Joshua Becker over at Becoming Minimalist has 9 Tips for Thinning Out Your Closet.  I completely resonated with his description of our attraction to staged closets: the family that owned our home before we did staged their open closet with 3 or 4 shirts in the same color for the wife’s side, and a few suit jackets and shirts on the husband’s side, all with matching hangers, and I *still* carry with me the feeling of openness and light that setup brought with it.  It’s the main image driving my hanger collecting habit and also my desire to curate my closet.

And I discovered in #4 the legit name for a phenomenon I’d made up a term for: turns out a “wardrobe exponent” is really the result of the Diderot Effect, aka the consumption spiral of doooooom.

#5—the idea of one—leads me to my second ReBlog this week.

Francine Jay at Miss Minimalist is doing a series on “The Joy of One” where she shares about owning just”one” item in a particular category (pair of shoes, cooking pan, coat, etc.).  This week it’s a handbag.

Getting to just one item involves both knowing exactly what you want out of that thing and being content with one great version of it instead of wanting more.  You may not be a “just one” type of person; I, for example, have 2 handbags—one cooler months, one warmer—and I like the changeover and variety.  But the thought behind how Francine gets to her “one” will help you think about what you want/need/love in an item and may help you make better choices/avoid the Diderot effect in your future purchases.

 

Do you have just “one” of anything?  How does it work for you?  And which tips for thinning your closet are new to you/already in your arsenal?

 

Happy Weekend, Thrifters!