To Wear or Clear Out... ?

On the tail end of a busy week, I finally forced myself to do my behemoth mountain of ironing last night....certainly has opened up my wardrobe options once more! Looking at the stack, it occurred to me that I probably don’t need to be purchasing much more in the way of clothing for some months. A bit of layering, along with more accessorizing (which to be honest – I struggle a bit with) & I should be good to go for the seasonal weather transition.

Ideally, once my weight stabilises a bit more, I’d like to downsize & streamline to create a capsule wardrobe although, not sure I’ll get there any time soon!

I’ve been reading a few blogs about only wearing the one dress daily, but it’s not something I would try. It wouldn’t fit into my current lifestyle & not an additional stress I’d want to worry about! I like having wardrobe options, but recognise I’m holding on to items that no longer fit, flatter or suit me.

I think another hard wardrobe clear out is looming for me in the upcoming months.
When was the last time you did one & what was the result?

I Love Books & Reading...

...But one of the first steps I’m taking on reducing clutter, is slowly whittling down the number of print books I own.

That’s right – I’m on the Kindle bandwagon!

Having purchased one as a Christmas present for my parents – who love to read but baulk at book prices charged in Oz & have to wait ages for reserved library books to materialise – I promptly bought my own on boxing day.

I have the current version – keyboard less – and find it very compact & convenient to carry around daily in my handbag.

I recommend a book style cover (can purchase cheaply off ebay), as it not only protects the kindle screen & gadget from any hard knocks, but also makes holding it whilst reading easier – I’ve found.

Often the ebook version is much cheaper than the print copy & there are ways in which to share your copy with others – which I won’t get into now. There are also loads of free ebooks out there on websites to download.

I’m finding that I’m more inclined to read these days by having it in my handbag at the ready. No more lugging paperbacks for me & you can forget about hardbacks!! The battery life is terrific as well – seems to last well over a month before needing to recharge. And yes – it does show pictures included in books – sometimes not that great – but for the most part good enough. I now have quite a few recipe books to browse through......if only it were just as easy to whip the dishes up!

So, the next step is to actually make time to read my way through the current hoarded books up the top of my wardrobe, in order to donate them to friends / family / charity & finally free up some storage space...or as a stop gap weekend project – move them to under my bed where I can access them more easily AND have the wardrobe space free to use finally....
Oh to have an actual book case – ha!
Has anyone else made the transition over to just ebooks?

New Beginning

Having relocated across the world to Melbourne a few years ago, it had come to my attention that I’d shipped over quite a lot of stuff that with hindsight, shouldn’t have made it into the cargo boxes....

My small make do apartment (was only meant to live there for 1 year!) has incrementally become cramped with CLUTTER. Along with fluctuating weight (I’ve lost approx. 7 kgs since moving here), my limited storage space is groaning under the weight of stuff I’ve stockpiled, unnecessarily shipped over & forgotten about or clothes that no longer fit.

This annoys me on an almost daily basis.

2012 is the year I attempt to live more frugally & transition into a more minimalist lifestyle....

I did say attempt – I make no claims of being successful at it!