Constantly Edit Your Stuff

We've had a houseboat for the last six years, and it's been a wonderful way to spend our hot Southern weekends. We just sold it, and while we're ready for something else, spending a lot of time on a boat has certainly taught me to religiously edit our stuff. Every inch of space is important on a boat, and I've learned to carry this over to our home. William Morris, the founder of the Arts and Crafts furniture era, said everything is our home should be either useful or beautiful. I can add another category: sentimental. I just don't let myself get too carried away with the sentimental stuff. So, next time you're debating whether or not to keep something or let it go, ask yourself if it's useful or beautiful or maybe sentimental. If the answer is no, keep that item moving.

Too Many Clothes!

What is it about us women and clothes? Do we put too much emphasis on our appearance? Has society forced us to put too much emphasis on our appearance? Is there really something in our gender’s genes? My daughter loves to go shopping. She loves to buy clothes, try on clothes, swap clothes with her friends. I can get sucked in it, too. I’ll always stop to read a fashion article. I can let an outlet mall pass me by. My husband, on the other hand, hates to go shopping. About every two years, he goes to a clothing store and, in about 20 minutes, spends several hundred dollars on business clothes. Then he’s done. My son hates shopping even more than his Dad. I don’t ever give him clothing for a gift, simply because to him, that’s not a gift.

But I’ve made a conscious effort in the last few years to whittle down my closet. For years, I wore about 20 percent of what was hanging in there. Today, there is nothing in my closet I don’t wear on a regular basis. Here’s how I’ve done it:

I organize my wardrobe around a couple of colors. For me, it’s pink and black. Why? Pink it my best color, and black is still the most basic color, as well as the easiest to dress us. I have a straight black dress that I can wear with flip-flops and a straw hat on the beach or with heels and pearls for an evening wedding. Coco Chanel was right on the mark when she invented the little black dress.

I buy as many pieces as possible from Chico’s. If you’ve never worn the Travelers line from Chico’s, you are in for a treat. For one thing, all the black pieces are the same shade of black. But most importantly, the Travelers pieces do not wrinkle. Yes, I’ll say it again. They absolutely do not wrinkle. As far as I’m concerned, that’s just important at home as it is when traveling.

I go for quality, not quantity. Enough said.

While I have only a few pieces of basic clothing, I have lots of jewelry and lots of shoes and bags.

Every few months, I edit my closet.

I’m happy to say that I have empty space in my closet. If it doesn’t look great on me, it goes out. How about you?