Image Credit: theproject333.com

As some of you may know, I love my friend Megan’s blog, Freckled Italian.

She has a series called “What I Wore” that I love. Her style is amazing!

Back in July, she published an awesome post! Check it out: What I Wore 51: Restyling Old Clothes

In this post, Megan talked about the concept of a “capsule wardrobe.”

I’ve been curious about this for a while. So, I Googled it. So many links, and photos!

• How To Create A Capsule Wardrobe
• INTO MIND – Personal Style, Minimalism & The Perfect Wardrobe
• 7 Simplicity Quotes and Images to Inspire Your Capsule Wardrobe
• 8 Tips to Help You Find Your Personal Style
• 7 Questions to Ask When Cleaning Out Your Closet
• Free Wardrobe Planner – Unfancy
• How to create a capsule wardrobe (and simplify your life) – TODAY Style
• Why I Got Rid of My Wardrobe

All of these links were super interesting, but they center around one concept:

Less is definitely more.

Right now, I struggle immensely with the sheer amount of clothes and shoes that I have. Like Megan has expressed in her posts and comments, I do like getting rid of things to reduce clutter, but I always find myself debating whether or not I will ever use that particular item ever again. It’s tough!

Thanks to Megan, I bought a book titled The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. I’m so glad I bought this book at this point in my life. I’m starting to read it now, and as I read, I will be applying it to getting ready to combine my life with Al’s, and then when we combine our lives when we marry, and then apply it again when we get our own house!

Watch for a book review on that one!

Anyway, back to this capsule wardrobe concept.

I like the idea of setting a number of items that you have. It forces you to look really hard at what you have, and make some hard decisions.

Thinking of my closet right now, it’s organized, but it feels like it’s busting at the seams, particularly with shoes!

On top of my closet, I have NINE dresser drawers that are full, containing everything from T-shirts to jeans to workout clothes, and everything in between.

On top of all that, I have a huge 66-quart storage bin in my parents’ storeroom that has most of my fall/winter clothes!

Whew! I’m exhausted already!

As I read through The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I am going to evaluate every piece of clothing and every pair of shoes that I own. I am also going to do the same thing with jewelry.

I have a bunch of bags and boxes ready to donate to various local charities, with a particular focus on Blankets For The Homeless, and I hope this journey will only add to that. I want to help as many people as possible.

Everything else that doesn’t directly benefit the local homeless, that’s all going to Goodwill.

Look for a follow-up post soon!

I look forward to this journey – I feel lighter just thinking about it.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂