Project Closet Purge: Progress Update

Hello friends!

Sorry I have been so MIA! Work and Life are insanely crazy right now- but it is finally Fall!! I’m pretty pumped seeing as I had my Fall Essentials Post out at the end of August (LOL).

I wanted to give you an update on my closet purge process because honestly it is an ever going thing. Some days I feel more ruthless than others- but I want it to not be an ever going thing. Ok here is a secret: I have no clue what I want-but I do know that since my first project closet purge post I feel much better about what goes into my closet. I am much more conscientious of making sure not to buy duplicates of things I already have and figuring out how to make a piece go with more than one outfit.

I am trying not to jump on too many trend bandwagons. There have been successes. And there have been failures on this. It truly is a growing process though.

I will admit that if there is a shoe/tote bag-a-holic anonymous club- I should probably be in it. But I am trying. I am trying to buy quality (and secondhand if I can) shoes and bags. ThredUP has literally become a muse for me. You can find real leather boots and bags for a fraction of the department stores there- it justifies it in my mind but I am still trying to strive for that ‘moderation’ bit of shopping.

One thing that I *think* I have pretty consistently kept true to is the ‘one in – one out’ rule of thumb. When something new comes into my closet something has to go. I say this now and have not yet done my final count… so you will know the real truth I guess as you finish reading this post (LOL).

I’m finding (and it’s taken me a while) – but I’m realizing that as a working woman my work wardrobe is my real wardrobe. So I’ve cut back on buying pieces that I would now consider weekend wear, if you will, and started focusing on buying pieces that coordinate with my business casual/wardrobe for worship services pieces. This way they can all be mixed and matched in lots of different ways.

The count from last time was:

Shoes: 56 (originally 67)

Skirts: 46 (originally 49)

Dresses: 42 (originally 51)

Dress/casual Pants: 23

Jeans (including jean capris): 17

Tops: 112

Cardigans: 29

Sweaters: 17

Jackets: 17

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Today’s running count:

Shoes: 55 (originally 56)

Skirts: 35 (originally 46)

Dresses: 44 (originally 42)

Dress/casual Pants: 26 (originally 23)

Jeans (including jean capris):  16 (originally 17)

Tops: 107 (originally 112)

Cardigans (including vest cardigans and cropped boleros): 34 (originally 29)

Sweaters: 26 (originally 17)

Jackets (including outerwear): 25 (originally 17)

And so… the progress in the last nine months is that I have accumulated 9 pieces of clothing. I obviously still have a cardigan problem. And I went a tad sweater crazy.

This is super helpful for my shopping mindset as we go into the holiday season. I like knowing where I am at so that I can more carefully curate my wardrobe and keep my impulse buys under control.

I totally recommend a wardrobe re-evaluation before all of the Thanksgiving/Christmas sales so that you can keep your shopping under control instead of being sucked into the ads and trends of the season. Make a list of items that you might like to look for when sales come around and this way you will stick to your list! 🙂

I want to know if any of you are working on building a long lasting wardrobe that consists of pieces that go with everything in your closet. Please let me know in the comments! All suggestions are welcome! 🙂

In the mean time, here are a few of my latest fall outfits. To see more you can follow me on instagram 🙂

Keep on Keeping On…