Abandon the Ugly and Useless without remorse!

"When a woman says, 'I have nothing to wear! what she really means is, 'There's nothing here for who I'm supposed to be today' ". - Caitlin Moran

And oh gosh, did I discover the many personalities and fantasy selves that existed in my wardrobe over the weekend!  Deciding to tackle my wardrobe once and for all, I promised myself that only the beautiful and confident  clothes would be returned to the wonder wardrobe . Only those items that made me feel amazing every time I wore them.

On a day that was as hot as hell, I completely emptied my wardrobe and started to sort clothes into two groups, items to give away or donate and items to keep.

I was more than a little surprised at some of my 'finds'; a black-beaded bag that I must have carried to someone's wedding in a moment of Dynasty meets Hippie revival; a plethora of scarves, how many scarves does one need in a climate that rarely drops below 12 degrees celsius?; some curious belts, obviously from a much 'thinner' time in my life, or a time when I thought I'd be starring in an Indiana Jones movie; a woollen, orange and tan cape, probably from a welsh relative, but which on hauling it out from the back of the robe, startled the cat from the bed; and a shiny, shiny sateen purple shirt that would trigger a satellite inspection.

I had thought that I would like to wallpaper the back of my wardrobe but decided to use the artistic talents of my daughter to paint some sort of floral design.

The results are amazing and I'm now feeling very smug with my much smaller collection of clothes. I love everything that hangs amongst the cherry blossom and I'm much clearer about what I need to buy in the future.

I'm keen to keep this minimal approach, not only will it be kind to my purse, but will mean I choose carefully in the future and pick only items of quality and what is needed. This mindset is also great for the environment.

What I did find challenging was what to do with my wedding dress. Having been married for 26 years it has been moved from house to house, hung first as the pride and joy of my wardrobe, then folded into a plastic protector bag, then shoved to the back along with unused sportswear (another misguided phase). I say with great confidence that my daughter would never choose to wear my wedding dress, unless she was posing as Princess Diana at some fancy dress function, so what to do? I've decided to donate it to a thrift shop, but not local, I'll wait until the next time I go to the city.

So, the wardrobe project was easier than I thought, now to see how I cope with less clothes and if I'll miss anything.......... like the those lovely bottle green stirrup pants!

So who are you anyway?

“There is an eternal landscape,

A geography of the soul,

We search for its outlines,

All our lives”   J Hart

Yesterday I held a set of opinions that may be quite different to those I hold today and almost certainly I will think differently in the future… one thing is certain, is that my opinions aren't.

In a world that moves and changes at such a pace I think it becomes difficult to remember who we are and what we stand for.

Last year I decided that I would simplify my life, strip away the unnecessary and extraneous to make way for what is important and brings joy into my life.

Like many, my life is full of stuff and I've kept adding, and adding and adding. And it’s not only the physical stuff, but the mental clutter that comes from juggling so many hats and meeting our perceived commitments.

Now is the time to clear the decks so to speak, get rid of all the things that are weighing me down and focus on what and who is important in my life.

Recently I had a good friend convert some old family slides into images I can access on my computer and they've been a great reminder of who I am and where I've come from.  It has also made me realise that we are shaped and influenced at a very early age. Would my Mum have thrown out an empty margarine container? Hell no!  My point is that we were brought up to keep anything deemed as useful and as adults we continued to collect things but now,  it seems,  for a different reason.

I've already made some changes such as my diet; I'm now a vegan and feel healthier than I have for a long time. I've also cleared out my wardrobe (several times) and am attempting the Project 333, the challenge being to dress with 33 items or less for three months theproject333.com.

One thing is for sure, as I shift stuff out of my life the idea of what is ‘enough’ is becoming clearer every day. If you've thought about simplifying your life I’d love to hear about it.