Friday, March 29, 2013

Purging my closet....being creative, not consuming.....


Before we moved to a different city a year and a half ago, I had a busting at the seams closet!  And you know what?  I had NOTHING to wear!!  How can a woman have so many clothes and nothing to wear???

Well, probably because when I opened my closet, my eyes had nowhere to rest.  Just a riot of fabric and colors and clothes that don't fit, or that I'm iffy about, or I bought because I thrifted it cheap.  The last one is a huge lesson I've learned...thrift like you retail....if you don't love it, I don't care if they're GIVING it to you, DON'T take it!

Anyway, beyond shopping secondhand first, I also want to make the most of the space and the clothes I have.  Over the past year and a half, I've seriously purged.  And I continue to purge!




Whenever I open my closet and see something for which I've lost that loving feeling....it's GONE!  And I mean GONE!  I'm brutal about this.  I want to open my closet and see nothing but items I aboslutely love!!  If I love the item, I can create a look I love...pretty hard to do when I'm apathetic about my clothes.


I've even paired down my leather skirts!  I have given up a couple because they no longer fit.  I didn't think I had really lost weight, but the two I've purged just didn't hug my hips the way I think pencil skirts should.  Soooooo....those skirts went into a project in which I used them to cover my dining chairs! More on that in another post, but I have to tell you, I feel pretty uptown with my suede cushioned chairs!!!


If you can believe it, I've even pared down my shoes!  I truly LOVE my boots and so I've lined them up on the floor of my closet and rolled up magazines to put in them to help them remain aright.  And by the way, remember this post about lusting after the Nine West Harper boot that retailed for $250?  Well about a month ago, I checked out the site and it was on clearance for $60!!  They didn't have the reddish brown color in my size, so I hopped on the blond leather and actually find it more wearable than the darker!!

I counted up all of the items in my closet, including shoes, boots and coats and also counted in cotton tee shirts and I came up with 84 items.

I love the idea of being creative with my wardrobe - of creating multiple looks out of the same item.  Have you seen The LBD experiment?  It completely inspires me to use my creativity and not my credit card to put together fabulous looks.  Like I mentioned on Bella's blog, my aim is to be a creative woman, not a consuming one!  

Have you ever counted the number of items you have in your closet?  Are you cool with it?

Before I let you go....don't forget to check out Bella's shop for some fresh picked vintage goodies, Terri's offerings for some of the most unique items I've ever seen,  and my ebay store...I'm running a crazy sale right now!!  Oh!  And I almost forgot!  My aunt is selling some beautiful new Doncaster items in larger sizes....gorgeous career clothing!


Photobucket

18 comments:

  1. Wow...thats a big closet edit. I need to do one soon too. How is we have so much but nothing to wear?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisa! It's so true!! I had less to wear when my closet was packed!!

      Delete
  2. Wow Serene - this is serious! So organised, and brutal too! I'm rubbish at giving away clothes and tend to keep everything but I need to do some purging too as my closet is well overstuffed. I can't see wood for trees, but I actually still love a large proportion of it. I have counted everything, the result was why I started my blog - I think my number would shock you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's right! I remember reading about your chronicling of your wardrobe...did you enumerate it back then? I've gotta be hone, girly, you have some of the most beautiful clothes!! If I had your closet, it would be hard for me to purge too!

      Delete
  3. Hi Serene...you need a visit to SA to help me with my closet...then we will go to the Riverwalk for lunch!! I really like your new blog design...it looks great. Especially the header! Have a great weekend...I will check out all of these ebay shops!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pam, oh my gosh!!! Wouldn't that be a blast?! We would have the BEST time!!!

      Delete
  4. Your closet looks great. I like all your boots - what an interesting pair on the end of the row. And I see my favorite Turquoise Leather skirt right there in the middle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beryl, those are a pair of Seychelles that one of my sons bought for me this past summer. He found them at a consignment store and said they reminded him of me! Sooooo special to me! That turquoise skirt is one of the few things I own that I would snag on the way out of a burning building!! LOL

      Delete
  5. Wow, that was a major accomplishment, Serene. Your closet looks so streamlines. If I count my shoes and tees, I probably have well over 100 pieces, but not close to 200. I am doing much better at not buying things I don't *love*. Always great to read a post by you, dear Serene xoxoxoxoxo

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow. I am currently doing a purge but you've inspired me to be more brutal. I have too many clothes and its ridiculous.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Serene,I've purged my closet many times already and I love to pair down and organize its contets.I've manazed to go by with less than 20 items.I'm on the filling up stage again but I'm way more selective than before.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just did a huge intake of breath and exclaimed, "TWENTY ITEMS!!!" That's like my dream I can't make myself do in real life. Did you post about that? Debbie @ ilovemylemonadelife.com

      Delete
  8. By the way your closet looks ...well serene.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Excellent post, Serene--I see you did keep that fabulous aqua leather skirt!!
    I've been purging as some stuff is too big. Plus I'm using Vix's mantra--if you don't LOVE it... out it goes!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great post. I love your boot collection.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love youse! I need to organize but have spent so much time (and space) on the shop's wardrobe I neglect my own. I love the visual of your leather skirt collection. Just the fact that there's a collection is so cool, and that turquoise one is an all time fave for me.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Creative, not consuming. I like that. I always feel better when I come up with something that doesn't require buying something. I have actually tried counting my items. I've toyed with the idea of limiting myself to a certain number. But, since I've opened a thrift store, I've sort of thrown that idea out the window! But I have noticed that having access to so many clothes is helping me to see what I really like and knowing clothes are inexpensive to come by helps me to toss what is not working. Debbie @ ilovemylemonadelife.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lucky Club Casino Site Review
    Lucky Club Casino is a modern online casino offering the latest and greatest games in a vibrant UK online casino community. Enjoy our casino games from  Rating: 4 luckyclub.live · ‎Review by luckyclub.live

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! ~Serene