one in, one out: september 2014

for each clothing, shoe, and accessory purchase i make this year, i am donating/selling/recycling a comparable item in an effort to better manage my closet.  check out my "one in, one out" tag for more of these monthly posts!

so, this month of shopping was definitely a wake up call for me. sure, i spent over $100 on a new winter coat (a necessity where i live, so my mindset is "what are you going to do about it") but aside from that, i still spent so much money on so many online purchases. i do feel fortunate that an item was cancelled from all but one of the online purchases i made this month due to being unavailable, so i guess that helped my cause some.  and i have zero regrets about any of the blouses that i bought, which i definitely feel i needed in my wardrobe.  the one clothing item i either have to suck it up and wear with confidence or try to sell on ebay are the printed skimmer pants from j crew factory.  they fit wonderfully (so i will be keeping an eye on the 'skimmer' pants in the future), but i am not sold on the print.  they were a final sale/non-returnable item, so i figure i owe it to myself to wear them at least once before i decide.  anyway, here's my shameful collage of spending:

{what came in}

item purchased	$ paid	original $
j crew factory draped novelty top - polka dot (gw)	5.24
j crew geometric eyelet top (thredup/9.99)	ppal	110
j crew orange lace 3/4 top (thredup/6.84)	ppal
j crew factory lace panel tee - black	15.95	85
j crew factory floral eyelet top - melon	12.45	75
j crew factory printed cutaway top	12.45	74.50
patagonia r3 fleece hoodie - aloe green	138.73	199
j crew factory skimmer pants - green fuchsia	25.89	74.50
j crew factory ruffle collar tee - black hearts	23.79	69.50
c9 workout capris	16.61	34.99
c9 baseball hat	7.11	14.99
target $1 spot socks - teal triangles	0.67	1
target $1 spot socks - gray/white stripes	0.67	1
minnesota twins stocking cap	0	0
minnesota twins zubaz pants	0	0
ann taylor cotton sateen straight leg pants	14.95	89
old navy plaid flannel shirt - white/red plaid	13.70	24.94
old navy quilted zip-front vest - canvas	21.20	34.94
c9 workout capris	11.86	24.99
merona ponte fit & flare dress	10.39	27.99
	$331.66

{what went out}

no picture this month... sorry... i just get too anxious to get everything i am getting rid of in a donation box/bag so i did not keep everything separated out to take a picture, but i am staying faithful to getting rid of a comparable item for every one that i buy!

so, i do most of my grocery shopping at aldi and they always have pretty useful home items in addition to the regular groceries, but they are only available until they're sold out.  last week, i noticed they had boxes of 20 velvet slimline hangers (like huggable hangers) for $5.99.  20 hangers for $5.99!  i immediately bought 3 boxes, then went to two different aldis the following day to buy... well... i don't tell you how many more boxes of 20 hangers i bought.  but anyway, i took everything i own off the mismatched hangers i'd been using and transitioned to these slim velvet hangers (amazing) and in doing so, culled out quite a few additional things to get rid of this month.  it's also kind of amazing how much space these types of hangers do make.  i am really starting to love how  my closet looks and how it is organized, and i think when you reach that point you're more likely to "see" or appreciate the outfits it contains, don't you agree?

{looking ahead}

based on my assessment of my spending this month, i've decided to go a month without shopping in october.  since i started tracking my purchases in 2011, not a month has gone by that i haven't purchased something.  that just seems kind of crazy to me.  plus, i either delete or italicize the items that i have gotten rid of or re-donated over the years, and seeing all those blank spots on my spreadsheet was another good visual reminder that hey, maybe you aren't making the best purchases if you just end up getting rid of something a year or two later.

thanks for visiting!