Working Toward a Minimalist Closet

One popular minimalist tenet is “one in, one out.”  When you buy something new and bring it into your home, you give away one similar thing.  Buy a new dress, give away one dress.  That way you never increase the amount of things in your house. I’ve always liked that idea.  But since I still have more clothes (and shoes, and jewelry, and books) than I want to have, I’ve decided to try a “one in, two out” system!

 

But let’s back track here a minute.  Why go more minimalist? Why reduce?  Eventually my husband and I would like to retire and downsize.  I’d like to have a smaller but harder working wardrobe, full of things that fit and flatter and mix and match together.  Full of pieces that I REALLY LOVE to wear!

And when I say minimalist, I think that idea is definitely a sliding scale.  I’ll never be someone with only 30 pieces of clothing. My goal is to fit all my clothes into one closet some day! Right now, I have a full walk-in closet (with a designed closet system), plus a large rolling rack in the spare room, along with a coat closet full of coats and jackets.  So, like I said .. the idea of minimalism is all relative!

Side note: that photo above is the one (and only) part of my closet that currently looks somewhat minimalist.

So, yeah, I still have a lot of clothes. I’ve been blessed having a hobby that occasionally gives me free clothing.  I’ve been gifted many fabulous things. I’ve also bought my fair share.  And don’t get me wrong, I still love clothes and I still love to shop.  But I’ve decided to pare down, go more basic, more versatile …

I’ve always loved the idea of luxury and abundance.  But in my life right now, luxury and abundance isn’t the designer “it” item of the moment.  Right now, luxury and abundance means having pieces that actually really work with my lifestyle, pieces that fit and flatter, pieces that are well-made and that I can feel good about buying and owning.

For me, using my new “one in, two out” formula is doing several important things.  First of all, I’m not doing impulse buying. I’m thinking more carefully about what I have and what I need.  Let’s face it, a lot of bloggers make money by encouraging impulse buying and instead, I’d like to encourage you (and myself) to spend money wisely and make good choices.

I brought home a new pair of jeans recently (these jeans, which I love) and out went two old pairs that I seldom wear anymore.  It felt good.  I made a smart purchase and my closet is actually one item smaller. Progress, not perfection, is always my goal.

I have a past blog post that gives a lot of great idea for a closet clean out which frankly, I probably need to reread myself.

Have you ever used the “one in, one out” technique? Let us know in the comments!

Side note: Since I’ve stopped doing collaborations (for now!), I’m really not making any money of the blog.  So I REALLY appreciate whenever my sweet readers use a link from my blog to buy anything (and it doesn’t have to be what I suggested even)!  That small commission helps me pay for the web hosting, business license, etc.

Thanks Dear Readers! And have a wonderful week!

 

Fun & Fashion,

Dawn Lucy