As I’ve slowly witted down my wardrobe from 2 overly packed closet rods about half of 1 neatly organized closet rod, I’ve become less interested in rotating out my wardrobe each season and more interested in having one cohesive wardrobe that works year-round. Even during the periods I was fully committed to a capsule wardrobe, I was still thinking about how all these seasonal wardrobes worked together. My spring/summer items were bright, almost neon, at times, in contrast with my fall/winter pieces that were more neutrals and jewel tones. And during the transitional periods, I just didn’t know what to do. Should I just hang up everything I own or should I select a transitional capsule? Does that mean I’m technically going to have 4 extra capsules a year? It really just began to feel like a lot of unneccessary thought was going into these capsules, when a year-round wardrobe was really the solution. Just thinking about having everything I own hanging nicely next to each other in my closet makes my heart happy.
Tag Archives: minimalism
Making Time for Quick Cleans
As I sit here writing this post, my home is currently clean. Like actually clean. Like everything is orderly and put away. There might be a pile a boxes on the counter waiting to be dropped off at USPS, but, overall, things are looking pretty damn clean. And why is this worth mentioning? Because today just felt so much easier than it usually does. My day was pretty usual. Woke up before 5am for barre, had a yummy breakfast, showered and dressed, woke up and fed the twins, played in their room while a contractor cleaned our chimney, went to the grocery store, made lunch, played a bit, and put them down for a nap. If this were any other day, the beginning of nap time means me collapsing on the couch with a bag of snack food while simultaneously watching Netflix, reading blogs on my laptop, and checking Instagram on my cell phone. This goes on for an hour or so while I contemplate the chores I’ve been putting off and stress about everything I have to do. It feels nearly impossible to lift myself off the couch and pry my iPhone from my hands just so I can accomplish SOMETHING before nap time ends.
Fall/Winter 2015 Capsule Wrap Up
It’s been awhile since I talked to y’all about my capsule wardrobe. Even though I haven’t had a public conversation, there has been a lot of activity privately surrounding the whole process. I first introduced my Fall 2015 Capsule Wardrobe with the intention that I wear it from mid-October to mid-December, depending on the weather. Being on a tight budget and not truly needing a new winter clothing led me to decide to combine my Fall and Winter capsule wardrobes for 2015 (and into 2016). Most of the pieces were going to overlap so in December, I added in a couple sweaters and some snow boots I had been storing. Flash forward – it’s April and I am finally saying goodbye to the pieces in my F/W 15 capsule. It’s been 5 months of wearing about the same pieces every two weeks. That kind of redundancy definitely makes it easier to decide what you love and what you can do without. In early February, I decided it was time to really edit down the capsule even more. I removed a few blouses, pants, and a blazer. For the two months my capsule consisted of:
PMI + Potential Year-Round Capsule
In my last post, I mentioned that the reason my husband and I are holding out to purchase a home is because we don’t want to pay PMI for having less than 20% down. One of the reasons I chose to start talking publicly about our finances is because it allows me to look at things from an outsider’s perspective. When I edit blog drafts, one of the many things I do is ask myself questions I think my readers would propose as they read through. Of course, immediately after I typed out, “I don’t want PMI so I’m saving up the 20%” I realized “but if you’re planning on paying off your home, there might be some overall savings if you take the small hit from the PMI instead of paying rent every month”. For instance, if you’re paying a $50 PMI on top of a $850 mortgage, that’s still cheaper than $1000 in rent.
30 Step Minimalism Challenge Week 4 Update
This is it! The final update and end to my 30 Step Minimalism Challenge – my personalized take on the Into Mind challenge. I learned something really surprising by going through this challenge. Here’s my last week with the steps, and what I have learned from the whole experience:
What I Learned From My Summer Capsule Wardrobe
The summer is coming to a close and that means it’s time to move on from this season’s capsule wardrobe. I started the season with 23 clothing items, 4 pairs of shoes, and 11 accessories. I ended up only wearing about 22 of those 38 pieces on a regular basis. Everything else was either traded out (3 items), worn once (9 items), or not worn at all (4 items). I spent a lot of time looking over these pieces and here’s what I learned from a full three months with a capsule:
30-Step Minimalism Challenge Week 3 Update
Week 3 of my 30-Step Minimalism Challenge is complete! Here’s what I accomplished over the past week.
30-Step Minimalism Challenge Week 2 Update
I’m halfway through my August Minimalism Challenge! Here’s what steps I have taken in the past week: Continue reading
Creating an Energizing Morning Routine
One of the tasks in my 30 Step Minimal Challenge is creating an energizing morning routine. I fully believe that if you don’t start your morning right, you’re not going to have a successful day. Since moving up to Alabama, I have crafted the perfect routine for helping me make the most of my mornings. My mornings normally go like this:
30-Step Minimalism Challenge Week 1 Update
Today begins the 2nd week of my 30-Step Minimalism Challenge. Here’s an overview of the tasks I completed last week.
Lauren, Etc. 