Cleanin' out the closet clutter.

I've been an eBayin' monster he past few weeks! I've sold so much stuff lately, and I'm so proud of myself for sticking with it. Of course, I haven't made a big ol' chunk of money or anything since eBay is all about finding good deals. But I've made enough to have my own little stash of spending money. I'm used to making my own money and working decently hard for it, standing up for hours and dealing with some crazy customers, so it's really hard for me to spend Matt's money on anything other than groceries or things of that sort. So it's been nice being able to have my own little fund so I don't have to dip into bill or rent money if there's something I just absolutely have to have.

I've acquired so much stuff over the past year or so, especially from trying to restock after the flood. And I ended up buying lots of things I didn't really need, but sure as heck thought I did at the time. I am the worst at buying things that I never end up using or wearing. (I blame a lot of that on working in a clothing store for so long and constantly being stared down by cutely dressed mannequins. My check almost always went right back to the store!) So now I'm getting out of that habit and am doing a serious deep closet cleanin'!

I made up a few rules to help me stop holding onto things that I don't need and to keep me from adding to the craziness with more stuff.

Getting rid of things:
1. Be realistic. If I didn't wear it last year, I probably won't wear it this year.
2. Just because it looks cute on the hanger doesn't always mean it looks cute on me. Try on everything before putting it back in the closet.
3. Quality over quantity! One awesome piece I'll wear all the time is way better than a few ehh pieces that I'll wear occasionally.
4. Think of the outcome. If I sell an item that I'm not too crazy about, that's at least a little bit of money toward something that I really want. And someone else might get tons of use out of it!

Buying new things:
1. Don't buy on impulse. (I am awful about this.) Go do the rest of the shopping and come back to it. Really think it through.
2. Consider its versatility. I should be able to build at least 5 outfits in my mind using the piece with things that I already own.
3. Is it the same as one I already have? If it's just like one I have at home, then I don't need another one!
4. How bad do I want it? If I think I'll regret not getting it, or if I've been looking for something for awhile, it might be worth it. But if I just saw it and decided I wanted it then, or if I could really go either way, I probably don't need it.

So I made sure to stick to these rules and have sold lots of things so far; hoodies, leather jackets, military jackets, scarves, purses, and belts. And I made about $200 from everything that I sold! Of course, I paid way more for all of it when I bought each thing, but I can't expect to get full price for things on eBay, you know? It's like I'm paying a 'you were dumb for buying this stuff when you didn't need it' tax. So it serves me right! And it makes me more aware of the consequence of buying things I don't need.

With the money I've made from eBayin', I made sure to stick to my buying rules! I've only bought things that are basic and super versatile so I can get lots of use out of them.
• 3 basic, solid colored cotton t-shirt dresses
• 4 wrap scarves with big, pretty roses
• 3 basic sweatshirts
• 2 cardigans
• 2 plaid button up tops
• a pair of black flats

And then today I found this super cute emeraldy/dark tealish colored lighter cotton H&M peacoat at Goodwill for $10!


And here's one of the cotton dresses and one of the rose scarves! This was my weekend date outfit last Saturday when Matt and I went out for Indian.


I can't wait to go on more Goodwill adventures. Finding that coat made me really optimistic. Maybe I can actually find some cute stuff for the house instead of buying more clothes. Pfffft.