One In, One Out; Putting it in practice

So, I decided to give myself a break for the holidays before beginning my next spending challenge, but I promised myself this wouldn't turn into a spending free for all and undo all the hard work I had done at building better habits.  There was a sale at Ivy City Co. that I wanted to hit and there were a few offers that I wanted to look at, so I gave myself permission to do so while meticulously writing down each time I shopped and how much I spent.  If I hadn't been tracking my spending, I easily could have gone overboard, it's kind of my thing after all, but I stuck to a budget and ended up with five dresses--three new and two thrifted, plus a vintage bathrobe I've been searching for for years.  

After my little shopping trip and the gifts of the holidays, I knew I needed to follow the one in/one out rule and go through my things to get rid of one item of clothing for every new thing received.  For this post, I'll specifically be talking about the 5 things I got from the sales I mentioned.  I thought this was going to be really difficult since I have just done such a major clothing cleanout, but when I went out to my storage shed, I immediately pulled two dresses and a shirt from one bin that I knew I didn't love and wouldn't miss.  One dress has some sentimental value; it was a gift and a very sweet one too, but in the nearly 20 years that I have had it, it's never actually fit.  Another dress is one that I made myself a few years ago and I actually did a pretty good job.  It's a lovely dress, but I think I have outgrown the print which is why I've only worn it twice, so it can bring someone else joy.  

I still needed two more things and wasn't sure what I would do.  When I went back inside, I spent a little time thinking and realized I had another bin tucked away in the house and it was full of dresses by a certain brand that I like, but rarely reach for.  I don't know why I put all the dresses from this brand in one spot by themselves, but anyway, it made it easier to go through them.  I pulled all the dresses out and immediately saw one, which has a print that is rather grandmotherly and I'm not there yet, so into the donation bag it went.  I continued going through and set aside two more dresses that I felt so-so about, but decided to leave them for a day or two to think about and went to bed.

Then I found an absolutely gorgeous and totally expensive dream dress--which just happens to be the one I am wearing in this post.  I wasn't on my no spending challenge again yet, and it was definitely one of those impulsive, if-I-don't-buy-it-now-it-will-sell-out splurges, but I did it anyway.  Although I did make myself wait a whole day and night to think it over before purchasing.  Well, since it was such an expensive item, I decided to put two items in the giveaway bag as compensation bringing my total up to 7.  I selected a very old and well loved dress that truly was just ready to be retired, so that went into the garbage, and another dress that was in far better shape and that went into the donation bag. 

With my 7 items selected, yes, I did end up getting rid of both those maybe-pile dresses, I was now ready to receive the new dresses and have plenty of room for them in my wardrobe, although I did learn a little something in this process.  Even though I thought I had thoroughly cleaned out my closet, I learned that decluttering is an on-going process.  Tastes and interests change over time and even though I was very conscientious the first time through, I still have more than enough stuff and looking over everything a second, third, or even fourth time will only help me continue to weed out unwanted things.

More than anything, each time I get rid of the clutter, I feel relieved like a literal and metaphorical burden has been lifted.  It feels like my wardrobe is actually getting better each time instead of just bigger over time.  With winter on the way, I feel I should use my time spent indoors hiding from the cold to do another major cleanout and just go through everything again with a fine tooth comb.  Plus, with Christmas on the way, I would really love to bless others in this way.

Outfit Info:  Jam Cake Market Dress is from Free People, Shoes are from VIVAIA, Ring is from Unlogical Poem