Let’s Look at: How I Clean my Closet *Blog Linkup* (Blog Post #11 of 365)

I used to be such a shopping fanatic. I would buy anything I liked, the cheaper the better, not caring for quality or purpose. Although I still love shopping, I no longer buy things just for fun. My purchases are usually planned and quality is now a factor when deciding to buy something. For the same reason, I don’t own as many clothes as I used to. I make sure to clean my closet often.

Here’s how I keep my closet clean and organized:

1. If I’m not wearing it, it’s not in sight. I used to keep all my clothes together in one place which now makes zero sense for me. Why would I keep my winter coats in my closet with my summer dresses? Nowadays, I only want to look at what fits, what’s in season, what’s on my rotation. Summer clothes get put away in winter, winter coats are stored in our garage closet as are special occasion dresses. My jeans and blouses got put away for the duration of my pregnancies as they did not fit so I wouldn’t be wearing them. My maternity clothes are already gone and out of my sight a month after giving birth.

2. If I haven’t worn it in while, it gets sold, passed onto someone else or donated. I don’t keep things on the possibility of wearing them again someday. If it’s been months or a year of not wearing something, I’ll get rid of it.

3. I don’t attach feelings to clothes. Yes, I might have worn that beautiful dress to my friend’s wedding but I won’t keep it if it no longer fits just because of its sentimental value. I have both the memories and the pictures and that’s all I need. The only exception is my wedding dress, which I intend on keeping forever.

4. If it doesn’t fit, it’s out. I’ve been all over the weight scale so I’ve owned clothes in all sizes. I don’t keep something in a certain size hoping I’ll lose weight and fit into it again someday. If I end up losing weight, I’ll buy smaller clothes then.

5. I don’t keep something if it’s damaged. If a piece of clothing gets a stain I can’t remove after a couple of tries, I throw it out. If it’s ripped or broken, I either have it fixed or get rid of it.

6. I don’t buy it if I’m not 100% sure I’ll wear it. Being cute is not enough to justify making a purchase. Even if I absolutely love a piece, I won’t spend my money if I know I won’t reach for it when looking for something to wear. I’ve gotten to a point where I don’t buy something if I know I’ll have to iron it or hand wash it.

7. I don’t wait to clean out my closet. If I happen to open it and notice something that doesn’t fit the above criteria, I immediately toss it out.

8. I fit the amounts of clothes I own to the available space and not the other way around. If the available space is too full, I don’t need more storage, I need fewer clothes.

This is how I make sure my closet is clean, organized and functional. I’ll never be a minimalist or have a capsule wardrobe but I like to keep things tidy and easy when it comes to choosing an outfit.

Since becoming a mom, I’ve adopted the “less is more” approach, especially when it comes to stuff. I don’t need to make life harder by having clutter all around me so I’ve became pretty comfortable with letting things go.

What about you? Are you more of a minimalist or a fashion hoarder? Would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

See you tomorrow.

Love,

Cheila

*Linking up with Mix and Match Mama and A Little Bit of Everything Blog

My Dress Collection + Skirts: Part II

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This dress/tunic is the exact same model as the floral one from my first dress collection post. They’re the same number, PT 42, UK 14, USA 12 (Large) but this one runs so much smaller. It seems to be a size down. They’re the exact same collection, fabric, and model, just different patterns (there were more). You would expect them to be the exact same size. Nope, this one is smaller by one or even two sizes. I bought both at H&M in March 2016 for 14,99€, plus 25% discount.

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This skirt is from C&A. Do you know this brand? We have a few stores here in Portugal. I fell in love with the color and the lace on this skirt. I had bought one in dark blue (M) and loved it so much that I went back for this one. They only had S or XL. I obviously bought XL an it was too big on me for a long time. Now it does fit. I have no idea where the dark blue one is, I think I lent it to someone. It was about 9,99€ or 14,99€, I can’t remember, 4 years ago.

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I’ve had this dress for about 5 years, maybe more. I bought it at Primark for about 3 or 5€. It was supposed to be a beach dress but I wear it to go other places in the Summer. It’s an L. It used to be too big on me. Not anymore.

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This is a long, black, lace dress that I bought as an option for a wedding but decided not to wear it. It was 5£ at https://www.everything5pounds.com/. It’s really good quality, true to size and beautiful.

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This is a maxi skirt my mom bought me at a local store. I can’t remember the price. I think it was about 3 years ago, maybe more. There’s no size in it but I assume M.

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This skirt has a funny story. I decided that my group of friends (boyfriends and all) would take a family picture for Christmas (we do consider ourselves family). I picked the colors, red, grey and dark blue. It was fine, everyone had something in those colors. I really wanted a red skirt but couldn’t find it anywhere. I went to C&A and asked the lady if they had any red skirts. She said no. I asked if she could go and take another look and she did. She came up with nothing. As I was leaving the store, I saw this nice red skirt (L) for 5€ in the discount rack. It was the last one and my size. Lucky me. We ended up taking 0 photos because I was feeling really bad about myself and just couldn’t. I was going to wear red skirt, white blouse, black tights and black shoes. Rui was going to wear white shirt, grey pants, dark blue pullover.

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I’ve told you about this skirt but I’ll tell you again. It was a dress I bought it for my sister from the children’s department at Primark when she was about 15. I thought she would find it a fun Summer dress but she thought it was too childish. I asked my ex-boyfriend’s mom to make it into a skirt for me.

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I love this maxi skirt. The color is just gorgeous. It’s an XL so it is a bit too big for me, there’s too much fabric. But it makes her more flowy which I don’t mind. I fell in love with in as soon as I saw it at local store, last Summer and bought it for 15€, giver or take. I love to wear it with a simple white top or even a black one.

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Sorry about the wrinkles, guys. This is a very simple dress I bought at H&M a few Summers ago, maybe 3 years ago. It was 5€ on sale and I love the color and how comfortable and relaxed it is.

And that’s it. I’ve shown you my whole collection of dresses and skirts. Literally all of the skirts and dresses I own.

Do you have a favorite?

Do you know everything5pounds?

Talk to me.

xx

My Dress Collection – Part I

I was halfway through the post and everything got deleted and was not in my drafts. Don’t you get murderous thoughts when that happen? Or does it only happen to me? It’s quite possible.

A few days ago, I did a post on My Shoe Collection inspired by Angela’s post. I said I might do a similar post showing my dress collection and everyone seemed to be interested. Angela got on board, which made me really happy and Here’s her post – Favorite Dresses.

I feel really happy and blessed to have met Angela. We always share ideas and inspire and support each other. We are very different in some things (especially movies and series preferences) but we are similar in others. She’s one of my favorite bloggers to read and I consider her a true friend.

Now, before this gets too cheesy, lets walk into my wardrobe.

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I was wearing this dress on my last video. I love that fact that it is A-line, which makes it quite flattering and forgiving. I love the pattern and the three-quarter sleeves, making it wearable, all year round. In winter I just throw a cardigan on top of it, a coat and thick black tights. It’s a size PT 44, US 14 and UK 10. I paid 8€ for it, on sale, at Primark, last October.

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I really like the color on this one but I don’t wear it much because the lace sides show my love handles. I bought it at H&M for 7€ or 5€, I can’t remember, plus staff discount. I think it is about 3 years old. Oh, and it’s a PT size L, US 12 and UK size 16.

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This one can be worn as a dress or as a tunic. I’ve never worn it as a dress because it’s short and it wouldn’t look good on me, due to my current size. But it’s fine with thick black leggings underneath. I bought at H&M, over a year ago and it cost 14,99€, plus staff discount. I don’t think it’s true to size. It’s from the teenagers brand at H&M and it’s marked as a PT size 44, US 10 and UK 14. I would said that it is closer or even smaller than a PT size 42, US 8 and UK 12. I just adore the pattern and it matches many of my clothes and accessories.

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A few years ago, I worked at an art gallery as an executive assistant. There was going to be an opening and my boss said she would like to pay for the dress. I told her it wasn’t necessary and that I would happily pay for it. She insisted and I accepted. She said the only conditions were: black, discreet and chic. She told me not to mind the price. I went to H&M on my day off and my coworkers helped me pick this dress. My bossed loved it and, on the day of the opening, said I looked very elegant. Oh, I forgot to show you but it has an open back, which is really cool. I paid, I mean she paid, 40€ plus staff discount, so 30€ for it. I haven’t worn it since because it doesn’t fit at all, because it’s not a stretchy material. It’s a PT size 42, US 10 and UK 14. It was a little too big for me at the time.

Here’s me wearing it at the opening:

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I obviously cut my colleague (the body-guard) for privacy reasons. I was a red at the time and I was wearing my “I love H&M” bracelet which I wore every day. Thinking back, it might have been disrespectful.

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This is quite short but I could pull it off three years ago. I love the lace and the color and I was surprised because, although it’s strapless it could perfectly hold my cup D. Amazing. I bought it at https://www.everything5pounds.com/ for, you know, 5£ and was really surprised because it was true to size, good quality fabric and arrived in 3 days, from the UK. I wore it to a wedding in August 2014. It’s a size M or US 6/8 or UK 10/12.

This one I bought at a cheap, local store for about 15 or 20€. It looks much nicer than what the picture shoes, actually. I wore it for a family wedding at 2008. It’s still in perfect condition.

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I bought this one along the coral (or peach?) lace on at the same online store. It also cost 5£. It’s really great quality and also a size M. I’ve never worn it. It doesn’t fit now but it’s so nice I’m not and classy that I won’t throw it away. If in 2 years it doesn’t fit, it goes. I bought it for the same wedding (I bought 3 to choose) but ended up going with the other. It’s another little black dress.

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You have no idea how much shit I get over this dress. I love it. No one else does. They make fun of me and say I look like one of those haunted little girls from horror movies in a nightgown. 😦 I love it and as Charlotte from Sex and the City yelled once “I CHOOSE MY CHOICE, I CHOOSE MY CHOICE!!!) It’s more burgundy than it looks in the picture and it cost about 7 or 8€ at Primark, last October. It’s a PT 42, US 10 and UK 14.

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I absolutely love this dress. I first saw it on H&M for something like 29,99€ or 24,99€. You know I wouldn’t pay that price for a dress, unless it were for a special occasion. A month or so later I saw it on sale for 15€, plus staff discount (25%) I paid 11,25€ for it. I’ve worn it a few times, and I’ve worn it for my 24th birthday party, almost 2 years ago. It’s currently too tight. It’s a size M.

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I love this dress but have never worn it. Too short, I think. I bought it at Primark for about 5€ and it’s still waiting to be worn. It’s a PT size 40, US 10 and UK 14.

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Another favorite. Bought from Primark for about 20€ in 2011. I’ve worn it in 2 weddings, one in 2011 and another in 2015. It’s still impeccable. It’s a PT size 40, US 8 and UK 12. Funny thing, it has fit me through different weights and sizes. It still fits right now but doesn’t zip up.

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This one is a tight, bodycon dress. It looks really sexy when I was thinner. Once I wore it to work at H&M, with thick tights and boots. Someone called my attention (one of my colleagues) and said I was too fat to be wearing that. I was about 15 kg lighter than I am now. That one hurt and I’ve never worn it again. I bought it at Primark for about 4 or 5€. It’s a PT size 40, US 8 and UK 12.

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This one was a gift from Rui. I love the color, the texture and the fact that it reminds me of the 50’s. I’ve never worn it, though. It’s Primark and a size 40 (PT), 10 (US) and 12 (UK). It’s from either 2013 or 2014.

I have more, but two were in the washing pile and there were others I couldn’t take a picture of. So there will be a part too.

Which one if your favorite?

Don’t forget to look at Angela’s post.

xx

Chey

Oh and I’m obviously sorry for the shitty photo quality. My phone is shit and apparently my camera is shit as well. Either that or I can’t work either device.

Thank you ❤