Chazza Chic

I'm not a big fan of shopping. Crowds make me jittery, I sound like a grandma tutting over quality, and I usually have someone tantrumming in tow (and that's just the husband, boom tish). Online shopping has let me discover some new brands (Me&Em dresses are the business) and got me out of the odd tricky situation ("I need a Snowman costume for tomorrow" - thanks Next), but I spend far too much time queueing in the post office for returns. And I get The Guilt. Spending too much-Sweatshops-Environmental concerns -And on -And on.

But, I am interested in fashion (well, fashion aimed at your thirty-something, mother of two cliche - think hotchpotch-free Boden rather than Net-A-Porter's latest offering). So my new joy of joys is charity shop shopping. They even provide the kids with shelves full of toys to play with (ahem) while I browse.

This weekend, I got:
(unworn, new) Ash Virgo trainers - they are glittery and bring me joy* (more on Kondo to follow, obvs)

a Joules stripy thick cotton, bum-covering top (it's not a tunic. Honest).

a M&S Autograph hot pink mini and a grey ruchy dress - both destined for work.


I know, I know, I need (Better) Photos Or It Didn't Happen. It did happen, I'm just lazy. Will update, and will aim to make 2016 a brand new clothes free zone (apart from underwear).

Project 365

Yikes! I found my suitably uncluttered blog!! This is how it started one year ago. The spreadsheet certainly didn't last long, but I'm pretty sure we were 365 items down (until Christmas struck...). I'm still into decluttering, Marie Kondo and living with what you need and love, and will attempt to write more than one post this year!!! 

I'm a girl on a mission: to end 2014 with 365 fewer items than I started with. Not as easy as it sounds as the more obvious things have been freecycled/ebayed/donated/musicmagpied:

DVDs: gone. We have a netflix subscription, and haven't watched an actual DVD in over a year. Goodbye drawers full of plastic cases, hello Game of Thrones obsession...

Books: soooo hard to get shot of. But the yellowing, ageing ones bought it. Plus I rarely re-read novels and I own a kindle. The glossy travel books get to stay (for now), but the cook books have gone too, as we tend to use BBC Good Food more often.

Baby clothes and stuff: OK, there are a few lurking around that I can't quite part with yet, but most have been passed on to friends. I'd much rather another baby got to look cute in them than they went mouldy in the attic.

Toys: the little crappy plasticky things that seem to be designed to choke on? Binned.

How to keep track?
An item a day would be the best way, but doesn't allow for the influx of Stuff, which keeps coming even when you try not to let it in (toddler party bags will do that). So I have a spreadsheet. Yes, I am that sad. Welcome to my world.