Diggin' Deep

I have a problem y'all.

Over the holiday I spent a good portion of one of my days cleaning out and organizing my closet. {If I were a good blogger I would show you a before and after. I'm too prideful to show you that it still isn't all that great. Sorry.} Despite my efforts to get my closet in shape, it because very obvious that my unorganized closet stems from one source: I have way too many clothes.

For real.

I'm actually slightly embarrassed by the problem. I was talking to my friend Leslie {who house sat for us over the holiday} about it and she said, "Well, I hung some clothes up in there and I noticed you certainly have a lot of options!" Bless her heart. She's too good of a Southern woman to say, "Yes, yes woman, you certainly have too many clothes. PURGE."

And it's not like I haven't tried to purge. I really have. Part of the problem comes from the fact that I haven't really changed sizes in several years. Things that I bought several years ago still fit and I still like the items, so I can't bring myself to get rid of them. Plus, I know that I do have some pieces that I bought {or my mom bought for me!} that were more expensive, so knowing how much they cost almost makes it seem unbearable to get rid of them.

Here I sit with a closet packed full of wonderful clothes, yet if I really took a closer look at it, I'm probably only wearing about 1/4 of what I own. Leslie suggested I try Kendi's 30 for 30 challenge, but I told her I really need the opposite, I need to stay away from the same pieces I wear every week!

So, I'm doing just that and creating a challenge for myself:

It's really a simple challenge: every week I'm trying to wear 2 or 3 outfits using pieces that I haven't worn in a while to see if I still like the items and truly want to keep them in my closet.  I've got two outfits that I'm about to show you and it's amazing how actually putting the pieces on and wearing them in public totally changed how I felt about the items as compared to when I just see them on the hanger.

Take this first outfit: {the skirt is the main item I haven't worn in a while}

I bought my jean jacket to be more fitted for t-shirt and tanks. It's really not made to be worn with a sweater. So I already felt slightly "puffy" and self conscious when I was wearing it, but I knew I needed to wear this skirt to start the challenge. So, I'm rocking the skirt all day thinking it's a decent outfit and then we get home to take pictures. Oh. My. Goodness. It was only in SEEING the photos of this skirt that I realize that this was just bad. I've got hips and the skirts just hits at the wrong length so that it makes me look wider and doesn't flatter my curves at all. Honestly, I didn't want to post these photos at all, but this is the reason I'm digging into my closet. I've held onto this skirt because I know I paid a good amount for it at a boutique in my hometown, but now I know that it's just not for me.  To the consignment store it goes! Because I actually wore it out, I know that it's just not right for my body type and I have no qualms about getting rid of it. Diggin' Deep Success #1.

Outfit number two: {the shirt and blazer are DD items}

This blazer certainly doesn't photograph well, but I promise it's polka dotted and not psychedelic like the pictures make it look! I bought this Gap Outlet many a year ago {as, our town hasn't had a Gap Outlet since probably 2007} when blazers were first starting to make a comeback. Honestly, I probably doubted my decision from the moment I brought it home, but I've carried it with me for many years. I have great visions of it being a fun twist on the professional blazer, but the problem is that it's not as fitted for a woman as it should be. So unless I wear it with a belt on the outside, I end up with just a boxy figure.  While I felt comfortable in the outfit and do feel like the blazer looked good on me, I don't think that I will wear it enough to justify keeping it.

As far as the shirt goes, I can't believe this, but it's actually almost TEN years old. {I know, that alone should probably be reason enough to get rid of it.} I wore it to my senior awards ceremony, wow! This is another piece that I know my mom spent a great deal of money on, plus a cowl/turtle neck is a really flattering look for me. So, despite the fact that I haven't worn it in ages, I still hung on to it. I do feel like it looked good under this jacket, but once I put it back on I realize that it's just a tad bit too short for me.

So, on my first Diggin' Deep attempt, I've found 3 pieces of clothing that I've always thought I couldn't get rid of that I'm actually going to be able to take to the consignment store. Thus allowing me to free up some closet space and I'll be making money off of it! Sounds like a win-win situation to me!

What's your closet like? Do you keep it nice, organized with room to spare or are you full to the brim like me? Maybe you'll consider joining me for Diggin' Deep next week :)

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy for WIWW