Spring Cleaning and Thoreau

Ahhh…warm sun, banging swing doors, and iced drinks are here…. or at least it is getting closer every day. 



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Which means I found myself opening up my bedroom window and looking at the craziness that is my closet in disbelief. Could I really have that many shoes? I’ve never been a self-proclaimed shoe obsessor (books on the other hand…) but I also had shoes that I hadn’t worn since the early 2000s. It was then that I was bit with the spring cleaning bug. 



(Remember these? Yep, still in the closet…)

I heard about the concept of capsule wardrobes half a year ago and toyed with the idea of it. I mean it SOUNDS amazing. You down-size your wardrobe to a given number of tops, bottoms, dresses, shoes… etc (maybe 35 things total) and then mix ‘n match them. Minimal living in your closet. 



I’m the girl that has quoted “live simply” since I was ten. So it’s easy for me to get swept away with this growing trend. Don’t even get me started on the dream of living out of an airstream and traveling the continent…



(Image via FLIPP)

But I’m a complicated simplifier because I’m overwhelmingly sentimental. In the top of my closet I have my American girl doll and “Bitty” baby that I was literally glued to as a child. Packed with them are all their clothes and accessories. Despite how much groaning M has done, I can’t let them go. “What if we have kids someday.” Which is ironic because not only is that a far cry possibility at the moment, but I don’t even know if I’d want to share with them. Logically, I know holding onto them is ridiculous. This doesn’t even begin to account for all the letter boxes and the countless journals. 



(But stationary like this is addicting!)

I don’t want to feel like I’m tied down to anything at this stage in life. We had a puffer fish in college and he literally had to have a babysitter every time we left home (salt water fish are high maintenance!). M and I are at a stage where all the cards are up in the air and we aren’t sure how they are going to fall yet. It’s exhilarating to know that we have such dynamic and awesome roads ahead of us, and I’m finally past the point of being scared. But, I don’t want a bunch of needless junk weighing us down either. M has literally lived out of a suitcase for the past 6 years. I envy the simplicity of it. He truly wants for nothing as I make a mess trying to figure out what I’m going to wear every morning.

Having a few clothes that you would wear every day if you could just makes sense. I went to a private school briefly in high school (and while I may not have picked out the plaid skirt and button down myself) I didn’t have a choice and that made one aspect of my life so much easier. I don’t even think it’s about ease, but the fact that you can focus on what really matters. I read Thoreau’s Walden and his ideas and beliefs are something my generation is really starting to take to heart. A philosophy of tiny houses and big lives, instead of big houses and tiny lives. 

So, I’m starting the process slowly and I’m adjusting it to who I am. The tiny house movement, capsule wardrobes, and minimal living isn’t right for everyone. I understand that wholeheartedly. Shoot, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t ever fit all my books in a 500 sq. foot house. I’m not down-sizing my library. That’s just something I’ve prioritized from a really young age. I also love the idea of restoring an older home. It may be weird, but it’s me. Yet, the pure intention behind creating a simpler life is something that I think everyone aspires to in their own way. 

Therefore, I am jumping into the capsule wardrobe concept as best I can because it makes sense and fits my needs. Because why waste money and time on something you don’t love, even if it is just a piece of clothing? We shall see where this path leads!



Let me know if you have ever tried down-sizing…anything! Any advice is 100% welcome for someone like me who invests way to much sentiment into inanimate objects! 

All the best,

Kassie

P.S. If tiny houses are something you are interested in, you can watch the documentary Tiny on Netflix. It’s good insight even to those not so inclined towards the movement. Also, I have been reading blogs like Un-fancy.com to gain insight into creating a capsule wardrobe (I first heard about them from another Cassie). There’s a lot of this stuff floating around the web, but don’t let it overwhelm! It may just be another fad…but there’s always a grain of truth in there somewhere.