The other day, I found myself sitting (unexpectedly) at Firestone Auto Care waiting for my car to be looked at. After checking emails, and fiddling around on my phone, I turned to their magazine collection and picked up the March 2014 issue of Ladies Home Journal.
That was a great decision, a fantastic decision. And let me tell you why.
While thumbing through, I came across the article "The Joys of Living Small: Three Families Share Their Tiny Houses" (read it here). Thinking it was an article about designing for small spaces, I naturally started reading, and I can tell you it wasn't about designing for small spaces. It was about so much more, and truly got me thinking.
I have always had a knack for organizing, a love for purging unused items. Yet I continue to have a lot of stuff. If you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, you probably have read about my many challenges I've attempted to curve my spending: my Post-Birthday Shopping Challenge, my Fit2Shop Challenge, and my most recent No Shopping In February Challenge. But this Ladies Home Journal article, and the subsequent research and blog-reading I did, has got me thinking about why these challenges haven't helped my habit.
In the article, Dave Bruno's 100 Thing Challenge was mentioned. Curious, I typed it into google, and came across his blog and information about his book. Fired up about the negative effects of consumerism here in the United States and the ability to fight it by leading a simple life, the words on his blog by both him and his contributors lept off the page right at me. (literally, I swear! lol). I got to thinking about why I like clothes, why I like to shop. I got to thinking about how I don't want to be in debt for the rest of my life, how I don't want to pass down negative traits to my (very future) children. I thought about how I want to be able to afford travel & experiences for both myself now, and in the future.
"Temporary and fleeting things..." is a compelling way of wording it...
(Take a look at Dave Bruno's blog here, watch his TedTalk here, and read another blogger's version of the challenge here.)
Additionally, I came across the blog INTO MIND, written skillfully about minimalistic capsule wardrobes, and finding your style. The articles that really spoke to me were "How To Build The Perfect Wardrobe: 10 Basic Principles" and "10 Wardrobe Building Projects for Sunday Afternoons."
Even though I wrote about how to do a closet clean out not to long ago (read here), I can still learn much from both articles "Closet Cleanout: The Only 10 Pieces of Clothing You Need" and The Order Obsessed's blog entry archive, "Category Archives: build + edit a wardrobe." They both outline some unique ideas I've never heard of that might actually push my de-cluttering skills!
Due to my research and readings, I have decided I would like to make a change. I believe that why my previous challenges and closet-clean-outs have failed to stick is that they
1) only affected the physical buying of clothes, not the mental thought processes or emotions involved with shopping.
2) did not encourage me to think about my personal style or my favorite pieces and why they are my favorite pieces
3) they only acted as temporary changes, not lifestyle changes.
4) I was far too easy on myself!
Check back soon to see the results of my research! I'm excited to finally push myself like never before when dealing with my wardrobe which always seems to grow.
Do you have the same problem? How do you deal with never-ending clutter? How do you feel about the 100 Things Challenge?
--Caroline
