I have many reasons for having a minimalist wardrobe and becoming a minimalist. I move around a lot, I haven’t lived in the same place for more than eight months in awhile, so not having a lot of clothes to pack up and unpack is beneficial. Minimalist living is what I am all about.
I also live in a 400 sq. ft. house, which, needless to say, has no walk in closets. Finally, I’m trying to pay off $20,000 in debt, so buying fewer clothes means more money (read further about how to make extra income) to send towards my debt.
That said, I love to shop. I really didn’t spend too much cash on my wardrobe in University (what with have no money and all) and now that I’m out and earning a steady paycheque, the urge to upgrade, replace, and spend spend spend has been strong.
My preferred poison is online shopping, where I can agonize over the perfect pair of jeans, hunt for free shipping, and make wish lists galore, all from the comfort of my couch.
In order to keep that shopping urge under control, I try and keep my wardrobe minimalist. Whether you are wanting to have a minimalist travel wardrobe, a french minimalist wardrobe, a chic minimalist wardrobe, and so on, it IS possible! Minimalist living most of the time starts with your closet.
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Here’s how I do it:
The “No Duplicate” Rule For My Minimalist Wardrobe.
This rule really is the minimalist in me. I hate have multiple items that perform the same function. That’s why I don’t have an eReader (I already have a laptop and a big smart phone) and the same principle applies to my wardrobe.
I don’t need two red scarves, I don’t need more than one winter hat. If I must own multiples of one item (like jeans) I make sure each pair has a unique feature, and I still strive to own as few as possible.
The “Novel Purpose” Rule For My Minimalist Wardrobe.
If I’m thinking about buying something online, it must serve a purpose. It has to fill some kind of void that my current wardrobe just can’t fill. If I want to buy a fall jacket, it has to be because my wardrobe is sincerely lacking a fall jacket.
If I can get by with lighter jackets and my heavy winter coat, I don’t buy it.
The “Versatility” Rule For My Minimalist Wardrobe.
I never buy anything that can only be worn for one specific occasion. That’s why I don’t own a party dress, or anything else that I would only wear only a few times a year. If I want to buy something, I must be able to get a lot of use out of it, otherwise, it’s not worth my hard earned cash.
The “Quality” Rule For My Minimalist Clothing Lifestyle.
When I was in university, I bought cheap clothes. I couldn’t help it, I had no money and clothing ranked lower on the list than “feed myself” but I still had to maintain some level of professionalism in my business school presentations.
I remember getting really sad when I’d finally plunk down the cash to buy a new top, only to have the stitching completely unravel after the first wash because the piece was so cheaply made. These days I make sure to spend a bit more money on quality clothing that I won’t have to replace anytime soon.
The “Seriously Jordann?” Rule For Minimalist Living.
Before hitting “checkout” during my online shopping endeavours, I try to think to myself “Seriously Jordann? Do you need that?”
Even if whatever I’m buying meets all of the other criteria, but I can’t honestly say that I need it, I generally don’t buy it.
Of course, all of these rules are guidelines that I occasionally completely ignore because something is flashy or is on serious markdown, like the top I ordered yesterday that I’m completely excited to get because it was 60% off and had free shipping. But generally speaking, these guidelines help me maintain a small, functional, minimalist wardrobe that’s easy to move, easy to maintain, and easy on my credit card.
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These are some good tips. Since moving I have yet to go through my closet, but I am fairly confident I can get rid of 60% of the clothes/shoes/crap sitting in there right now. Our house does not have gigantic closets so I need to prioritize. My wife is great at this and I'm always impressed at how organized her closet is, and her ability to throw away (donate) stuff she doesn't need!
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Compared to some, I don't have a tonne of clothes. I'm not minimalist by any means, but I'm on my way. I've gone through multiple purges in recent years, so my wardrobe is much more manageable now than it used to be.
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I'm definitely not a clotheshorse by any means, but my style is pretty much set, so I do find myself looking at what I've got in my hands on the way to the fitting room and realizing I have almost the exact same top already. So I either try and branch out into something new (I'm trying to be slightly more adventurous in my style) or not buy anything.
But I love the "seriously jordann!?!" rule. We all need one like that for every purchase – not just clothes =)
I remember our first apartment…not much bigger than yours as it was 556 square feet and we were in the same situation. If we bought something it had to serve multiple purposes. Unfortunately now that we've upgraded to a house and have kids the crap is everywhere!
Hey Jordann! I have a small house. Roughly 1100 sq ft. I am trying to become as minimalistic as possible! My closets are small and I really don’t like having a ton of stuff anyway. I definitely agree with your concept and thought process! I am trying to get my bf on board. He loves the thrift store but never edits! To date he has and I am serious, 150 shirts!! Let’s not get on the shoes he has gotten for no more than $40 bucks/pair. Therefore, keep with the minimalistic approach all the way!! Best practices if you ask me.
Wow, that's impressive! That's amazing you're so in-tune with what you have. But, I can't help but think you don't want to have a 'party' dress and a pair of really nice shoes (heels)… they really don't take up that much space. I think it's nice having a few 'go-to' outfits to wear for parties, events, weddings, special nights out, etc.
While I think it's great to have small closet with key pieces, I also think there is a fine line of wanting to be a 'minimalist' and then just being to strict with yourself. I also think it is important to update work clothing from university clothing, sure, one could get by with the more casual clothing, but I do think it's important to dress professionally. I think it's more than fine to spend a bit of money developing a career wardrobe, not restricting oneself.
In my own personal case, I was too restrictive when it came to 'fun' clothing, i.e. I didn't buy new workout gear for a good year. I'm finally allowing myself to buy new stuff. This weekend, I bought 2 new pairs of shoes and a whole whack of workout gear… makes me happy!
I only like duplicates if they are dupes of perfect items, like military shirts.
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Wow 400 sq feet. My wife and I first moved into our house…we barely had anything…3 years later there is so much junk all over…it is amazing how fast you accumulate it…also with 2 lil kids now…we have outgrown our house…we have been trying to cut back on our shopping using rules similar to yours…we if we see something and we are still thinking about it a week later we talk it over and then see if we should purchase it…it has helped alot of impulse buys…
What I have, is a lot of jewelry. Doesn't take up as much space! I don't tend to buy junk/costume. But it can be a bad habit…
Jewelry is a great thing to collect because like you said, it doesn't take up much space. My only issue with jewelry is I tend to buy it and never wear it, which makes it a waste of money!
I have a good amount of clothes, but most of them I can't make outfits out of. I'm trying to focus more on what I need to make outfits and try to get rid of what I'm not wearing.
Great post today, Jordann 🙂
For awhile when I was buying stuff I would count how many outfits I could make with that one piece. It was a good way to judge how 'wearable' that item would be.
I do have multiple pairs of jeans because that is what I wear to work every day. That said, I don't have 5 pairs because honestly unless I do something crazy they aren't dirty after wearing them just once.
I wear jeans to work too, and definitely get multiple wears out of them, it just seems like a waste to wash something that is not visibly dirty…
I have far too many clothes, and I know I need to purge at least half of them. My "excuse" is that my weight has fluctuated so I have my "fat" clothes and my "skinny" clothes, and I'm afraid to let go of either in case I need them again.
I completely understand that! I only have one size of clothing and most of my motivation to not gain weight comes from not wanting to buy new clothing to accommodate my new size!
Those are really good tips. We just really need to be aware of what we are doing. I have too many clothes but nothing to wear! I consistently make the wrong clothing choices and it drives me nuts. I probably need to get rid of half the stuff in my closet! my shopping habit has started to increase lately. I used to almost have a nervous breakdown every time I bought something and that's no way to live so I'm glad I'm not doing that. I'm feeling comfortable with my finances right now so that's why I'm spending more but always in budget. And never getting into debt over it. It's all about balance really.
It's definitely all about balance, both with your budget and how many clothes you're comfortable with having. I'm glad you've found your balance!
I love your rules! I am going to start utilizing a lot of them when I shop.
I have a lot of clothes but I think that is also due to my previous jobs. My last job, I was expected to dress "young, hip, professional" to go with the consultant image, the job before that I was the youngest in my department so I dressed much older to fit in. I am finally at a job where I can dress like me and my age but then the clothes I have that matches that is limited. Kind of annoying but I am figuring it out.
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I have a mid-sized wardrobe. I rotate in and out and get rid of something when I buy something new. I love all of these tips, I'd rather have a small wardrobe that really "worked" for me than the large mass of clothes I used to own. I also do the "crush" rule. If I have a "crush" on a piece of clothing and keep thinking about it day after day after seeing it, then I know it'll be a good purchase. If I forget about it, it wasn't meant to be.
I really need to do this, I have way to many clothes!
xx
Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes
Purging is a great place to start, it gives you an idea of what holes are in your wardrobe and what you might need more of. I highly recommend it!