The Cull Diary - Chest of Drawers and Tallboy

I am starting to feel like the cull will never end...

On Saturday afternoon we had a BBQ to attend and on Sunday afternoon I had to go to a baby shower - both outings resulted in about three outfit changes each.  I am finding it extremely difficult to dress for very casual situations when the heat and humidity creeps up, plus I can't find anything in a hurry - ever.  Things really need their own place around here...

As I frantically searched for my white over-sized tee (which seemed ideal for the weather), out of sheer frustration I ended up dumping the ENTIRE contents of my tallboy and chest of draws on the bed in the spare bedroom (I found the top by the way).

This is what faced me on Monday morning:

BEFORE the cull, plus one of my kitties :)

On Monday afternoon and evening I roughly sorted the clothes into 4 piles:

Piles during the culling process

On Tuesday morning, afternoon and evening, in between doing other (more important) tasks around the house, I carefully sorted each pile and started the additional "rubbish pile" (which I have not photographed).

In the end this is the result of my cull:

The results of my cull

I'm surprised that my "keep pile" is quite large still, but I'm keeping in mind that this pile comprises all of my Summer and Winter knits, tops and tanks etc and that there are a many items in this pile that are well loved and on the cusp of needing replacement soon anyway.  Also on this pile is my entire collection of layering tops and seamless tanks and singlets, which I technically class to be underwear.

I also moved the majority of my white tanks (as they were looking very tired) to the "pyjama pile" and my two green hoodies (which I *hate* by the way, but have nothing else to wear for the moment) to the "active wear pile" (which I did not photograph). 

Here are the cull stats from this round of culling:

Items to be donated to charity - 22

Items to be sold - 24

Items thrown out - 4

Total items culled today - 50!

Cull tally since starting this blog: 160 items!!!  

(Including the two pairs of jeans I culled the other day.) 

The perfect jeans

I love almost everything there is to love about a good pair of jeans.

What I don't like is that I can't wear my jeans to work (with the exception of casual Fridays once a month).

Mysteriously I can find jeans that I end up loving to death, but trousers and pants just languish around in my wardrobe unworn... I want to find pants that fit like jeans.

My Jeans from top to bottom - Ksubi, Nudie, Country Road and Country Road.

This morning I undertook a mini cull and the jeans pictured above are the ones that are staying for now.

I am looking to upgrade both Country Road pairs as they are not PERFECT (but comfy nonetheless).

Culled from my wardrobe were a pair of Witchery black skinnies (loved to death) and a pair of Morrissey beige straight leg jeans (which I planned to wear cuffed, but they are too low-rise).

Waiting in the wings for when I am a size skinnier are two pairs of the most perfect Paper Denim & Cloth jeans and a pair of Nudie jeans like my black in a blue rinse.

What I wore to a picnic dinner by the beach

We have now lived beach side for close to 11 months, but yesterday was the first time that we grabbed the picnic rug and ate dinner overlooking the water. What's wrong with us!?!

Sheer Silk Top - Kain

Seamless Tank - Country Road (layered underneath Kain top)

Jeans - Ksubi (worn cuffed)

Sunglasses - Michael Kors

Bag - SABA

Animal Print Loafers - Witchery

The cull diary - the BIG shoe cull (Part 2 - the results)

It took the whole day, with a bike ride and cooking dinner in between to break things up a little, but I got there in the end and finished my shoe cull!

Here is a picture of the CULLED shoes:

The culled shoes - 27 pairs!

The reasons for culling each pair of shoes varies... too small, too big, too unstable, worn out or out of style - are the common reasons, but one pair of shoes I culled because I fell down the stairs in them. As a result I'm a little hesitant when I wear them now - I probably should just get rid of them.

Here is what my shoe collection looks like after the big shoe cull:

All my shoes - AFTER shot

Having undertaken this exercise I am considering not keeping my designer shoes in their original boxes.  I think that there is more potential that the shoes will be worn more often if they are out in the open.

Here are the close up shots of each of the bookcases:

Post-cull contents of bookcase No. 1 - shoe count: 8 pairs

Post-cull contents of bookcase No. 2 - shoe count: 17 pairs

Post cull contents of bookcase No. 3 - shoe count: 19 pairs

I have manged to whittle down my shoes from 71 pairs down to 44 pairs, noting that there is a pair on their way to me from Net-a-Porter that I purchased last night - which will take my shoe tally to 45 pairs.

ETA: plus my Country Road biker boots... which are on their last legs, which will take my shoe tally to 46 pairs.

The Twilight Zone

Potential future cull candidates - colour coded!

There are a number of pairs which survived this particular cull... but they are future cull candidates - either not worn often enough or needing replacement soon.

RED - too high (I'm eager to try Insolia Inserts to see whether they will make these shoes more wearable).

BLUE - whether these shoes stay or go depends on how often I wear them over the coming months.  The brown and grey boots were purchased for a good price at the end of last Winter - they remain untested! 

YELLOW - slightly too small. Most probably the brown wedges I will give to my Mum when I find a suitable replacement. My silver MJ Maddies I will keep because I like looking at them and they are my first ever designer shoe purchase.

GREEN - these shoes are well worn and most likely to be replaced in the coming year... hopefully if I am lucky I will find some nice pairs in the US!

Cull tally since starting this blog: 108 items!

The cull diary - the BIG shoe cull and I ask the question "just how many pairs of shoes does one woman need"? (Part 1)

Just how many pairs of shoes does one woman need?

According to some online resources, a woman could get by with as little as three pairs, but there are a vast array of sites which are more generous in their offerings listing the 5 or even 10 pairs of shoes every woman needs or must own.  The contents of some of these lists however is a little dubious, with one list taking up 2 out of the 5 precious spots with one pair of sneakers and one pair of hiking boots!  The two could be combined if you ask me...  Another site which lists 10 pairs every woman must own includes one pair of black flats and one pair of ballet flats - again I think the two can be combined, leaving a spot free for a different style for greater variety.

If it were up to me to to come up with the ultimate list of shoes each and every woman must own it would look like this (be prepared to die of boredom):

1. Sneakers
2. Ballet flats
3. Sandals
4. Ankle boots
5. Tall boots
6. Dress/work shoes
7. Evening shoes

Note that I have not specified heel types or colours, as I think that these specifications would depend on the woman's height and also on the contents of the woman's closet.  

So what's in my current collection I hear you ask?

This (not including my workout sneakers, flip flops and house slippers):

All my shoes - the BEFORE shot

Yes I know, I own a lot of shoes... but I wasn't born yesterday! This is a result of many years of shoe shopping and recycling (selling my shoes on eBay only to buy new shoes). Many of the shoes have not been worn in a long time and others are really on their last legs - hence a big shoe cull beckons.

Here are some close up shots of each one my IKEA Billy bookcases (in case you were wondering what I store my shoes in). Note that all my designer shoes are ordinarily stored in their original boxes and shoe bags and the long boots live in the hallway closet, but for the purpose of this exercise I have displayed them in the one spot out of their boxes.

Contents of IKEA Billy bookcase No. 1 - shoe count: 19 pairs

Contents of IKEA Billy bookcase No.2 - shoe count: 24 pairs

Contents of IKEA Billy bookcase No.3 - shoe count: 24 pairs

I have not photographed 3 pairs that have been residing in a green bag since we moved into our place (clearly the first cull candidates), which means that the grand total of shoes that I own before the cull is 70 pairs... a nice even number... hmmm.

Stay tuned for the results of my shoe cull and the AFTER shots.

ETA: make that 71 pairs... I found a pair hiding under the bed.
ETA: make that 72 pairs... I forgot about my Country Road biker boots which were hiding in my boyfriend's side of the closet.