Me: I'm going to do a simplicity cleanse.
Brandy: Never heard of that one. If you want a REAL cleanse, go get a colonoscopy.
Something to that affect. After I explained what it actually was we both then LOL'd and actually laughed aloud in fits for about 5 minutes.
Anyway, Simplicity Cleanse. I found out about this from my favorite Better Homes & Gardens magazine (it really is the best) December 2011 issue. Check out this blog operationsimplicityblog.com. Joslyn Taylor is the creator and author and she had 2 goals in mind for 2011:
1) End 2011 with less stuff than she began with
and
2) Only purchase items she intends to keep for 5 years
I totally "get" her. She kept buying and buying stuff (clothes and items for her house) that she didn't Love and didn't utilize. So she decided to completely change her way of life. During her experiment she realized that buying higher quality items, gives you more value. For example instead of buying 3 pairs of shoes from Payless, she would "invest" in a higher brand shoe which in turn will last longer. Look for things with VALUE is what she impresses. Try to stay away from buying items that are "trendy" and will be out of style in a year or so.
I love this idea. I was looking for inspiration to scale down my wardrobe as well as the amount of stuff we have in this house. Now that I don't need my work clothes, I will be getting rid of a lot of pieces that I just won't wear anymore. Hopefully some of my favorites I can integrate in my everyday ready to wear clothes. I'm looking to scale down my wardrobe so that every single day of the week I can go to my closet and love what I'm putting on and not have to think about it. If I have to scale down to only 10 outfits....then so be it.
I also need to be cognizant of getting rid of clothes that may not be appropriate for an almost 30 year old Mom. It's time to be less trendy and buy items that I don't see all the college kids in town wearing. I really hate seeing 50 and 60 year old women dressing like their daughters with knee high boots, rhinestone jeans and such. Ick. I will not be that Mom.
As for the house....UGH. I still have boxes I haven't unpacked from the move. We have A LOT of stuff. All of us do: Joe, Evelyn, the dogs, and myself. It needs to go - I don't want to be a pack rat anymore!!! In the Dallas house we had tons of built in shelves all over so I had tons of tons of, for lack of a better term, Crap to put on said shelves. I don't love it, I hardly like some of the things, but it was better to have something up there than nothing at all. Well, we don't have any built ins in the new house, so low and behold that's an easy out for a lot of stuff.
This is not going to be an easy project, and it will not all be done in one swoop. I went through the closet last night and took out like 10 items. It's a start, but I definitely have more work to do.
So, I have created some action items to assist me in my Operation Simplicity:
- Try on every single article of clothing I own and take a picture of me wearing it. If I don't love it - I'm getting rid of it. If it doesn't wear well on me - I'm getting rid of it. If I'm on the fence about anything, I will call in a jury of my peers (Laura and Brandy since they live close) and force them to watch me try on everything and give me a "yay" or "nay".
- Go through the house room by room and get rid of everything I don't love. BUT, before getting rid of it - think if perhaps I would love it somewhere else in the house or maybe in a different color. It's amazing sometimes how a quick spray paint job can completely change an object.
- New purchases: Never buy anything new without "sleeping on it" whether it be clothes or a couch. If it's clothes - take a picture of myself in it; if it's a houseware make sure it's returnable if I get it home and don't like it.
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