Minimalist Mod

I've always hated clutter. I feel like I'm going to suffocate when I'm surrounded by too many things. Television shows like Hoarders scare the hell out of me. Hell, some of my friends' houses do. For all of my adult life I've lived in smallish apartments in urban settings. This has kept me from accumulating too much, but it's not hard to let stuff pile up if you're not thinking about it. I've decided to make it my mission to strip down my possessions as much as I can: wardrobe, record collection, books, you name it.

I decided to tackle my clothes first. It was easier than I though. I went through my closet and dresser and put everything I haven't worn in a year or more into garbage bags and donated everything to Goodwill. No thinking about it, no eBaying anything, no hanging on to anything just in case. Here are the results.

Here's my closet and the breakdown. 1) Trousers: black 511s, dark blue 511s, brown cord 511s, black dress pants. 2) shirts: one black John Varvatos, one white John Varvatos, four Ben Shermans, three paisley/psychedelic shirts; two old school Lacostes (one black, one gray); one black/white striped long sleeve.

Shoes: black Chelsea boots, black loafers, brown Clarke's boots, Puma trainers

T-shirts and sweaters. Not too bad, eh?

Outerwear. Maybe more than I need but it is Cleveland after all and the weather ranges from sub-zero to 100F! Black leather jacket, parka, black Ted Baker overcoat, black velvet jacket, a jean jacket, and three suits!

Not taking photos of socks and underwear but I have about a dozen pairs of each. And two belts. That's it for accessories. 

Next up, I'm going to talk about being a minimalist runner. Not an endorsement of barefoot running but rather, how to avoid clutter from a sport where you constantly get free swag at races. It's a never ending battle getting rid of race t-shirts,finishers medals, age group awards etc.