Mindfulism: Maintaining the Clutter Free Home With One In/ One Out

I have spent all summer creating a home space that I actually want to spend time in, and a big part of that was decluttering and making sure that everything had a place and plenty of space.  To that end, I have asked my family to join me in adopting the one in/one out rule.  In this way, every time we buy something new, we get rid of something else.  

Recently I have been taking a long hard look at my wardrobe, especially as I have been going through everything and looking for items that just don't fit into my life or style anymore and I have found myself with a craving for certain fabrics and colors over others.  Have you ever heard of a fabric craving?  I'm not sure I have, but I feel certain I'm not unique, so they must exist in others as well.  Whatever the case, I have had a craving for all things cotton.  I just carve comfort right now, and cotton seems to be the fabric that brings it.  It's also getting harder and harder to find cotton clothes as everything moves over to cheap synthetic materials.  

I know I've touched on this already, but it seems more and more like my life is heading in a different direction and my whimsical wardrobe isn't really welcome there.  Neither are my short skirts; I'm over 40 and sagging knees are not something I want to showcase.  Things are changing, and while I still love all the beautiful things in my wardrobe, I don't think I really love them on me anymore.  I think I would be happier seeing them on someone younger and with a different life.

At this point you may be wondering where I am going with all this, so I'll jump ahead to the point.  As I have been whittling down my wardrobe, I have been doing a lot of getting rid, but a little replacing as well.  I found a place on Ebay that does Target deals.  I haven't shopped at Target in nearly a decade because I don't like their attitude, but I didn't figure out these were Target pieces until later, so I've forgiven myself for my ignorance.  So, this place on Ebay was offering these pieces for about $10 each and they had a special of buy 3 get one free.  So, you know, I did.  And then I promptly went out into my storage and selected one sweater, two dresses, and one jacket to give away.  One in/one out for each thing.

Now, this isn't a set in stone rule of one in/one out, but personally, I try to chose my outgoing items to be things of equal size.  So, for example, I'm not going to buy a new coat and give away a brooch.  The idea is to prevent clutter after all, so it only makes sense to get rid of things that fill up roughly the same space as the new items.  As far as mindfulness goes, this really is a great task because it forces me to pay attention after I've made my purchase in order to find an item to give away and ultimately it will help me to think ahead when I'm making a purchase as to whether or not I want to get rid of anything to make room for this new thing.

My wardrobe got a little make over for $35, someone else out there will likely get the same with the four pieces I donated to compensate for my purchase, and my storage space broke even.  I know this isn't the end game here.  One in/one out is maintenance level stuff, but the real work that has to be done for me and my family is cutting spending in general.  So, let's discuss that in another post.

Shopping Info: Handkerchief dress by Universal Threads on Ebay, doll ring from Unlogical Poem, black top by Collectiflondon