It’s time to talk Frugality again, since it’s Friday.

I actually like these posts to be on Friday, because, well, it reminds me to stay committed to this value of living without unnecessary spendings over the weekend. Since weekends may probably be the time we make the most impulsive buys? Just a hunch… 

Anyways, today I wanted to write not so much about the ways I have tried to be frugal over the week, but more about what else frugality as a mindset could encompass, at least for me in my life. Read more about my ideas here and here.

This past weekend, I did the dreaded thing. I changed the clothes over from the summer set to the winter set for myself as well as my son. 

I dread it, because, well, its getting cold (read about my dislike of cold weather here). So this time around is much worse than when I change clothes over for summer, which is actually exciting in the anticipation of wearing smaller clothes! 

But of course, it’s one extra thing to add to the weekend list of chores, and it takes time and effort and thinking.

Why thinking, you ask? 

Because it is also a great time to purge.

Especially for my son, who is growing. Which means he is always outgrowing his clothes, and needs new ones every season. So not only am I replacing one weather clothes with the other weather clothes, I am also:

• Trying to figure out which clothes don’t fit him anymore

• Which are good enough to pass on to the thrift store, and 

• Which definitely need to be trashed after their long hard use.

For me, it is mostly about deciding:

• Which clothes got no wear from me all season, or 

• Which don’t fit me well enough anymore, or 

• Which I have fallen out of love with. Also sometimes,

• Which ones have I worn to death. 

Based on all the above mentioned criteria, I too get rid of some of my clothes, but definitely nowhere near as much as for my son.

This time around, as I was making this changeover on the Monday afternoon (our Thanksgiving long weekend Monday), I had a realization: 

That this getting rid of things to minimize stuff from my closet is also a form of frugality. 

Especially because I have no plans of replacing anything any time soon. 

Since I feel like I have more than plenty. 

In fact, when I looked at all the clothes I had during this changeover…my heart actually sank at the amount. I mean, no one human needs all those clothes. And I wear…maybe 30% of it on a regular basis? The rest were those nicer clothes I may wear sometimes when I’m going out for an occasion. 

Well, I decided that dealing with that stress and decision making was out of the realm of what I had set out to do at this time, so I went ahead and put stuff in order.

But I did get rid of some of my favourite pieces that I’ve gotten good use of.

Not because they were worn out or I was out of love with them, but because they don’t fit me well anymore.

Having lost weight (in a great way!) over the past couple of years, not all my clothes fit me as well. 

So getting rid of these few pieces of clothing that I have cherished, was hard, but it was time.

When I showed them to my husband he suggested that I fix them to be smaller, since I know my way around a sewing machine and clothing construction, I said no. It was time for these pieces to leave. Since I already have more than I need.

And that is what got me thinking about this added definition to my idea of frugality:

Frugality with a pinch of minimalism…

• To have fewer things.

• To be able to give away stuff without attachment, because at the end of the day, it’s just stuff.

• To use what you have well, and not worry about accumulating and hoarding. Because a whole lot of it goes unused anyways.

To buy less, and own less, and give away things when we run out of use of them.

I like how my idea about frugality is getting a little bit more nuanced as I think and write about it here in my blog. And it definitely enhances my life that little bit every time. 

Growing older is about gaining wisdom, but also, reducing for enhancement of life. And frugality for me, with my added definition, certainly fits that bill.