Back to the Goals

Okay, so I have my crazy New Year's resolution to simplify the material elements of my life. Here are some of the rules I try to follow, numbered arbitrarily in no particular order.

Rule Number 1: No shopping for clothing. I'm amending this because last month I broke the zipper on my favorite jeans and needed new jeans. Sometimes, a person needs new clothes. Of course when I went out, I bought jeans, and then I splurged on other things too (quite a few other things, not all clothing). So to handle both the occassional necessity for new clothes and the desire to purchase things that I see, I'm instigating new rules. I should only buy clothes written on a list before I leave the house (I can't follow my own grocery lists, so we'll see how this goes). I must not buy anything that I can't justify as fitting into the wardrobe persona that I have recentely established. I must not buy anything that doesn't contribute something to the wardrobe.

By contribute I mean that it must accomplish a desired function currently not captured in my wardrobe. The persona thing should prevent purchases like the trendy sweater dress craze I went on that just wasn't me. The contribution thing should prevent repetiton of existing things that work. In other words, for the purposes of my clothing, if one green shirt equals good, and I tell myself two green shirts is better, I will remind myself of the contribution factor and realize my two green shirts thinking is bad math.  I don't need more clothes than I can wear in a week, maybe two, and I should demonstrate some diversity in that small period of time.

Rule Number 2: Read two books a month and only books I own or get from the library. I'm also supposed to get rid of books as I finish them. This I'm doing okay at. I have 4 books in one of my donate boxes, and I haven't purchased a single book all year (except the Comfort Food cookbook, but that's different). Hopefully I can keep up this trend.

Rule Number 3: I must box up 1 box of stuff to donate every month. The problem with my adherence to rule #3 is that January's box has never moved from behind the couch. February's box doesn't exist, though I did shift some clothing in the closet to contemplate donation. March is almost over and has no box. I'm slacking, so I got out another box this morning. I have filled it with some excess bedding and with clothing I had shifted in the closet. If I fill three boxes today, I think I will be good on the donation stuff for the year because I'm running out of stuff--the kitchen is off limits. Next step in decluttering by box is to recycle old electronics...I have a stupid hoard of dead cameras, old cell phones, and archaic computer cords.

So there they are--my decluttering goals, my mostly failures. I will be better. I will finish boxing things today, and I will actually take this stuff somewhere. Did I mention that all the boxes from my move are still neatly stacked by the entertainment center? I'm not sure if they're there because I am too lazy to find a place to recycle them or if I can't commit to staying in this place yet. I have been tempted to use my closet-cleaning donation process to make room for the moving boxes in there.