Reduce, Reuse & Recycle: The Update

Last April, I blogged about wanting to pare down my wardrobe. Since then, I've managed to do a bit of decluttering in the rest of the house, but kept procrastinating on the mess in my bedroom. Then a couple of days ago, I finally attacked my closet, dresser & the various boxes & heaps of half-sorted items. After about an hour of sorting into piles of keep, donate, consign, throw out & store (summer & maternity stuff), I had three big garbage bags to give to Big Brothers; a small bag for the garbage of ragged fishnets, holey undies, etc; & a collection of clothes that now fits into my dresser & closet.

I'm still not that happy with the results. So much of my wardrobe is pieces that I bought not because I really loved them, but because they were cheap. If I was truly ruthless & pitched everything that I didn't really like, I'd be left with next to nothing. On the upside, all the bland Old Navy basics that make up a large part of my wardrobe are very washable so I don't really care when Sprout smears food or snot on them. However, I'd like to slowly weed them out, replacing them with interesting stuff I've made myself, the occasional high-quality designer item & unique pieces from local independent lines.

Maybe someday in the future, if I keep up the gradual process of paring down, I'll have a minimalist home & wardrobe. Still not sure how sewing & making stuff fits into that lifestyle though. How do you reconcile getting rid of everything you don't use regularly with a sewing & crafting stash?