At the beginning of 2023, I decided to make my first ever New Years Resolution. My resolution is to acquire less and rid myself of more and more every month. My boyfriend, Alex, and I live with our dog in a Brooklyn loft. Our loft has 2-floors, but is on the smaller side with only 2 small closets. My closet is the coat closet downstairs, and even with probably 5 rounds of purging and getting rid of at least 2 30-gallon trash bags worth of clothing each round, it’s still packed. My bathroom is downstairs, just diagonal from my closet. I have quite the skincare, haircare, wellness, and beauty collection.
Alex and I resigned at our current place in August, and with that decided that we needed more storage solutions and to get rid of a good amount of our (my) stuff. We started late last year with our books, cleaning supplies, wellness, kitchen, and decor. We ended up with a bunch of bags of books, knick knacks, and vitamins mixed in with random kitchen gadgets and cleaning supplies that we never used and never will.
I, once again, did a clothing clean-out and sold/donated the pieces, being able to slightly organize my clothes. I find myself not being even nearly hard enough on my material items, and I need to continue my purge with a more stern outlook on what I actually need to keep. I went through my bathroom a few weeks ago and filled a gigantic sam’s club box to its absolute brim. I was able to give some to friends, and the rest to a family on a buy nothing Facebook page.
I get extremely manic when I do these clear-outs. I want to get rid of so much, but continue to hold onto things for fear that i’ll want to use it or wear it again one day. I do end up ridding my spaces of quite a lot, but it feels like I’ve barely made a dent.
I’ve decided that I know what I need to own and what I don’t need to own. I’ve also decided that what I do purchase this year will be higher quality, and will be for keeps for many, many years to come, or even for life. I want to own more minimal, neutral pieces that go with more than one outfit, instead of 50 outlandish looking H&M dresses (this is an overestimation). I realize this means that i’ll be paying more to own less, but I think this is exactly what I need. Quality over quantity.
I know I want to own my basics, higher quality Madewell t-shirts and jeans, my Doen top and jeans, vintage leather jacket, and a warm, puffer. I know what I wear regularly, and I know what beauty and wellness products I use regularly, and I’m coming to a point where I’m realizing that I don’t need to own the products and clothing items that I might use or wear once every few months-once a year or even less.
I’m also accepting less. As an accidental influencer, I have been gifted a lot, and I’ve shifted my attitude towards gifting to only saying yes if I love the idea of the product, need it, or already love it and could use a new one. I’m also only accepting from certain brands, and certain quality products.
This process isn’t easy so far, I’ve always wanted to be a minimalist, but I’ve always been known to possess more maximalist traits. I do think that this mindset is a sign of growth, though.
This isn’t to say that I’m changing who I am or compromising my individuality for my goal, I learned that through actively doing my purges and understanding why it feels so necessary to do. I will still get my nails done with fun, sometimes colorful designs. I will still have red, curly hair, and I will still wear a little too much blush. My outfits can still be fun, like my Everlane denim jumpsuit, which makes me look a little badass. I still own my very good quality Danish clomper boots that make me walk with confidence and feel a mile tall. I will still speak my mind and laugh loudly and cry proudly and tell it like I see it, I’m not changing myself, I’m just clearing my space for my next era.