner you can always sit down and start playing- you are sure to instantly have an audience and probably a few admirers. Although the trumpet is a powerful, amazing instrument, there has never been a scene in a Hallmark movie where a dude starts playing Christmas Carols on the trumpet and gets the girl. Anyway…
So here I am in my thirties…
There is an overwhelming obsession in magazines and blogs to find out “What’s in her bag!” Typically it is a celebrity or other woman-of-the-moment.
I can remember being in high school and reading Seventeen Magazine (or was it YM?) and there was a supermodel who was sharing the contents of her bag. Unfortunately I have no clue who it was. What stuck out to me was how vastly different her bag was from my own. She had chapstick (check!) , a wallet with important cards (check!), a disc-man and favorite CDs (hmmmm), and a white t-shirt (WHAT??). She went on to describe that of course she needed that white t-shirt because you never knew when you needed a white t-shirt. The shirt she had was probably worth more than my whole purse and contents. I wanted to be that cool but couldn’t bring myself to actually stick a white t-shirt in my bag. sigh.
I didn’t need a white t-shirt.
I promise this is not a lame fashion post about tired topics like “What to wear to the BBQ this weekend!” or “How to look effortless during festival season!” I mean, really? Well, you might still find it lame but whatever.
Like most of us, I have a full closet. I also suffer from “I have nothing to wear.” For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to have a small selection of only my favorites. A few pieces that when I open my closet door I get overwhelmed because I want to wear everything THAT DAY.
Days I have felt that way so far? zero.
I hated everything. I used to buy tops just to wear them once or twice and end up despising them for whatever reason. I spent too much money at LOFT and then never wore what I purchased. Normally I would hate the way they felt or the fit was wrong but I loved owning them and liked having them hanging around in my closet.
Recently (within the past few years) my mind has been completely blown as I discovered a few things about clothing (and myself). If I could go back in time- this is what I would have sat down and told myself over a cup of coffee.