The 2-4-1 principle
My in-laws recently converted their old study into a big, beautiful walk-in closet. I have mentioned it before but built in closets aren´t incredibly common here in Spain; there is not one in our new apartment. Let´s just say that I am envious that they have this awesome space with enough room to hang things and actually not have them wrinkle right away. Sigh. Now they can really see the clothes that they own (which is a lot).
My mother-in-law is a good shopper in that she knows how to find a barg. She has tons of shoes, dresses, pants, tops, handbags etc and she always looks very put together. She has been accumulating her collection of clothes for years. As she was organizing things in her new closet she even showed me a pair of boots that she had bought when my husband was very young. Over the years she had forgotten about them but planned on wearing them now that they were out of storage. I am sure there were more of these re-discoveries as she pulled stuff out of cupboards and dressers to fill up her new closet.
This whole thing got me thinking about whether or not there is really a saturation point when it comes to clothes, shoes, handbags, etc. Even if you can afford to buy what you like, is there a point when it becomes too much? I have mentioned before that I would like to simplify and try to keep our new apartment from getting too cluttered with stuff. I think that clothes are our biggest enemy in this fight. Both Jose and I have way too many even after purging several times during our move and as we have been settling in to the new apartment.
The other day I had a sort of embarassing moment at school when one of my students commented on the wrecked flats that I have been wearing religiously for the past few years, the same ones Jose has been begging me to get rid of for a while. Sort of a, "Teacher, what happened??????" Needless to say that soon after Jose and I headed out to the outlet mall that is dangerously close to our home. I bought two new pairs of shoes since the other neutral pair I had was also looking pretty rough (plus two new summer dresses, one for a wedding and the other just because).
After we got home, I was reading a blog that I discovered recently about a family who decides to buy nothing new for a year (the Fearse family, google them). On top of this challenge, they have also decided that for everything that comes in new to their home, they will get rid of 2 things (hence the title of this blog the 2-4-1 principle). They apply this to everything but I got to thinking and decided that I liked this idea applied to clothes as a way to not only keep from becoming a hoarder but to become more conscious of what I am purchasing. If for every one thing I bring home I have to either trash or donate two, I have a feeling I will think about things more.
I have applied this principle to my latest purchases. For each new pair of shoes I am getting rid of 2 pairs that are pretty much destroyed and were ready for retirement. For the two dresses I chucked (donated) a skirt and three pairs of jeans that I haven´t worn all winter. I hope this principle helps me maintain a balance in my home and will keep me from having to change one bedroom for a closet someday (although a girl can dream right?).
My mother-in-law is a good shopper in that she knows how to find a barg. She has tons of shoes, dresses, pants, tops, handbags etc and she always looks very put together. She has been accumulating her collection of clothes for years. As she was organizing things in her new closet she even showed me a pair of boots that she had bought when my husband was very young. Over the years she had forgotten about them but planned on wearing them now that they were out of storage. I am sure there were more of these re-discoveries as she pulled stuff out of cupboards and dressers to fill up her new closet.
This whole thing got me thinking about whether or not there is really a saturation point when it comes to clothes, shoes, handbags, etc. Even if you can afford to buy what you like, is there a point when it becomes too much? I have mentioned before that I would like to simplify and try to keep our new apartment from getting too cluttered with stuff. I think that clothes are our biggest enemy in this fight. Both Jose and I have way too many even after purging several times during our move and as we have been settling in to the new apartment.
The other day I had a sort of embarassing moment at school when one of my students commented on the wrecked flats that I have been wearing religiously for the past few years, the same ones Jose has been begging me to get rid of for a while. Sort of a, "Teacher, what happened??????" Needless to say that soon after Jose and I headed out to the outlet mall that is dangerously close to our home. I bought two new pairs of shoes since the other neutral pair I had was also looking pretty rough (plus two new summer dresses, one for a wedding and the other just because).
After we got home, I was reading a blog that I discovered recently about a family who decides to buy nothing new for a year (the Fearse family, google them). On top of this challenge, they have also decided that for everything that comes in new to their home, they will get rid of 2 things (hence the title of this blog the 2-4-1 principle). They apply this to everything but I got to thinking and decided that I liked this idea applied to clothes as a way to not only keep from becoming a hoarder but to become more conscious of what I am purchasing. If for every one thing I bring home I have to either trash or donate two, I have a feeling I will think about things more.
I have applied this principle to my latest purchases. For each new pair of shoes I am getting rid of 2 pairs that are pretty much destroyed and were ready for retirement. For the two dresses I chucked (donated) a skirt and three pairs of jeans that I haven´t worn all winter. I hope this principle helps me maintain a balance in my home and will keep me from having to change one bedroom for a closet someday (although a girl can dream right?).
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