The Trivial Pursuit of Happiness

I’m trying to cull down the girls’ clothes (is it any surprise that they have too many clothes?) and need your help. How many pairs of pants/how many shirts/how many ___ does your child actually need? I am going to put everything but a finite amount of clothes in tubs in the garage for a week or two to see if we actually need any of it, but am having a hard time coming up with a really number for most things. Assuming I do a load of each child’s laundry once a week, what are some round numbers, do you think?

Easter is tomorrow and I am working all day on treats and treasures. I will try to share them soon.

As part of the Great Purge, I went though my closet(s) yesterday and got rid of a few things.

I.. um.. am a hoarder. I am betting it is because I moved around so much as a kid and had to keep my belongings sparse, and the fact that we were poorpoorpoor at some points in my childhood, but regardless, I am a big girl now and I need to put on my big girl panties (I have a few pair!)  and get over my need to collect. I mean, there in that pile? Is every piece of clothing I have bought since I was 15. There are jeans in there that are size 2. Size 2! I had a hard time throwing them out, since I am totally going to fit into those again, right? HAHAHA. No. Get out of my closet you snarky little bastards - you mock me every time I open the door. There are baseball uniforms from (I’m not kidding) second grade. There are wool sweaters that have been felted beyond fitting Ella, shoes with gaping holes in the toes, and bras that are so stretched out that they could not really be defined as bras anymore.

And this? Isn’t all of it. All the maternity clothes are going to the local consignment store, and I know there are a couple more bags of clothes stashed around here somewhere. There is also only a tiny pile there of baby clothes, that will be growing as Alice grows out of things.

Perhaps it is a sign of my current state of mind - I need to flush out all the excess, get down to the essentials before I can be comfortable in my skin again. It’s also an attempt to boost my self esteem - if everything I have in my closet makes me feel good, I am more apt to put some effort into my appearance (which in turn encourages my husband to make out with me more, which is always a mood booster).

Tom and I have talked a lot lately about our need to simplify - we realize now that this house is so much bigger than we need, and when we have the space, we fill it. We know we don’t have a chance in hell selling right now, but unless we have a kid or three more in the next 2 years (oh god no), than we plan to down size then. We half joke about just fixing up the ‘71 VW bus in our backyard and traveling around in that. Live in an RV and start a travel blog? That is the nomad in me talking…

In the mean time, I’ve been reading as Rachel (of SJ fame) and her family make the transition to a”Less really IS more” lifestyle, and am excited to see how Chris’s  experiment in taking a year off from buying goes. Know of any other blogs with a simplicity theme? Link away.