#45daysofblogging 22: starting with minimalism

Day 22 - September 8

Today I want to speak about minimalism and some ideas that helped me in the beginning.

Before moving to Thailand I used to hit the thrift stores a few times every week. I had a huge collection of dresses, lots of hobby supplies that I never used and a ton of mementoes that were basically pushing out of my living space. After a few years and three moves between countries I got pretty comfortable of having a limited amount of clothes and things in general. And here are some of the things I’ve realized along the way.

- Clothes are just clothes 

Might not sound like a huge revelation, but to me it was. Last year, when I had to leave Palermo and everything and everyone I love here (without any guarantees that I will ever come back), I was packing my suitcase and couldn’t care less about all the tees and skirts. If at that moment somebody told me: “Let me burn all of your things and you get to stay for as long as want”, I’d say: “Let me bring you matches!” 

Of course I have things that are very precious for me and I really don’t want to lose them, but I don’t get upset over random things anymore. Ever since that moment I really don’t care that much. I donate clothes when I feel like I will not wear them anymore, and I chose to think of a wine stain on a white T-shirt as of a memory of a great evening with my friends. After all there will always be something even cuter on sale, but great people and experiences are precious. 

- You don’t need as much as you think 

Again – seems like a complete no-brainer. But when I was growing up I used to have one pair of jeans at a time, and same went for everything else. So when the opportunity to have a stack of jeans, like the girls from books I loved to read, I took it immediately. One stack turned into two, next to three stacks of tees, sweaters, scarves etc. But after a while I’ve noticed that having this much clothes and things in general gives me anxiety. Every time I found a tank I didn’t remember buying, I was feeling upset and out of control. After coming back from Italy I donated a total amount of 10 bags of clothes and started feeling much more at peace. Because yes, I can have 100 T-shirts, but I know I will wear only 3-4 of them that I really love. I can buy three more pairs of cheap sunglasses, but I will still wear the ones I absolutely love. 

So I really prefer having a limited amount if things, but the ones I love to wear. Because life’s too short to be His simple idea made my life so much more simple and manageable, and I looooove having some negative space in my closet. Also it makes moving so much easier! 

- Quality 

This follows from the previous. When you don’t have many things it’s important that the ones you have can survive being worn and washed quite a lot. So also for this reason I prefer to have less things, but maybe of a bit better quality. 

- Temporary solutions are the worst 

You know those situations, when you want a good pair of boots, or a bag, or a bicycle, but for now you just can’t afford it. The easier way would’ve been to buy something temporarily and cheaper and buy the item you want to later. But if the situation is not urgent and you don’t need this thing straight away, better not get any temps. First of all, there’s nothing more permanent than a temporary solution, and second – you’re adding the price of the temporary thing to the price of the expensive one that you really want. For example, I recently had a chance to buy a very cheap bicycle from a guy I know, but it was made for men, and I love to wear skirts and dresses. It was tempting to buy a temp for now and change it lately, but in the end I decided against it – both for the reason of the prices and because I don’t actually want to have two bikes in the future. 

- Find pieces that finish your look 

This goes both for owning less things, but still looking and feeling put together, and also for my general rules of how to feel good about myself on daily bases. Think about the things that elevate the look for you and makes you feel absolutely great even in something simple like a tee and a pair of jeans. It can be a scarf, or a nice necklace, of even a few drops of perfume. For me it used to be earrings. Now, after some years, even though I still appreciate jewelry and put it on every day, but the thing that immediately makes me feel more put together and ready for the day is a pair of good shoes. And I don’t mean heels – I almost never wear them now, as they don’t go well with cobble stones. I just mean a good pair of well-made shoes that elevate any outfit. For autumn and winter I have a nice pair of chelsea boots, for warmer month – a pair of black ballet flats and a pair of black, a bit edgier sandals (actually this summer I had to update them, as they got destroyed). So every time I want to feel like 100%, I add boots to my favorite jeans-tee-cardigan or ballet flats to my shirt and shorts combo – and I’m ready to take on the world! 

Here are the first part of my tips, but I guess I will do a few more posts on this topic in the future. 

Hope it was useful for some of you. See you!