Giving Away 62% of my Jewelry

This is a really hard one for me.  You can look at my jewelry collection and see different colors, styles, patterns, etc., but I see memories.  I see special vacation memories, gifts from friends and family, even good times I had wearing certain items.  Some of them were my favorites for years!  But I'm changing.  I'd like to think that I'm growing.  Styles have changed, my tastes have changed - I no longer feel the need to have one of every color.  I used to pride myself on having a necklace and earring set (and of course Old Navy flip flops) in every color to match everything.  But I'm getting more comfortable with metallics and neutrals and just choosing a few colors to be my signature.  I'm almost afraid to post pictures with this post for fear that I will hurt people's feelings who gave me gifts.  Please don't be offended if I'm giving away something you gave me.  I have loved and worn all of the jewelry that I'm choosing to give away.  It doesn't do justice to keep it in a box or even hanging on my wall if I never wear them anymore.  My interest in minimalism is to reduce stress and decision fatigue.  The only way to do that is to have fewer options.

I'm experimenting with having a very very small amount of visible options currently in use.  I also  have jewelry I'm keeping that I think I may want to wear.  Then I'm giving away the rest in the hope that someone else will wear them and enjoy them.  Jewelry is made to be worn and enjoyed.

Here is the breakdown of the numbers:

In use:
1 set necklace with 2 earrings
2 sets necklace with earrings
1 watch
Total: 8 items (9.5 %)

Keeping:
4 sets necklace with earrings
1 watch
2 rings
3 necklaces
10 pairs of earrings
Total: 24 items (28.5%)
    (in use + keeping: 38%)

Giving away:
10 sets necklace with earrings
7 necklaces
21 pairs of earrings
4 bracelets
Total: 52 items (62%)

Total items: 84

Reducing my jewelry has been an ongoing process for me.  The first time I had to do it was before we moved overseas in 2012.  I got rid of a lot.  I also made a hanging jewelry organizer out of an old pair of jeans.  Gradually, as my tastes were changing, it got really crowded.  I don't remember when, but at some point, I sorted again.  I left only my favorites on the organizer and put away the rest on some scrap fabric.

I had chosen a few jewelry items as part of my current capsule wardrobe.  Just a few days ago, I decided it would help if I could only see the "available" jewelry.  I've always wanted a jewelry tree, but I've always had too much.  I chose my small amount, put them in a bowl, and ordered a jewelry tree online.  Btw I didn't count my wedding ring as part of the numbers, but I did count a necklace and earring set I ordered online (not pictured because it hasn't arrived yet).  I've been wanting a gold leaf set for a long time, and I finally found one I like. 

Current jewelry

Jewelry I'm keeping

Spring 2017 Postpartum Nursing Capsule Wardrobe - April/May

Pretty much after the trip to Geneva in January, I just kept those clothes/outfits as my "capsule" for February/March.  I made a few minor adjustments, but it worked well enough that it didn't merit the time and energy to make a new capsule.

Since then, one thing I did was put only 2 pairs of shoes in our entryway for me to choose from: low-heel ankle boots and navy slip-on sneakers.  If I needed to look nicer and didn't need to do much walking (ex. church), I wore the boots.  If I needed to do a lot of walking and could be more casual, I wore the sneakers.  I've worn only those two pairs of shoes for at least the past month.  It was so easy with limited choices.

For my Spring 2017 capsule, I added a 3rd pair of shoes, mostly for when it rains:

I made my April/May capsule a different way than I have in the past: I sat down with pencil and paper, writing my capsule without looking at my closet at all.  I did it completely from memory.  I ended up with 30 pieces.  After looking at my closet, I added a few extra options, but overall I was pretty happy with it.

I've stuck with my usual "uniform" of jeans, t-shirt, blazer, and scarf.  With my husband's help, I did an experiment that I will vulnerably share with you:

I was trying to determine whether my shirt looked better tucked in or left out and which way to tie my scarf.  I ended up deciding the bottom right picture was the most flattering right now.  One issue is that, because I wear curvy jeans, they are cut higher in the back than the front, which can accentuate a tummy.  But a blazer covers the back, so it's not as noticeable.

I made a small capsule for a trip we made last week, using navy and brown as my neutrals and teal and burnt orange as my main colors.  

I'm still not sold on wearing burnt orange in the spring, because it seems like such a fall color, but it is a good color on me and I like getting more wear out of my clothes, so it is staying so far.  I just can't bring myself to put it away until next fall.  I'm realizing that I'm wearing more navy than brown lately.  For example, I'm super excited about two new blanket scarves that I bought: one is brown/orange and the other is navy/teal.

I really really like them both, and I don't want to limit myself to only one per season.  But the brown/orange one screams "fall" and the blue one could work anytime.  So far I'm keeping burnt orange as an option year-round.

I've been wanting a blanket scarf for a long time, but I could never find one in my colors.  I'm so happy with these I found on AmazonUK.  They are also great at helping hide a tummy:

A side note regarding this picture is that I realized I am missing what could be a very helpful base item in my wardrobe: a long-sleeved navy t-shirt.  I have a brown one, but the closest thing I had that I could wear under the blue blanket scarf was this striped shirt.  I also have a poncho that would be awesome, but I never had anything I could wear under it except a teal dress.  A navy long-sleeve would be perfect for the poncho as well.

Of course, now that I'm getting around to writing this, it's starting to get too warm outside for such things, but hindsight is 20/20, as they say.  If I consider that I'm building a lifelong wardrobe, rather than just for the current season, it still merits buying a navy long-sleeve. 

Another postpartum problem I've had, and particularly regarding wearing navy, is that really only one pair of my jeans fit me right now.  They are supposed to be dark denim, but look a bit more like navy pants.  Because of that, I feel like I can't wear my navy tops as much.  I have a nice navy sweater and a new navy blazer, but I haven't worn them much lately.  I ordered a pair of medium-wash jeans in the same size and fit as the ones I have, but they were sadly too tight.  :(  I have since ordered a pair in a size larger, and I hope to be able to get them soon from the post office here.  One difficult thing for me living overseas is that I have to wait a month or more to get the clothes I want sometimes.  I either wait for a package from my mom or for someone to bring it to me with their luggage.  I had a pair of boots shipped once, and it was worth it, but it is expensive.  I can get some tops here, but not pants, because they just are too skinny for me.  I've considered having clothes radically tailored or even made from scratch, but I haven't tried it.  I have these ideas in my mind of clothes I would like to have, but finding them is the hard part.  The struggle is in being happy with what I have, though it's not ideal, but maybe adding a little if I can find what I want. 

Something I noticed last week (it's always interesting the things I learn when I have to live out of a suitcase) is that I wore my denim chambray shirt A LOT.  I didn't really like it at first, but it's really growing on me.  The snaps are super easy for nursing, it's semi-structured but not too form-fitting, and the color works with my dark denim jeans.  I really wish I could find a dress just like it, but with a defined waist, that I could wear as it gets warmer.

One problem that is only getting worse as it gets warmer is that the shirts that are easy for nursing are not the most flattering.  For example, the batwing t-shirts.  They are so easy to nurse in, because I can pull them down (instead of up, exposing my whole belly), but they really accentuate my belly. You can see it even in this picture with a blazer:

But that is the struggle of postpartum - looking pregnant when you're not anymore.  Now that the weather is getting nicer, I'm planning to do the couch to 5k again.  I really hate it, but I need to do something, and I'm too out of shape for Zumba right now.  I need a middle-of-the-road exercise where I can go at my own pace.

Maybe this will be my "before" picture, and in a few months I can show you an awesome "after" picture.