A 10 Item Wardobe? (Or: It's OK to wear the same outfit over and over!)

This orange dress (shown in 2011) survived multiple closet purges over the years because I loved the color and shape. But I hated the length and never wore it—and now it's finally gone.

So I still haven't had time to blog several sewing or knitting projects, but thought I'd drop in quickly to share a little video. We're doing some triple super ultra major decluttering in preparation for an apartment move, so I decided to watch some downsizing/minimalism TED talks for inspiration (found via Apartment Therapy: Flirting with Minimalism or Downsizing? These TED Talks May Just Talk You Into It).

Anyway, thought I'd share this little one here — blogger Jennifer L. Scott on the 10-Item Wardrobe:

A lot of this material you might already have thought about if you've followed along with Colette Patterns' Wardrobe Architect Series (or read one of Sarai's blog suggestions, the minimalist capsule-wardrobe-building blog Into Mind.)

My big takeaway? It's OK to wear the same items of clothing or the same outfits multiple times in the same week. Really. If it looks good and you love it — wear it and wear it over again (change your accessories if you like), clean it, repair it, and take care of it. Quality and fit and style over quantity.

That's why one of my goals for Me-Made May has never been "no outfit repeats."

A minimalist wardrobe approach has another bonus — even though I only have very limited sewing and knitting time, if I make the RIGHT things, they can still make up the vast majority of my mini-wardrobe.

Selling Colette & vintage patterns on eBay, starting at $1

Hi all--I'm still having carpal tunnel issues and can't get back to regular posting and crafting just yet... but for those of you who can, I've done a little destashing and have some never-used Colette Patterns, vintage repro patterns, suits and cashmere sweaters (the latter two categories were in vacuum storage bags from a previous more-formal job) up on eBay... all auctions starting at $1, and some with free shipping!

Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season.

Up to the Armpits! (Stripes & Wales, take 2)

That is, I nearly got to the armpits on little Z's toddler Tomten hoodie sweater jacket (Ravelry project link here) today, which was very exciting because all that straight garter stitch knitting was starting to bore me, even in chunky stripey yarn:

The other main piece of the outfit is those Ottobre corduroy overalls from the Autumn 2010 issue. Z has one of those adorable round toddler tummies, and there's always a big gap between her shirts and jeans--she really needs some overalls. I have the baby cord in the stash from ages ago, and the lining is Maggie London purple print lawn from Emma One Sock left over from my reversible shirred skirt.

I'm going to change the bunny appliqué to a cat (Z is obsessed with all cats) and skip the velcro side opening and the hearts on the butt.

I recorded a video of the process of drawing and coloring the outfit sketch, which I'll speed up, narrate and post here when I have a moment.

Oh, and I'm also up to the armpits in decluttering... mercifully two of my clothing drawers no longer explode when I try to open them.

Polka Dot Wardrobe Domination: Week #1 (A Little Help from Lucky)

"If you're anything like me, deep down all you really want is a closet filled with your favorite things. These are the clothes that make you happy to put on, that make you feel like yourself. Instead, many of us feel that we have a closet stuffed with clothes and nothing we want to wear."
--Sarai Mitnick, The Colette Sewing Handbook (Chapter Two: A Thoughtful Plan)

"So it's strapless and you can't wear strapless bras... and it doesn't quite fit... and the zipper's busted... and it's kind of a bad color for you, but what if someday you wear it with some really cute cardigan or you sew some straps on it... and it was such a find... and you dont have another one like it, so, well... um..."
--The Voices in the Back of My Head When I am Decluttering, Mikhaela's Brain (Chapter 3: Just Shove it In the Back of the Sock Drawer)

So I realized that before plowing headfirst into a ton of random on-a-whim sewing projects, I should step back and evaluate my existing wardrobe and ruthlessly eliminate anything that doesn't fill a need, suit my style/life/lifestyle or make me ridiculously happy, and ask deep probing questions like "Why the hell is my sweater drawer stuffed with 20 pairs of threadbare high-waisted maternity panties?"

THEN I can really start adding new, fun and exciting yet totally wearable stuff, right?

I used to do this every six months--I'd try a ton of stuff on, prance back in forth in front of the full-length, listen to Peter Walsh's "It's All Too Much" audiobook, and be really, truly ruthless. My last great purge was during my pregnancy (shoes gone by here) in order to make room for baby.

Since then, things have gotten out of hand. My husband does most (er, all) of the laundry and just shoves things away in random drawers when I don't get around to it myself in reasonable time (thank you honey!). I've barely done any shopping, but since I only have 8 small drawers and half a small closet for ALL my clothes and shoes (including off-season and special occasion), everything is squished, squashed, wrinkled and unreachable.

With a little elbow grease, I can extract about five or six tops, a few sweaters and a single pair of jeans, so I wear them over and over and over again. Repeatedly.

So I'm going to attempt one drawer per night and then the closet until I'm done. I have some helpers, too (ignore the spelling error on the binder, please!):

1. The Lucky Shopping Manual: Building and Improving Your Wardrobe Piece by Piece. I don't even read Lucky anymore, but I read this book over and over. It really helps me think about what's in my wardrobe in a smart, fun and inspirational way. There's a section for each general item--skirts, pants, suits, lingerie, shoes, coats, bag, etc--with suggestions on basic wardrobe needs, different types of the item, when to save, when to splurge... It's nearly ten years old but doesn't feel at all dated. (Just ignore the advice about which clothing styles are best suited for which figure type--I certainly do).
   
   
2. My binders of inspirational style clippings from assorted fashion magazines and clothing catalogs. What with the advent of Polyvore (and now Pinterest, and the dilemma over what to capture where...?!) I don't update these anymore, but it's more fun to page through than the digital versions.
   

So, yes: all systems go! And then to the fun sewing planning stuff.

How about you all--how's your New Year's wardrobe planning going?

P.S. I don't really recommend Lucky's newer book, by the way: The Lucky Guide to Mastering Any Style. It was a total disappointment--the only style I related to at all was "Bombshell", but it was a really pigeonholed and by-the-book version of bombshell--I didn't need a book to lay it out for me:

P.P.S. After your excellent comments and some Deep Introspection, I've decided to throw all caution to the wind and sew up my wide-legged corduroy trousers WITHOUT A SINGLE COMPLEX ALTERATION to the pattern. I never do this so it scares me, but if I cut wide enough seam allowances (1") I think I'll be able to force myself.

The Shoe Killer

The code of the merciless shoe killer: All shoes, boots and sandals must be (1) comfortable and (2) super cute and (3) fit in the bottom of half of a small Brooklyn apartment closet, with frequently worn shoes permitted access to the bottom of a small IKEA bookshelf and a single pair of snow boots allowed safe haven in the hall closet. There are to be no off-season shoes in the sock/underwear/utensil/spice drawers, on top of the art supply cabinet, or under the crib.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm a shoe killer. Or a shoe abandon-er, anyway. After a lifetime of near-hoarderism (we're talking saving napkins with scribbles on them), something in my packrat soul just snapped last year. Maybe it was the repeated listening to motivational anti-clutter audiobooks, maybe it was Pregnancy Brain.

Either way, I finally lined up my overflow shoes, took a long last lingering look over their straps and buckles, their cute rounded toes, their retro feel, their adorable detailing and sturdy heels... and shot them. For the eBay auction gallery.

• The Victim: Brown Mary Janes with Scalloped Suede Detailing (Kenneth Cole Reaction)
  
• The Motive: Despite love of Mary Janes and sturdy low heels, repeatedly found excuses to wear other shoes instead. Perhaps it was the square toes, perhaps the lack of sock lining.
• Regrets: None. Cute shoes deserve to be worn.

The same cruel fate befell two other pairs of similar kitten heels. Even red top-stitching couldn't save these babies:

• The Victim: Strappy Silver Metallic Almost-Wedding Sandals (Van Eli)
  
• The Motive: I bought two similar styles on Zappos for my wedding in 2007, and these never made it down the aisle.
• Regrets: Eh. I hardly have use for one pair of metallic strappy heels, never mind two. But we had some good times:
  

• The Victim: Chartreuse Wedge Sandals (Born)
  
• The Motive: Atoning for a DSW impulse buy. I'm all about chartreuse everything, but after hobbling around in them at a gallery opening one night, I learned my lesson about wooden wedges and about fake "arch support" areas.
• Regrets: I regret nothing.

• The Victim: Mid-calf Black Leather Boots (Timberland)
  
• The Motive: I can only fit two pairs of boots in my closet--one flat pair, one heeled pair--and the other heeled pair was cuter.
• Regrets: We'll always have my Cavalier-and-Klay-inspired "Luna Moth" Halloween costume from 2004 (sewn up with some random Simplicity fairy costume pattern):
  

• The Victim: Sling-back black Mary Jane heels with patent leather toe (Cole Haan)
  
• The Motive: Um... WHAT WAS I THINKING? Probably something like "I'm so pregnant I will never wear heels again, even really amazingly cute heels that I got on a ridiculous sale and that are both sexy and work appropriate and only slightly uncomfortable and are super awesome pretty shoes that go with everything and didn't even sell for much on eBay and will never come back in my life again..." Crap.
• Regrets: I don't want to talk about it. I'M SO SORRY.

And finally, because this is Polka Dot Overload, after all:

• The Victim: My only pair of polka dot shoes in the whole wide world (Privo by Clarks)
  
• The Motive: When I saw them on eBay, it felt like destiny: red polka-dot flats from Clarks for $14? I thought my feet would love them forever...

  Until they arrived and I realized they had no arch support, made my size 10 feet look like giant boats, and reminded Masheka of Minnie Mouse.

• Regrets: I regret only that I had but one pair of polka dot shoes to give for... Er...

It's been almost a year. As I look back I can't help shed a tear or two sometimes for my shoes gone past...

But it's nice to be able to open the medicine cabinet without sandals falling on my head.

How's your spring cleaning going? Have you given any shoes the boot?

P.S. In my next post: the shoe survivors.

Photo in Wanted illustration by Márta Fodor.

Do you have more fabric than, um, actual clothes?

A lovely cotton stretch woven print purchased at either Mood or Paron's a gajillion years ago and never made into anything... YET

Cause I do. Thanks to some ruthless post-pregnancy closet curating (aka purging) this weekend, I realized today that I might have more storage space devoted to sewing and knitting supplies than I do to actual wearable sewn, knit and RTW items. I now have eight small drawers and half a closet for all of my clothes and shoes in the entire universe (including off-season clothes, special occasion clothes, etc)... and six very large drawers and a sewing cabinet full of fabric, yarn, patterns and suchlike.

And remember, I live in an 850-sq-ft apartment with my husband, a baby, two cats, and my mom (she stays with us during the week to watch Z). So my definition of ruthless purging might be different than yours... Also remember: this is AFTER a series of similarly harsh fabric, pattern and yarn destashings.

What does that say about me? That I'm forward-thinking, and ready to accept lovely new clothes into my life? That I'm living in a fanciful future, and not the actual present? Hmm....

It certainly makes getting dressed easier, since my options are so limited--most of the pre-preg clothes I didn't donate away are just SLIGHTLY too tight now to zip up.

And I'm really getting some serious wear out of that reversible skirt... even though I sewed it 35 lbs ago! The black swiss dot side is one of only two solid-color skirts I own that fit, and I'm kind of digging the patterned edge that accidentally peeks out at the hem, though it annoyed me at the time.

(Apologies for evening flash photos and my messy hair--I had my mom snap these when I got home from work as I don't have time for morning shoots these days).

How about you, dear readers?

My Dashed Yarn Dreams Can Now Be Yours

Someone ELSE can knit a fabulous Central Park Hoodie out of these 7 hanks of Cascade 220 Tweed in lovely Magenta... now selling for 99 cents on eBay. My carpal tunneled hands certainly can't!

It hurt, but I did it! As promised, I instituted a ruthless yarn stash purge, and began listing anything that seemed vaguely salable on Ebay. The proceeds, if any, will offset the cost of the Medela Pump In Style I just bought.

Here are the lots I've put up so far, and the dreams delusions that have died with them.

1. Central Park Hoodie dreams. From the moment I saw the Central Park Hoodie on Ravelry, I had to have one. But I can't. Goodbye, tweedy magenta hoodie!

   

2. Organic yarn blend dreams. I'll blame Interweave Knits again. They did a review of organic yarns (Fall 2007?) so I picked up a couple of skeins of Vermont Organic Fiber Company O-Wool Balance. (As of this writing, going for 99 cents on eBay).

   

   I even handwound them sitting by the fire on a lovely camping trip at Macedonia Brook State Park in Connecticut:

   

   They were going to be a lightweight tweedy striped hat for Masheka. But he only wears black or gray hats. Goodbye manly yet colorful hat!

3. Chanukah and Christmas Scarf Dreams. Before my hands gave out, I bought a LOT of random balls of yarn in different colors to make holiday gifts, mainly from this gorgeous book, Knitting New Scarves:

   

   As you might have noticed from my mini-wardrobe contest plans, I love mixing purple and chartreuse. These three skeins of Morehouse Farm Merino (no bids yet!) would have made a lovely long modern scarf or two. But I can barely knit for myself and Cartoonist Baby, never mind for others. Goodbye scarves!

   

4. Stranded colorwork dreams. I wanted to get beyond making basic striped hats like this one:
   

   ... So I acquired a whole mess of Cascade 220 and 220 Heathers with some vague idea of making super-warm and colorful winter accessories, such as Adrian Bizilia's Entomology Hat & Mittens:

   

   I made some small samples, and had schemes of charting my own patterns after practicing with purchased ones. Oh well! Goodbye Cascade colorwork dreams!

   

   Currently at $1.29 on eBay

   

   Currently at 99 cents on eBay

So those are a few of the dreams I've let go. And here are a few I'm still clinging to--at least for now:

1. Baby sweater dreams. Unlike adult-sized hoodies, baby sweaters are doable even at my glacial pace. Here's the Baby Surprise Jacket I made for Cartoonist Baby this past winter, though I still haven't figured out a baby-safe closing device (maybe giant sew-on snaps?):
   

   And I just started making her another Elizabeth Zimmerman number, the lacy Baby Sweater on Two Needles from Knitter's Almanac, with some superwash yarn I hand-dyed in 2008:

   
2. Endpaper Mitts Dreams. Cascade colorwork I can survive without. But Koigu Premium Merino colorwork? Hmmm... I got these at Purl Soho:
   

   To make Eunny Jang's free Endpaper Mitts pattern:

   
3. Sock dreams, baby and otherwise. Besides the kettle-dyed pink worsted, I also painted a bunch of sock blanks and some blank lace weight on the same day:
   

   ... And really, sock yarn takes up SO little space! And teeny Better than Booties Baby Socks like these are quick and easy:

   

   They were just leftovers from my Monkey socks.

4. Puff-Sleeved Feminine Cardigan dreams. I'm waffling on the bag of eggplant merino I bought to make this lovely pattern by Stephanie Japel from Fitted Knits. But DK-weight sweaters are not really suited for the glacial knitter, no matter how cute or retro looking.

   

5. Malabrigo and Alpaca dreams. Thus far I have not managed to get rid of a single skein of Malabrigo. Don't care how much it pills--I wear my purple Malabrigo hat all the time, and my Malabrigo Fetching Mitts came in handy in today's chilly weather:
   

   I'm also having trouble purging the eight skeins of lovely straight-from-the-farm undyed alpaca I bought at the Windsor County Fair in Maine. I do LOVE alpaca yarn as a rule--the below is my Misti Alpaca Chunky Cherry Garcia neck cowl...

   

   ...which I wear on all cold days--including today. But I don't really do neutral colors like brown or cream, even though I DID meet the adorable alpacas who produced them:

   

   So they should probably go. Maybe? Er...

Whew! Enough yarn talk for now. I need to stop writing about decluttering and get back to actually doing it!

P.S. Thanks to all of your for your wonderful suggestions on what to do with our destashed yarn, fabric art supplies and the like! I'll likely donate a bag of random balls or skeins that I'm not selling (and anything that doesn't sell on eBay) to an organization that makes hats and blankets for preemies, as they were asking for yarn on Freecyle and offered to pick up. Which is ideal, since we are carless Brooklynites and I am SO pregnant and Cartoonist Baby will be here SO soon!

Declutter Overload: How to Say Goodbye to Yarn?

So with Cartoonist Baby scheduled to arrive in just 4-8 weeks, Cartoonist Husband and I have ramped up our mad decluttering frenzy (last mentioned here in the context of ruthless knit and woven fabric executions).

Our 850-square foot 2-bedroom Brooklyn apartment is fabulous, and quite large by New York standards. But like many artistic types, we have a serious clutter problem. Which we've been denying over the years by cramming everything we couldn't fit elsewhere into the guest bedroom closets and drawers--off-season clothes, Masheka's guitar, my college photography and anthropology projects, Masheka's college film reels, holiday decorations, fabric, yarns, camping equipment and travel gear, freelance cartooning files we have to keep for tax purposes, every single diary or sketchbook I've ever kept, old letters and mementos from friends and family, photo albums, art supplies...

And now it ALL has to go somewhere else--or just GO. Once Cartoonist Baby outgrows her bedside bassinet, that's going to be her room -- and my mother's room, since my amazing mom is going to be watching our girl during the week when my 12-week maternity leave is up.

The process has been agonizing, to say the least. Sure, we've made big strides in the following areas:

• Clothing clutter: We've taken at least 10 bags worth to the local Goodwill in the last four months alone. This is made easier by my pregnancy--I can't try things on and go "well, MAYBE that could work if I just..." No, it couldn't. And if something was already too small BEFORE I was pregnant, keeping it is just self-flagellation. I've also sold about 7 pairs of shoes on eBay, and donated 3 or 4 more to Goodwill.
• Furniture clutter. We replaced the HUGE drafting table in our bedroom with a teensy folding one--we do most of our art digitally now anyway. My parents replaced the king-sized guest bed with a comfy folding couch bed. My bedside table has made way for our Arm's Reach Mini Bassinet.
• Random things we haven't used in years clutter: Goodbye, George Foreman grill--the broiler works better anyway.
• Stuff we won't be using for a long time clutter: We've loaned the camping stuff to my parents indefinitely.
• Book clutter: We've gotten rid of over 150 books via Amazon and Goodwill... leaving just 1,600 stacked 2 or 3 deep on a multitude of bookshelves. Progress, right?!

Other areas? Not so much. Art supplies are hard--I find it physically painful to throw away or donate a perfectly nice box of partly-used artist's pastels... even though I haven't drawn with pastels in over 10 years. Sentimental and creative stuff is even harder--some objects can be quickly photographed and then trashed (set lists from punk shows I saw in my teens, weird quilts I made from old T-shirts), but what to do with my boxes of letters and diaries and photos? As for all the paper-based business and other files, we HAVE to keep them for tax and other purposes. But the file cabinet is already full...

So, we're working on it.

Which brings me to the subject I've been avoiding: the yarn stash. As much as it pains me, it has just GOT to go. Cartoonist Husband and I have eight large storage drawers in the giant wall-to-wall bookshelves my father built in the livingroom, and I am currently hogging six: four with fabric, patterns and sewing notions, and two with yarn. Some of which can be seen on my Ravelry stash page...

It's not that I don't knit at all anymore--but since an intense bout with repetitive stress injury two years ago, I am a GLACIAL knitter. In order to preserve my hands and wrists for graphic design and cartooning, I knit maybe 1-2 hours a week, usually just during my weekly knitting group. At that pace, I'll still be working from my existing stash when Cartoonist Baby has gone off to college. (Luckily, machine sewing doesn't bother my hands at all--there are too many different varied movements involved).

So most of the yarn has to go (with the exception of the stuff I handdyed, and the Malabrigo, and the alpaca and...). And I don't really have any experience with yarn destashing--is it worth my time and trouble to try and sell the stuff on eBay or Etsy, or should I just donate it? And if I donate it--where to? I asked my knitting group but most of them are wrestling with stash problems of their own and have different tastes.

Please don't mourn for my knitting--I can always buy yarn for a specific project when I need it. At my pace, there is never a yarn emergency where I could possibly be stuck without something to knit.

Also, renting storage space? NOT an option. We tried that before and it was just a clutter-enabling money suck. If something isn't beautiful or useful enough to fit in the apartment as it is, well--it's just got to go.