I Packed My Suitcase - After Holiday Ramblings

So I've talked about the fact that this holiday was quite the transformer for me and I wanted to explain you all a little bit more about that. Life is constant change, growing, renewal, so I welcome this as a new part of the journey.
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This year, I had packed even less for our summer holidays in Germany, thus ended up doing a great deal of repeat wearing. From some of the snaps on Instagram you could see that I was pretty much in these jeans/pants/that black skirt & tee/tank top/blouse for the duration




The weather in recent years has been a bit unpredictable before hand, as it was anything from a cloudy & rainy 20°C to sunny 30°C +. So a good mix of light and slightly heavier clothing is usually (and in fact was) needed.

One thing that I did this time around was being very concise with limiting myself to a few colors & styles instead of being all over the place. Into my actual suitcase (not the pic) I packed only things I truly wanted to wear. And not what I wanted to try out, in order to find whether I still like it. That stuff went into an extra bag, which I then promptly forgot at home. Conclusion: I don't really want it. There was a reason it went into that bag, after all. Bag ---> Out. Sisters and/or charity.

The fact that some of these things have been worn once or twice only since I bought them (some of them years ago already) actually further helped me. By creating yet another mindset shift. I have an even better idea of what can be a longterm candidate for repeat wearing, what will make me feel comfortable and happy. And what instead would only be a fancy schmancy "It's (kinda) cute and out of some reason I must spend my money NOW"-buy. Hint: I don't have to spend my money now and especially not on crap stuff made in crappy ways. I can spend my money, within my budget, but I should do so in a for me productive way.




From this experience I take, and some of it is just old realisations being reinforced:


- I am happier when I limit myself. And I'm not saying this in a bad or depriving way. There's true creature comfort to be found in adorning yourself with the good stuff. Things that fit and feel great.

- It is of immeasurable worth knowing who you truly are. It can't be paid with credit card X. Unless you count buying lots of self development books, spiritual trips and/or therapy as means of getting to know yourself. But even then...

- I don't even want all that clothing stuff. Having yet another shirt, skirt or dress only makes me more anxious, especially when it was bought just to have more, to distract or because I became bored with "cheap thrill dress number 13". That fitted kinda, but then again didn't. Having it means I feel like I have to use it. Because you know, it ain't special enough to just enjoy having it. Drowning in unused, unloved clothing = no fun. And I wasn't even that bad to begin with. The only exception I make is for graphic shirts. These are my true kryptonite. So once again, investing in a few selected pieces is queen.

- I still love dressing & styling myself, but I prefer to do it with beautiful, meaningful, comfortable  and entirely "me" pieces that have been made in a non-crap way. Blame this on me reading "Wear no Evil" by Great Eagan. I just won't be able to shop in the same way anymore.

- I am really narrowing down on my own version of a uniform. Whilst I don't think it'll ever be a literal uniform as in wearing the same kind of thing every day, it does definitely mean eliminating some styles that never have and never will work for me. I am who I am at my core. I'll never be a little flower princess. If I put flowers in my hair, there'll always be an edge regardless. And I just love to kill it with so called basics. As I said in the beginning, I was wearing nice pants & nice tanks most days, and life was good.

- Cheap impulse buys suck more times than not. There are some with which I am happy, but most often it ends up being things that aren't looked at thrice or used once (hello bag of clothes forgotten at home). Implementing my "leave it for 24h" about 2 years ago - give or take - was one of the best things I did for my mental well being. Because feeling guilty about useless impulse buys (even subconsciously) sucks even more than the actually useless item cluttering your home. At least for me. I also know people that are perfectly (and truly) happy with having lots of nick nacks.


Phew. That was quite the ramble. After what happened during my holidays, cleaning out unloved stuff never has been that easy. Yes, I did get a couple new things. Many of those pre-loved by my sisters. Some bought. Carefully selected. I never said don't buy, I just say think about what you invest your money in. Yes, there are new fall shoes.

Now with September coming, I have one of my bi-annual "No Spending, No Shopping" months ahead of me. And here, in case you are considering something similar, or just are curious why I do it: "Tips on How to Pull Off a Shopping Break & Why I do it"






Linking up with: Honest Mum || Katherine's Corner || Sincerely, Paula || Fashion Should Be Fun || Rachel the Hat || The Pin Junkie || Jo-Lynne Shane || The Closet by Christie || Jeans & Teacup || Claire Justine || Fun Money Mom || I do DeClaire || Mama and More || Elegantly Dressed & Stylish || Lou Lou Girls || The SITS Girls || I Heart Naptime ||