Okay, so this is not my child buried under the heap of clothes, so don't call CPS!! I swear I'm not a hoarder, at least not bad enough to be on cable TV. But, when I look at this picture, it does represent the way I feel sometimes. I'm not exactly what you would call a domestic diva. My husband actually does more than his fair share of household duties. The mass of clothes just collects in the hamper and before I know it there are three loads ready for the washer. I think to myself, I swear I just did laundry yesterday. Before having a baby I could often get along okay with one laundry day a week. Now, I'm amazed at how many pieces of clothing we can dirty up in a day. Between bibs, burp clothes, work clothes, workout clothes, pajamas, and the occasional cloth diaper it can all add up really fast. So, in my quest for minimalism, I'm doing the unthinkable. I'm getting rid of as many shirts, skirts, pants, dresses and shoes (yes, even the shoes) as I can.
Really, I shouldn't let this first task scare me so much. After all, half of my clothes don't fit (between the maternity shirts and the jeans I wore in high school). All of my black collared work shirts look the exact same, so why do I need a dozen of them. My feet haven't felt the inside of my stiletto collection since before I was pregnant. Still, every time I have tried to do this the same excuses arise. Well if I get pregnant again I'll need that. Or, I know those lucky jeans are a size five but I'm starting that diet next week. Or, those shoes were on sale and they look so cute with that white dress I haven't worn in five years. The battle I fight with myself is relentless and the clothes always win. Instead I go to Wal-Mart and spend fifty dollars on plastic tubs and organizers. I wrestle all the old sweaters and skinny jeans into the over-sized bags, get the vacuum and suck out all the air, and throw them in my storage building...where they're never seen again anyways.
In this modern day it is sooo easy to over-accumulate. We are bombarded with advertising all day telling us that what we already have isn't good enough. They tell us to spend to stimulate the economy, to make life easier, to show off to our friends. Luxury items soon become necessities and it's hard to know when to draw the line. If I really want to make a real change in my life this is the first step. Most of these items I purchased out of desire...because I had a bad day or I saw it on TV. I don't need half of what I have, it is time to let go. I am purging my life. This will be my biggest challenge, but it will also be the most important one. This is the beginning of learning to go from excess to minimalist, from wasteful to eco-conscious. There are many household items I will purge, but I'm doing the closet first because I know this will be the hardest. It will force me to accept myself and be okay with my weight and my lifestyle. This is what I am whittling down to:
Four work shirts (I work at Starbucks, ninety percent of the time I am not scheduled more than three or four days in a row)
Three pairs of work pants
One pair of work shoes
Two good fitting pairs of jeans
Seven shirts of various styles (casual, dressy)
One nice pair of pants (black slacks)
One pair of flipflops (I can't do without these)
Two pairs of fancy shoes (there's still a possibility I can find my balance again)
Three workout shirts (One of my goals is to workout three days a week)
Three pairs of workout pants/shorts
One pair of good running shoes
A bathing suit
Four sets of pajamas
A heavy jacket
A light jacket
Two sweaters
Fourteen pairs of underwear (definitely not something I want to run out of before laundry day)
Two sets of lingerie
Three sports bras and three regular bras
Seven pairs of socks
Three dresses (for special events, church, weddings etc)
That's it!!! Cross your fingers and hope for the best because I'm diving in! : P
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