Double trouble

Sometimes going through one´s stuff yields some unexpected results. I went for the handbag department this weekend, as planned, and discovered not one, but three identical- or almost identical- pairings of handbags I had not been aware of owning. For one, I used, before the days of my fabulous multi-pocket vests, to carry a small zippered bag with a long, thin strap across my body, hidden underneath my jacket, to keep my wallet and keys from getting pickpocketed. I used to have these in black  and bright red, and I always thought I had one of each. This weekend´s roundup unearthed two of these bags in each color, one of them visibly worn and the other still looking brand new. I can´t even remember buying the second set! So, it was a no-brainer to toss the worn specimens. The third "twin set" consisted of two black shoulder bags, one of them slightly smaller, but these I kept both because they are both used regularly. What else went- a pink backpack that had become dingy over the years, apart from looking a bit too juvenile for someone well beyond her twenties, -a white handbag that I had originally intended to carry for my wedding, but when I put my stuff in in the morning, the magnetic closure came off, so, it didn´t close any more, and I used another bag for the occasion. I don´t know why I didn´t toss it at once because it was quite obvious the thing couldn´t be repaired, and by now, the white leather had turned rather yellowish (note to self: After being happily wed for four years, there´s absolutely no reason for me  to ever buy another white bag), -a white tote bag  that had been a hand-me-down from MIL, intended for putting my swimming stuff in, except I never go swimming and even with that much weight off, I don´t think I´ll ever be comfortable enough in a bathing suit to wear it in public, -plus diverse old wallets and purses that had long ago been put out of service and of which I don´t know either why I did not toss them at once. Also went two of the bags from my aunt that I had accepted because I liked  the color, but which both are highly impractical to use and thus had been lying around unused, and an old leather backpack I never used any more because it has just a magnetic closure, so it´s neither pickpocket- nor rainproof.  
All in all, the purge produced one big trash bag full of bags to take to donation, and one big empty drawer which now houses my winter hats. As these used to lie out on top of the wardrobe all winter long, this, too, means less visual clutter in our entrance area.
The lesson to be learned from what I found in my handbag collection is that it would have been a lot less cluttered had I, upon buying a replacement for some bag or purse, immediately proceeded to throw out the old one instead of keeping it for just in case. The other lesson is that it is not very likely I´d have to spend any money on handbags in the next years, being equipped with enough bags of different sizes and makes to carry me through any conceivable situation. There is an advantage to preferring relatively simple, classic styles and real leather there, because the bags I own now won´t go out of style anytime soon. Lesson number three-just because an item comes in two different colors, I don´t have to buy both, because I usually end up using just one of them anyway. And anything in a fashionable color, be it shoes or bags, will wear out a lot faster than good old black, navy, brown or burgundy. So, if I want a sustainable wardrobe, I´ll have to keep away from trying to jazz up my look with colorful leather goods. For that, I can use blouses, or scarves, or the occasional brooch.
Being busy with sorting out leather goods also took me to my belt collection, and there I found the only survivor of the belts I owned before becoming obese. It´s made from sturdy leather, and I had, for a long time, not even been able to bring the ends together around my waist. And now- I could even close it, albeit on the widest setting. That belt still has the extra holes I punched in it because it used to be too wide, so, it will be marking my progress back to having the waist I used to have.
All in all, the results of the weekend have been quite satisfactory. 
It´s actually quite educational to see which items I got rid of, because these are things I must not buy again.
After all, I´m getting older, too, and I have found out that most of  the flashy styles of my younger years simply don´t look as pulled-together as I like to look now. And things I would not use any more, I don´t have to keep either.After all, maybe there´s someone out there whose lifestyle they fit better than mine.


Julia