Achievements Made

 

Achievements made, now can they be kept? Last year about this time I made a goal, a promise, for myself to start seriously clearing out my closet of all clothes that did not fit or clothes I just did not wear enough to warrant keeping around. Since then, I have eliminated almost ONE THIRD of my wardrobe. Yes! That much. And I am still not done. Yes, I am still going. 

So how did I get to this point where I had too much in my opinion? I felt like I had too much when my designated storage places seemed too full and when I had a hard time finding what I wanted to wear. It was at that point I was getting frustrated and overwhelmed because my house is not big and in theory finding something should be incredibly easy. Well, it wasn't and that was a problem. Then I decided to make a change to make my life easier. 

How did I get to the point of just too much? I got to this point because of me. The last few years have not been kind. The stress of work, my mom's struggle with alcohol, dealing with my mom's rotten doctors, her unexpected passing, settling her estate, dealing with family that was far from kind and supportive, and a relationship that was far from positive led me to shop to make me feel better. I love to collect vintage and in doing so I was making myself a bit happier but unknown at the time I was making another problem. I was collecting more clothes than I could realistically wear and actually enjoy. 

One thing that did not help was certain people around me. I do not need help in adding things to my wardrobe, I can do that plenty on my own, but I had certain toxic people that encouraged me to shop more and add more to the collection. I didn't realize this at first, but I think they did this to me on purpose to hurt me because they thought it was funny. Even when I told them I didn't want to add to the collection, they pushed me to keep going threatening that if I didn't, I'd lose them as friends. Those are bad friends. When I did realize this, I got them out of my life ASAP. My life has since then much improved. Getting rid of that negative influence was huge and now I spend my time with those who truly do care about me and my goals. 

Once I had eliminated the bad human clutter in my life, I went after the material clutter. I started selling my vintage to other vintage and living history enthusiasts first. Then I started donating it to theaters and other groups, now I am selling what I can online. I am in the final stretch and have made huge achievements. Right now, for the first time ever, all of my dresses can be stored and seen in ONE location. My suits and evening gowns are stored elsewhere because of their heavy weight. This may not seem like a lot but to me this is huge. This is seeing the accumulation of all my efforts in one place. I feel like I can breathe again. I can see what I own and find with ease exactly what I want to wear. I have made huge steps in achieving the life I want to live but I am still going. There are a few more pieces that I am considering selling but I am not quite ready to let them go. Sentimental reasons I suppose. 

Not to toot my own horn but, * toot, toot*. I am so proud of what I have managed to do and now it's a matter of keeping the momentum and holding onto the goal of "less is more". I have added a few pieces to the collection, but it is nothing in comparison to what I have gotten rid of. So, if that is why you haven't been seeing a lot of blogging lately, this is why. I am working on getting my closet in order. 

While I am at it, one thing that has always bothered me about blogging, is that I think it fuels consumerism. The urge to shop for that one new item every week or month or that desire to sew something new just to keep the blog fresh and to make new content. Honestly, that bothers me. There is nothing wrong with wearing the same dress all the time or wearing the same gown to every fancy function. If anything, that is what we should be doing. Getting our clothes to achieve the maximum investment. 

When I was sorting through my wardrobe I was sickened by how many clothes, I had that I had only ever worn once for that one occasion. Or clothes I only wore a couple of times and then forgot about. What a stupid thing was that, seriously.  And why didn't I wear them more?? That I had to ask myself. I had so many clothes that I loved but had hidden in the bottom of the closet all folded up and just waiting to be worn. In sorting through my wardrobe, I parted with the clothes I did not have any true attachment to. Then I sold the ones that I did not have an occasion to wear anymore. Those were the easy ones to sell and then after that I kept going. I have no regrets about what I have sold and actually it feels so good to have parted with them. 

I am still collecting but not near as much as I used to. I actually have a wish list if you will. A list of items that I have always wanted and those are what I am really going after. So far, I have already acquired a couple of them, and they will be on the blog here in due course. I love collecting vintage, always will and will probably never stop but what I add into my closet will be done so with great purpose.