Ever since I got back from my Australian holiday in May, there’s one thing I can’t stop doing. I think it has something to do with the fear I get after watching those hoarding programs and also how good I feel after I do it. I am on a declutter frenzy – most of it has been in my wardrobe. I have become addicted to it because it is amazing how much lighter I feel when the stuff is gone from the house. I have been losing all this weight without shedding a kilo!
I am seeing more of my local charity shop than usual. I seem to be there with bags of unwanted (but still in great condition) clothes/shoes every 2/3 weeks.
As great as it feels to get rid of stuff, I have been thinking over the past couple of months about how wasteful I can be and the impact that this wastefulness (is that even a word) has not only on my wallet, but on the environment.
When it comes to my wardrobe, I seem to swing one of both ways – I investment buy and so I have stuff that’s been there for years and gets reused to death; or there’s the stuff that is hardly ever worn but was bought to fill a need, was on sale or was cheap. These serve a purpose but I have found that more often than not I wear them 2/3 times and they get replaced with something else before going to the charity shop. This isn’t what I want my sustainable footprint to look like.
Only yesterday I was telling a friend how after getting rid of clothes I actually feel like I have so many more outfit choices and I seem to mix and match more.
It was great to see this morning that Irish website stiall.com have launched there #stiallchallenge. It wants you to try to dress yourself in August without buying new clothes. Getting 30 outfits from your current wardrobe. For more info visit http://www.stiall.com
I have decided to take it one step further and try to not buy any new things for the rest of the year. Be it clothes, shoes, stuff for the house, I’m going to try and live with what I already have and try and get rid of more stuff.
Realistically, I think I can make it through August but let’s see what happens when the season changes and when I see sales that are too good to refuse or I realise my winter wardrobe isn’t that well stocked!
I am also going to try and get rid of more stuff in this house. More of it will go to my local charity shop. One question to ask yourself when donating to charity is, is it still in good working condition? Would I use it or would it be better off in the bin? If it’s not in good condition don’t pass it onto the charity shop to bin – do that yourself!
So thanks, to stiall.com for putting this challenge out there, getting the conversation going, and making us take a good look at our own personal habits/impact on the environment. Who’s in?
thebellissimofiles 