How To Minimize Your Belongings Using the KonMari Method!

I am very new to the concept of a capsule wardrobe, but am absolutely loving the experience of living with one over the last thirteen days.  Just in case this is your first time hearing of it, let me explain.  The idea is to reduce your wardrobe to a small, well thought out collection of pieces that can be mixed and matched to create many outfits.  I first learned of this idea from the Un-Fancy blog, so I am loosely following her instructions in my capsule attempt.  (By the way, If you've never been to Caroline's blog, Un-Fancy, go now. I'll wait.) 

Back?  Great!  Let's continue...

Before choosing any items for my capsule wardrobe I wanted to go through all of my clothing and discard about 50%, minimum.  I was inspired by reading The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo.  

If you haven't read this yet, you should.  It's allowed me to finally get rid of things I've been carting around for years.  If you're interested, read my review of the book here!

Using the method described in Kondo's book, I met my goal and allocated approximately 50% of my belongings to be donated, sold, or thrown out.  With a newly halved closet, it was time to try my hand at capsuling (probably not a word, but I'm using it anyway.)  I tried to look at my remaining clothing objectively, as if I were looking at items in a store and not my clothes with their multitudes of associations and sentimental connections.  I wanted to create a minimal wardrobe of clothing that was comfortable, fashionable, versatile, and suited my body.  Interested in the result?  Go check out my Fall Capsule Wardrobe! 

But how exactly did I minimize my clothing 50%?  And what about all of the other crap that always seems to gather in my house?

Here is a recap of the KonMari method summary I wrote for my post: Living With Less: A Review of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up & How To Declutter the KonMari Way! in a super pretty and pin-able graphic! (You're welcome.)

Just like Marie suggested, I began with clothing and continued from there.  I came across this book at the perfect time, just before I moved into a new house and got all of my things out of a storage container!  As I unpacked I sorted into categories, and then I went through one category at a time.  It was glorious: I sorted and discarded before I ever put one item away in my new home!  I realize that not all of you will be lucky enough to have a move coincide with your desire to declutter, and that you may even see that as undesirable (since you need to transport all of the items you'll just be discarding when you get to your destination), so I suggest choosing the room with the most open floor area and making that your sorting room for the next couple of days.  Let your family know what you're doing, and assure them the mess won't last long!

Putting Your Belongings Away

Once you've discarded, how do you organize?  Marie has a whole host of awesome tips and tricks in her book, but the following are my favourites!

And there you have it, the simple ways you can minimize and organize your belongings for good.  Are you going to pick up Marie's book and give it a read? It just might change your life!

Until next time,

ave you used the KonMari method?  Tell me about it in the comments!

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Fall Capsule Wardrobe

It's finally here!  This is literally the most excited I have been for October in my entire life.  Like I mentioned in my How To Build A Capsule Wardrobe post (which you should read, by the way), I have been looking forward to creating a capsule wardrobe for about 6 months.  The process of dreaming, curating, and photographing my new, minimal, fall wardrobe has been so much fun.  I can't wait to show you which pieces I decided on!

By the way, if you want to see the outfits I put together using my capsule items be sure to follow me on Instagram (@elizabethturn).  I will be posting my outfits everyday so that you can see a real life example of how a capsule wardrobe actually works in day to day life.

Ok.  Enough rambling.  Without further ado, my Fall Capsule Wardrobe! 

As you can see, I'm a big fan of the black and white look.  (You'd know this already if you followed me on instagram!)  I'm not big on colour or pattern, and that's why my wardrobe has very little of both.  I am partial to plaid, however, and decided to include a plaid shirt for a bit of traditional fall flavour (and for those casual days at the pumpkin patch!)  The great thing about a wardrobe mostly made up of black and white is that everything goes with everything else so easily, giving me endless combination possibilities over the next 3 months!

I'm sure you're wondering about a couple of the pieces and where I bought them, so I'll share all of that information for you.  But first, a little disclaimer.  As I am an ethical vegan, I do not endorse purchasing any items made from or by animals.  A couple of these pieces I purchased before my transition to veganism, and are therefore not in line with my current beliefs.  If you are interested in my take on wearing products made from or by animals as a vegan, and why I continue to wear some of my old pieces, check out the post HERE.  For full transparency I will list the store where I purchased each item, but I will not link to items containing animal products.  Rather, I will link to a similar item made with vegan materials.  I hope you understand why I am choosing to do this and appreciate the time I've put into this post for you!  Some of the items were given to me or I purchased long enough ago that they are no longer available.  In those cases I will link to something similar, or the same item in a different colour!

TOPS (18)

1. white cami - aritzia
2. white tank - similar
3. white deep v blouse - similar
4. white button down - anthropologie
5. white collarless blouse - similar
6. grey cropped tank - brandy melville
7. grey hooded cardigan - similar
8. grey & black baseball tee - aritzia
9. black & grey reversible cami - similar
10. black sleeveless swing blouse - zara
11. black sleeveless v neck blouse - aritzia
12. black t-shirt - aritzia
13. black deep v blouse - similar
14. black long sleeve top - aritzia
15. black cardigan - similar
16. black pullover sweater - similar
17. chambray shirt - similar
18. red plaid shirt - gap

BOTTOMS (9)

1. black skinny jeans - american eagle
2. black trousers - zara
3. black zippered leggings - zara 
4. black vegan leather pants - similar
5. black track pants - gap 
6. black maxi skirt - brandy melville
7. dark green jeans - similar
8. blue ripped jeans - similar
9. blue jeans - anthropologie

DRESSES (2)

1. grey sweater dress - aritzia
2. grey skater dress - similar

OUTERWEAR (4)

1. black blazer - similar
2. black vegan leather moto jacket - similar
3. black coat - aritzia - similar - similar - similar
4. olive military jacket - aritzia

SHOES (7)

1. black riding boots - similar
2. vegan doc martens - doc martens
3. short black cowboy boots - town shoes - similar
4. brown lace-up boots - similar
5. black oxfords - aldo
6. black converse - similar
7. black flats - lulu's

And there you have it, my first ever capsule wardrobe!  I am so excited to work within this framework to build all of my outfits until the end of 2015.  As you can see, the capsule doesn't include accessories, special occasion wear, or workout wear.  I will be committing to no new purchases until the end of December, when I will be planning my winter capsule.  Check out my Style and Capsule Pinterest boards to see what I'm loving for winter!

I hope you've enjoyed getting a look into my closet and that you'll consider giving a capsule wardrobe a try!  If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know in the comments.  I love hearing from you and want to foster a fun and interactive community here on Plant Based Bride :)

Until next time, 

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