How I thrift, Pt. 2

shirt, boots, scarf, purse - thrifted, pants - Lodekka

Another day, another game - THUNDER UP!
Realizing that each piece of today's outfit all came from some type of second hand clothing shop, whether it was the bins, Lodekka, a thrift store in Utah or one on 82nd Ave, I decided it was a good opportunity to follow up on "How I thrift, Pt. 1".
In that post, I talked about things to keep in mind before making the purchase (Is it easy to clean? Alter?). Lately I've been thinking about living more simply and decluttering. When I was traveling/living in South America for a year, I had three basic outfits and it was awesome: I was able to travel lightly, didn't feel overwhelmed and could mix and match. Like for example this beloved plaid shirt I found at a thrift store in Valdivia, Chile. It's so versatile and I still wear it to this day.

top - Villa Pehuenía, Argentina, center - with Marsha
in Salinas, Ecuador, bottom - with Lindsay & Annie
at Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador

Although my closet has a long way to go in decluttering, here's a few things I've been thinking about in my post-thrifting.

• Start a donation bin
  I keep a laundry basket in the corner of my closet as a place to easily toss clothes when I'm on a cleaning spree. It's great because last night I went through it to see if there were any items I regretted throwing out, and although I had a moment of nostalgia, I still agreed with my initial decision. 
• One in, one out rule
  I have a tendency to hold on to things much longer than I should when the reality is, I can't remember the last time I wore it. Now when I purchase something, I go through my closet and throw something else in the donation bin.
• When in doubt, throw it out
  I recently purchased this two-piece because I liked the print, and which is all too often the case, I think "it will be cute if I put a belt on it".
  
  Truth is, it's one of those articles of clothing that looks good on the person, but on the rack I'm repulsed. After a few weeks of it distracting me every morning when getting ready, I came to the realization that I don't have a desire to wear it and it was only $4. So I took it and threw it in my donation bin. It never felt so good. 
• Never say never
  Although I'm all about tossing clothes out, it's never "goodbye" but "see you later". Fashion is fiber regurgitation. Never swear off a style (i.e. skinny jeans, high-waist, polyester) because it will come back around.