Socks- those wonderful warm tubes you wear on your feet

So I needed a bit of a break from my closet this week. I know I have gotten so far, but the remaining purge is going to be tough on my heart. :) for real! So tonight I started in on my sock drawer. I really should have thought about this when I first started because well, let's face it, while I appreciate the warmth of socks I am not emotionally attached to them. You will never hear me say "remember that awesome day when I was wearing my ________ (fill in the blank with your choice of descriptive) socks". I just don't have the same attachment to them that I have with my shoes or my clothes.

This was my sock drawer at the beginning of this process. Jammed packed and not really all that functional. I had to sift through what I didn't like to get to what I wanted/needed.

So I am almost embarrassed to post this but this but this is what was lurking in my sock drawer. I cannot believe I kept these around and likely have worn them several times as they are in all their "air conditioned" glory! I also found a pair that I've had since Jr. High which I likely haven't worn since that time. EMBARRASSING!!! and to top that off I had several pairs which I haven't worn in forever because while they are functional, they are not my favorites (ie they don't feel good or don't quite fit in my shoes).

This was my solution to help me get through the purge. I bought 12 brand new pairs of socks. That way I didn't have to hold on to any pairs that don't fit and/or are worn out. No excuses for not purging. Thank you to Costco for their $10 sock packs.

I figured I need about 3 weeks worth of socks so that way if we go on a 2 week vacation which we've been know to do I will have enough to not have to do laundry the day before or the absolute day we get back. Also I travel for work so I have to keep in mind that I need some wiggle room so I am not stressed trying to do a bunch of laundry on the run.

Here is what I ended up purging- a total of 25 pairs of socks! Bringing me to a total negative purge of 13. I don't count the 12 pairs that were replaced with new socks. The good ones that I just didn't like have been donated to charity.

And this is my final sock drawer. I now have 19 pairs of everyday socks all in black or grey and 3 slipper socks I wear at night. The back right corner are my running socks- most recently bought and all in good shape. This drawer makes me happy!

Simplicity- functional socks that I will actually wear.

ARGH my closet!

Alright so if you are following along, you know that I have committed to purging some stuff out of my life and that January's focus is my closest. In hindsight I should have started with something that was a little less close to my heart. I LOVE my clothes. They invoke great memories for me and I will often remember an event or a time in my life when I look at a certain top, pair of shoes, or dress.

I have committed to getting all my clothes into 1, yes 1, solitary closet. I have been using our spare bedroom closet for the last 6ish years to store some of my clothes. Now you may be thinking two closets is a bit excessive and let me assure you that I agree. However, I would like to be clear that they are neither are walk-in closets. Saying that makes me feel just a bit better about myself ;)

I've been spending time every day thinking of one thing I can get rid of and then either throwing it in the garbage if it's too old and abused to do anything with, putting it in the give away pile, or putting it in the sell pile. A few non-closet things snuck in as I was on a roll and things came to mind, I added them to the list and purged.

To date this is what has left my home:

2 overalls

5 sweaters

11 pairs of shoes

lamp

6 placemats

4 envelopes of craft stuff

2 Jackets

6 Shirts/t-shirts

2 skirts

5 scarfs

bathing suit cover up

8 tank tops

2 vests

PJ pants

1 purse

1 small suitcase

2 pairs of socks

bread mix

cookbook

belt

Running Total: 63

Some of it is in a holding pattern as I have it ready to go to consignment when I drop off on February 4th- Yeah me!

so are you ready for it.........reveal time! with all this purging this is what I have left from the second closet. I'm getting really close to being down to just one closet. I count 34 items which I hope is doable. Any tips for making it there by the end of the month, the last part is going to be the hardest!!

My Journey

So I was just going to add these posts to my original blog but I have decided that in order to really simplify things, if that is what my life is going to be doing this year, I needed to really be serious about it and what is more serious than a blog completely dedicated to simplifying my life? This way I can track my progress and you can keep up to speed on how I'm doing as well!

So why am I here?:

It actually started with a word of the year challenge that Ali Edwards puts on her blog each year. You can read about her journey here I have participated in the two years by selecting a word that I would live by for those years. And one of those years I even created a scrapbook page about it....so this year I decided to participate again and my word is SIMPLIFY

What makes this word so special?:

I feel that I am constantly going in 101 directions every day. Here's a bit of a list of the roles that I am tackling in my day to day life. I work full time at a job that requires me to travel a lot. This means that I am constantly packing and unpacking my suitcase. I am also a graduate student working on completing my masters. I am currently working on my thesis which is an up and down process. I am married to a fantastic husband and I have two beautiful puppies that I absolutely adore. I volunteer and sit on the executive of two non profit organizations which I love. I am also a part of a fantastic scrapbook design team at skrap n chat and to top it all off I love to run and just signed up for 1/2 marathon training to run my first in May of this year.

For me it was a simple choice *insert corney laughter here* I need the world around me- my home- to be simple. It needs to function in a way that supports the other roles that I have taken on. I shouldn't be so overwhelmed with the things I own and how I organize my life that I am prevented from enjoying what I really love.

So how is this going to work?:

I posted twice on my other blog which you can check out here and here to grab a bit of the background. But basically in a sentence- I am going to work at getting rid of the stuff and processes in my life that aren't working for me and that are bogging me down. I am going to focus on one area of my home each month and keep a running total of stuff purged and processes cleaned up as the year progresses.

I expect this year to be a difficult one for me. I don’t expect that I have decided to simplify and that it will all happen in January. Yes, I’ve started making progress already and I am really excited, but I know that this year will be a lot of blood sweat and tears. I’ve already laid awake a few nights thinking “what the heck did I decide to do to myself?” I am realistic in acknowledging that this little word “simplify” may actually take me on a multi-year journey. I have bought in though hook, line, and sinker!

I am excited about the journey and look forward to posting pictures of my newly simplified spaces and processes that surround me.

So what are you waiting for? Jump in with me and hey, I would love to hear your stories too. And when the going gets tough we can cry together as we learn to part with our stuff.

Simply Yours.

-Stacy