Thursday 11 April 2013

A Personal Challenge

Earlier this year I completed a personal challenge to stop buying things just for the sake of buying them. 3 months on and I'm happy to say that I am still feeling comfortable making do with what I have & have been able to control the urges to shop. My focus these days are on experiences not possessions.

Before however if I took a fancy to something it was brought home. I have always had a bent for clothes that are retro inspired especially anything from the 70's or British Mod 60's. But to be honest I was a bower bird. If it was brightly coloured, sequined, patterned, feathered, fluffy, textural, shiny, fuzzy or just plain silly I'd buy it. I have a very large dress-up box full of bizarre eclectic creations.

I was chatting with a friend the other day and she told me a story of watching a largely over weight man eating a cream filled bun. She watched the man eating it and realised that he wasn't even enjoying the experience. Food meant nothing to him. I realised for a long time I used to be this way with shopping. It was something I just did to fill the void.

When I do purchase something to live in my wardrobe now it has to be spectacular, fit me perfectly and make me feel amazing. Now that I have those parameters in my mind when I do finally bring something into my wardrobe I know it will be there for a long time and get a lot of use.

In saying that I still have to live with the gluttony of my past excess. I'm not proud of it, but I currently have more clothes than I need or even use. I estimated that I could wear a new piece of clothing every day & never repeat any for more than 2 years. My clothes live in more than one room in my house. When I look at all the clothes I own I realise that I only wear a small percentage on a regular basis. Most just hang on their hangers looking pretty.

I've decided that I need to shed my old skin & embark on another challenge: to halve my current wardrobe. This is not going to be easy but if I chip away at it constantly it shouldn't be too daunting. For the pieces that I cherish but just never wear I'm hoping I can let go and donate or give away to loving homes. Hoping by the end of this challenge I can see the holes in my wardrobe more clearly and have promised to let myself splurge on some new treasures.

I'm looking forward to being able to look in my wardrobe and only see pieces that I love or need. Its time to banish the bad choices from my life and move on. In saying that I still don't think I can give away my canary yellow fur coat.

Any helpful hints and suggestions on how I can do this is more than welcome!

4 comments:

  1. Garage sale.

    Then you can recoup some of your costs... and put it to something you really really want!

    Moe x

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    1. A Brilliant idea Moe, thank you. I havent ever organised a garage sale though is it hard?

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  2. I read about the 'backwards hanger' technique the other day and it sounds like a good one! http://lifehacker.com/5502694/weed-out-the-clothes-you-dont-wear-with-a-simple-hanger-trick

    Good luck with your challenge. :)

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    1. Thanks Laurenlou, that is a great tip! x

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