Minimalistic, Animalistic, Going Balistic

I've been slowly (and sometimes quickly) purging my home and life of unnecessary clutter.  I'm talking about nic knacks, old clothes, old shoes, old boxes of paper things that I have no idea why I have in the first place, broken household items, you name it- I've got it and I'm getting rid of it.

I guess one day I woke up and thought to myself, "Why in the world do I have so much stuff and what good is it doing me?"

There are about a million reasons why someone would collect stuff. We are told to be sentimental, to be prepared, to not be "without"... but then when you really think about it if we are trying to do all of that we may get caught in the "keep everything" trap.  I'm not and nor was I ever a hoarder.  I'm a fairly clean person and I love it when things are organized and in their proper place, but there comes a point where not everything can have a place and that started to bug me.

When BF and I moved in together I took it as an opportunity to go through my stuff and get rid of anything that I no longer deemed "necessary".  I thought I did a pretty bang up job because I made about 5 trips to Goodwill during and shortly after our move to donate clothing, shoes, purses, bags, kitchen stuff, furniture, etc. ad nauseum.  Since that initial purge I've slowly gotten rid of more stuff because really, why do I need a sweater from high school when I have a drawer of sweaters that are newer and nicer?  I think about every other month I make another trip to donate items that I just don't need.  And then I started working out and focusing on getting in shape and I had to get rid of even more stuff because why keep clothes that don't fit (especially if I don't want to "grow" back into them)? 

Anyhow, it's felt really good but as I evaluate my life I realize that I am still holding onto things that I probably don't need and I have space that I could probably use more effectively.

Part of the issue, I think, is that I like to have a certain amount of "blank space" around me... I like enough waltz around a room and around each piece of furniture if I want to... but we live in an apartment so I have to be a bit more realistic about that.  I think BF feels the same because we both start daydreaming about buying houses and everytime we take a drive or go for a walk we pick out houses that we like or find houses and speculate on what we would have to do to fix it up.  I think that means we need to find us a little house, but all in due time (plus a yard for the pup would be nice).

So I'm stuck for a bit with my home goods purging because I have to keep the necessary stuff even though it's a bit cramped (a couch is mostly necessary in the living room, right? I mean, I'd be ok with floor cushions). 

I am NOT so stuck with my other purging.  I'm still getting rid of clothes/shoes/bags and in the process I've decided that since I am a responsible adult (thankyouverymuch) I should probably dress like one more often and have a personal "style". 

After this spark of inspiration I did a little poking around on the interwebs and found that there are, in fact, articles of clothing/shoes/accessories that are considered "essential" to a lady's wardrobe.  These items are items that will "cripple" one if they do not have them because they are that necessary.  I decided that using a list for reference I should inventory what I had and maybe that would help me get rid of the extraneous items taking up hanger space.  Plus, I figured if I took the time to really think about what I was wearing I'd feel a bit more put together and my wardrobe would probably start to become a bit more timeless. 

More or less, here are the basic items on the list of Essential Wardrobe Pieces:

Tops:
Neutral Tank Tops/Camisoles (White, Black, Nude and your base colors for your skin tone).
Neutral T Shirts (" ")
White dress shirt or blouse
Cardigan

Bottoms:
dark wash jean
dress pant in neutral or dark color- (slim cut or trouser cut are the most versatile)
leggings
black or dark work appropriate skirt

Other:
Little Black Dress

Outerwear:
Blazer in a dark color
light weight cropped or spring jacket
tailored trench in neutral or black
parka/rain coat
wool dress coat (like a pea coat)
wool or mix scarf
knit hat
gloves

Shoes:
rainboots
neutral nice sneakers
black dress pumps
dress boots (wedge or heel) in dark color
ballet flats or dressy flats
dressy summer shoe (like a neutral leather sandal or wedge)


Accessories:
Small clutch
Medium sized handbag
Large tote
Black Sunglasses


So that's pretty much the BASIC list.  Obviously there are things that I would add to that list like 1 good pair of sweatpants, 1 zip up hoodie, and a black v neck t shirt (has been my favorite article of clothing since sophomore year of high school). 

I dug through my closets and found that I had most of the stuff on these lists.  I'm now working on revising my list to include the items that I find necessary ( I definitely don't need a summer wedge, but there'll be hell to pay if I don't have a nice zip up hoodie).  I'm already finding that I need to update some of my essential pieces- like a trench I threw away because it had an unreparable rip in the fabric which I couldn't recycle because of the waterproof coating on it.  I'm also finding that I bought into some trends that weren't really me and now I'm stuck with the leftover clutter. 

Another road block: I have a hard time letting go of certain things like SHOES.  I love me some shoes.  Heck, I work for a company that started it's business with only shoes so there you have it.  I can get pretty snappy if you threaten to take away my shoes, sort of like Rudy when we take away his teething toys.

So right now I'm still in the midst of my de-cluttering mayhem, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I know that each day I'm going to feel lighter and better without all of the STUFF around me.

Here's to Spring!