Lately I seem to be seeing lots of references to the 'six items or less' experiment on various websites and blogs and have been giving it some thought recently. The idea behind it is that you limit yourself to only 6 items of clothing for one month, more can be found about it here: http://sixitemsorless.com/the-project/
I'm drawn to the idea of setting myself a challenge like this but don't think I could restrict myself this much to be honest, I feel like 10 items would be more reasonable. The original point of my blog was the concept of creating a minimalist wardrobe, stripped to the essentials, with every item in there being loved and well worn. Well I can't say that I'm there yet (and maybe I never will be!?) and I often find myself wanting to add more to my wardrobe, without fully appreciating what I do own. Logically I know that there is only so much I an wear at any one time - if I already have 3 pairs of jeans why do I need another? I guess there is just so much temptation out there, and I sometimes find it hard to resist. So I've decided that as well as limiting myself to 10 items I will take a break from shopping for a month too (and by this I also mean online browsing which is a very bad habit of mine and leads to the feelings of 'I need more' in the first place).
I haven't clarified 100% what I hope to achieve by setting myself this challenge but I think mainly I want to take a step back from it all for a month. I hope that I can prove to myself that it is possible to live with only 10 items of clothes and still look ok, and feel happy with my outfits and that I don't need more. In fact I think sometimes the more you have = more stress, more time spent choosing outfits, finding places to store it and feeling guilt that it doesn't get worn that often.
I'm going on holiday for a week today so will have a think about my 10 items and some ground rules and also try to clarify what I hope to achieve with this challenge. You'll have to excuse me if this post is slightly incoherent - I haven't slept well and am rushing to try and get this written so I can finish packing!
Thanks for reading, V x
Have a wonderful holiday! Perhaps living out of a suitcase will clarify which 10 items you wear or reach for the most...I know that it did for my trip. Plus, whatever I didn't wear was pressed and ready for when I returned!
ReplyDeleteI find if you pay attention to what items of clothing you tend to wear more than others, it's pretty easy to pick the pieces for the project. I review from time to time, and then throw out/give away/sell the stuff I know is "over".
ReplyDeleteI found not buying things for a while very "cleansing" and the money I saved very very gratifying indeed :) I've continued to hold back on buying things and it's not that difficult anymore...
hope you had a good holiday!
P - I did think about this but I don't want to make it too easy fo myself so I'm going to stick to 10 items total, no duplicates!
ReplyDeleteItztru - You're absolutely right, I only wore half of what I packed so this really made it quite easy to pick my 10 items.
Lin - I seem to gravitate to the same items over and over, stripy tee's, jeans, and cardigans mainly. Doesn't stop me being tempted by things that I know I'll probably never wear though! I admire your restraint, I could learn a lot from you.