I am approaching 30, and I am looking forward to it. I think of when I turned 20 and how different I was, how much I did not really know who I was. I suppose that's the point of being 20: to try out lots of different things to figure out what suits you best.
Anyway, it's been very freeing just letting go of who I'm not. I'm not a girl who wears anything with a ruffle on it I am not a girl who accessorizes. I am not a girl who wants to spend a lot of time thinking about what to wear in the morning (which is a complete turnaround from who I was in college). I am none of those things, and really acknowledging that has helped me as I finish paring down my things.
Today was my wardrobe. I had a good and proper shopping day this week. I have worked in a professional setting for 4 years now, but it had taken me a long, long time to work up any sort of real work wardrobe. My job before that allowed us to wear jeans every day, so I did. Move to a job where that isn't an option, and it takes awhile to clear out the tshirts for button-ups with collars.
I'd been haphazardly creating my wardrobe for awhile now...things would wear out and I'd go grab a few more things, so I never really felt on top of it. So this week, I had a nice chunk of money set aside and a list of things I needed (only work clothes). I went and got them all, which has freed me to really clear out my closet, now that I know I have what I need for work clothes.
The difference too is that when I was shopping, I remember the rules in my head: for the office, interchangeable, plain colors, mostly neutral, no ruffles, no whiz-bang anything. Today when I went through the closet, then, I was able to see the past along with the future: ok, yes, this green sweater is fine, but it's not nice enough to wear to work except on Fridays, and on a Friday, would I ever choose this above a plain black or grey sweater? Nope. out the door it goes.
This same process helped me immensely as I purged books...no longer did I care that I used to want to read it or that I read it in college or that the person I once wanted to be would have it on their shelf. Nope. Just think of me NOW: Do I WANT this? Need this? Do I even care? Why do I still have it? Because I once thought it made me smart/pretty/fit in?
Anyway, that's all. Just that aging has helped all this.
