I found some articles of mine coming back to the blog's earliest months. Back then I was looking at my consumption patterns and making my way through "green fashion". I was questionning my choices, listing my purchases vs. donation on an excel sheet, and restraining my wishes to buy in a compulsive manner.
With two more years in the thought process, an extra kid in the household and also a new job, I figured that I had an easy time doing that. My body had not made the fantastic journey of pregnancy again, I was home most of the time without any specific social interaction following a specific dresscode, and my budget was extra limited so shopping was a luxury rather than a hobby.
I am not saying that I have been shopping a lot more since my revenues have increased. Let's say that I have had the option to make much more conscious choices in general, mostly because I have been able to afford these choices. And because I lost much weight after the pregnancy, many things did not fit anymore, both physically and mentally, that I had to reconsider my stuff.
It's been great in any case to re-use as much as possible to dress the little one up, but it's been also often challenging to keep up with the kids' growth spurts without stopping at H&M.
Over the past months (it all started during the first lockdown) I have started following new bloggers specifically looking at sustainable fashion and consumption, and discovering new podcasts on the same. I have discovered responsible brands using certified materials, sourcing and producing locally, and offering different business models based on pre-orders rather than mass production.
Questioning my closet's content has always been a mindset of mine. I know my fails very well, for example:
buying when I am tired or grumpy, the same way I would jump on junk food when I am hungry
buying the exact same type of dress or shirt, but in another colour
buying with time pressure, for example if collections are limited editions
So, many, many years after the trend started and the method got trendy online, I had a night epiphany and decided to look into Marie Kondo sorting and organizing method.
I has always been very reluctant to look into it, also because I really did not like the wave of influencers calling themselves consultants popping on your social media and selling you ways to manage your home. But it's never too late to realize your mistakes and learn from them: I opened my closet and checked, in my items, what would spark joy in my life.
I did what any newbie would do: check videos on Youtube. I mostly looked for the folding technique to best optimize my space. I did not talk to my clothes or exhange energy vibes with them, like you should be doing when folding the items KonMari-style; however it really helped me realize the level of the mistakes I mentioned above, and make a proper commitment to what I already own.
Needless to say, this technique helped me save a lot of space, and provided great, OCD-like joy, to sort tshirts by types and colours, neatly. Pullovers and sweaters were next, and I'll hit pants and dresses later.
I have also decided to buy less but invest in responsible brands, once in a while, to get "timeless pieces" (you know, the ones that fit all styles/all requirements). I also agreed with myself to stop hitting myself with a virtual stick each time I deviate or get something that makes me happy, as long as it does not tick one of the mistake bullet point.
Next step: the same, for the kids' closet. Wish me luck.