How many bags do you have, and how many do you hope to get down to? Can we help? Please?
Please help me DOWNSIZE my collection!
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How many bags do you have, and how many do you hope to get down to? Can we help? Please?
Oh Mary, I blush to admit how many ... ☺️ I am definitely in need of a radical downsize and have found your thread really interesting and useful; there are so many sensible and insightful comments regarding making choices. I know that I have several bags that effectively "do the same job" and it's making the break with them in my mind that I'm finding difficult. The fact that I love them isn't reason enough to keep them - they need to be used or moved on. Also, I thought the comments regarding money were excellent - leaving them sitting in their dust bags isn't doing me any good at all!!
I'll keep you posted! 😉
As someone who has recently downsized my collection to 16 bags from three times as many my advice is simple. Go with your gut, not your heart.
I had many bags I loved (or thought I should love) only to discover I only wore them when I felt compelled to justify my keeping them.
So, in keeping with much of the excellent advice you've already gotten, be relentless. Keep only the bags you wear and resolve not to use the proceeds of any bags you sell to purchase another bag. Break the cycle and see where you are in six months. Also, on a purely pragmatic note, using the bags you keep on a regular basis will eventually lead to one or more being honorably retired after continual use and then can be replaced without guilt.
I had many bags I loved (or thought I should love) only to discover I only wore them when I felt compelled to justify my keeping them.
So, in keeping with much of the excellent advice you've already gotten, be relentless. Keep only the bags you wear and resolve not to use the proceeds of any bags you sell to purchase another bag. Break the cycle and see where you are in six months. Also, on a purely pragmatic note, using the bags you keep on a regular basis will eventually lead to one or more being honorably retired after continual use and then can be replaced without guilt.
One piece of advice: I put my same-function bags side by side (e.g. OS Oak Tillie and OS Oak Alexa) tried them both on again and decided to only keep the one I liked more. Gut feeling, as Fimpagebag said
This exercise really helped me. Best of luck and do let us know what you decide.Thank you for your advice, Fimpagebag; I'm impressed with your downsizing!! Bags have been something of a lifelong obsession with me and I know that I will find it very difficult to part with any of them. However, I'm also aware of how liberating it will also be! The bulk of my bags are Mulberry, Anya Hindmarch and some gorgeous Kate Spade from around 2006 - it's shocking that I have a number of bags that have never left their dust bags and still have their price tags on them! I did give away a Mulberry Araline, which I had never used, to a friend and she was absolutely thrilled to have a Mulberry of her own. I felt ashamed that my own collection is merely gathering dust (well, hopefully not, in their bags!) and it was humbling to see how happy just one bag, in isolation, could make someone. I can't possibly use, and value, my bags when there are so many ...
I'm determined to reduce my collection and, as you say, break the cycle of buying more! I'm already aware of two or three bags I use far more than the others, so there's a good place to start!
Thank you again (and loving your gorgeous avatar!) 😀
One piece of advice: I put my same-function bags side by side (e.g. OS Oak Tillie and OS Oak Alexa) tried them both on again and decided to only keep the one I liked more. Gut feeling, as Fimpagebag said
Thank you. Mary; I certainly need luck - and a good shove in the back!! 😉
I saw your comparison of the OS Alexa and Tillie and definitely think you made the right choice. Funnily enough, the OS oak Alexa is one of my own sticking points! I bought her on a family visit to London, where she was chosen for me by my youngest daughter - the truth is, I've only carried it once and didn't really get on with it but I feel the emotional pull and think I ought to try again. Then again, I have a lovely oak Bayswater I've only just started using (but boy!, is she heavy!) and an oak Somerset drawstring which is so easy to wear - I just adore her! I also have an oak SBS, oak Alexa with teddy rivets (again, jolly heavy!), oak Somerset Dispatch and oak Somerset Satchel - all of which do fairly similar things. If I added that I also have the SBS, Dispatch and Satchel in chocolate and black you'll see where I'm going ... (Or not, as the case may be!)
Oh - and my gut feeling is usually wrong, so should I go with my gut feeling and then do the opposite?! Argh!! 😫
By the end of the process, you'll probably learn to trust your gut. But in the mean time, I can suggest a few tricks.
One of the things I've done is pull out a coin. I tell myself, "If it's heads, it goes!" and then flip it. If my first reaction is disappointment - if I almost start to grieve - then I know how I feel about the decision. If my first reaction is relief - ditto. If I don't care - then I didn't really want the bag that much anyways. So, in short, I make the decision based on how I feel when the coin lands.
Also, I know KonMarie and all of the other declutters talk about rapid decisions and looking at everything... But for me, I am very very slow at making decisions. I will go through a purge and go through an entire category of items - and then revisit the category in a month or three months and go again until I'm content. And after I'm content- give myself six months or a year (depending on the item in question) and check to see if it still fits my life and makes me joyous.
It's ok to let go of something that as emotional ties - you know and the person knows that you love each other. And it's ok to keep things that are impractical. Just make sure that you aren't holding onto something for the wrong reason, and that you aren't going to be driven to buy it back in short order if you let it go.
This may have been said, but I would try to use each one for a few days and get rid of the ones that really aren't functional no matter how beautiful they are. Think about the amount of times you need to get in and out of your bag every day, if its not functional for you its not worth it.
Great selections! I think you will be very happy to be free of bags that you don't use and don't enjoy. And the color of your Rockie is stunning! What's it called?I never though I would do it, but have decided on my current collection of bags. Thanks everyone for all your help! I am keeping:
Mulberry gold lily (for parties and dressy occasions)
Mulberry OS Alexa in Oak (will store this one away as it is brand new and save her for a Christmas or birthday present for myself)
Mulberry OS Alexa Petticoat (not in photo)
Mulberry Black Alexa (great winter bag I use loads)
Mulberry oak alexa postman's lock (use loads)
Mulberry Darwin Roxanne
Mulberry Oak Bays (for work events)
Balenciaga Gris Poivre Part-time
Alexander Wang Petrol Rockie
Chloe Paddington Capsule (my first designer bag - can't bear to lose her!)
Stella Fallabella
Marc by Marc Jacobs blue summer bag (until she gets worn; then replace for something else light and colourful)
As you can see Mulberry was my first love and only now am I turning to other brands.
I wanted to get down to 10, but 12 isn't bad for a first effort
Thank you all so much again!
Wow, almost 50 bags! That is an incredible feat and I commend you for that effort.
For me, seeing all those hoarders shows is making me rethink hard about every single one of my closet purchases including purses!
So inspiring to follow your downsizing journey, Mary
I'm also a big Alexa lover so I'm glad you've kept those darlings
I'm also a big Alexa lover so I'm glad you've kept those darlings
This is very sound advice, Shelby; those bags which I have never carried, I need to question why not? I do have some bags which are lovely, but fiddly to get into, so perhaps I need to start by pruning those. Once I've started to make a few inroads into the collection, the process should get easier; "The first cut is the deepest", as the song goes!
So inspiring to follow your downsizing journey, Mary
I'm also a big Alexa lover so I'm glad you've kept those darlings
Oops, I'm ashamed to say that my Alexas are about to be the second (after the Eustons) to be pruned, Copenhagen! I can't cope with the fiddly straps and don't like them flapping loose, either! I'll keep my oak Teddy Alexa (although she weighs a tonne with about 84 Teddy rivets on her!) and will let my unused OS oak girl go, possibly with the two silky snake girls (I'm far less sure about these two - they're so gorgeous!) This downsizing business is no joke, for sure; less impulse buying for me, in future!
Thank you for this advice, Vintage Leather; I really like the idea of the coin tossing to gauge my immediate reaction! I'm not good at making decisions, and I'm constantly aware that I'll regret whatever I let go, but equally the bags have sat in their dustbags doing nothing for over a year so I clearly wouldn't really miss them! I need to be strong-willed and determined. I may well enlist the help of a friend, who knows me and my lifestyle and will be honest in her opinions. A pot of tea and a pile of cakes should keep her happy for a couple of hours!
I'm fairly certain that I will regret downsizing my Bayswaters; I doubt that I'll see them for sale again and they are, imho, the classic, timeless Mulberry bag. That said, if I keep them, I need to use them! I'm inspired enough to go and fish one out tonight and get it ready for tomorrow (perhaps a patent one, if the weather is anything like today!)
Nooooo! Don't do it! My HG is a blue silky snake lexy!
That's my gut reaction, which you should ignore. :lolots:
My rational response is to suggest what I learnt through the decision-making process, with the help of the excellent advice I was given on this thread:
1. Lay all your bags out together somewhere
2. Put to one side the ones you love AND use. These are the keepers. (my guess is there will be less than 6 of these)
3. Get rid of the "too heavy" ones
4. Get rid of the ones that "annoy" you (this was great advice!) Some annoyed me because they were to fiddly to get in and out, didn't have a longer strap, etc. Excellent advice I received: if you think "I love it, BUT..." get rid of it.
5. OK to keep one or two (maximum) for sentimental reasons (somone very special gave it to you; it was your first designer bag, etc.).
6. Try on any dual-purpose bags (e.g. Alexa and Tillie). Keep only the one you love most (don't consider if you have the same model or any other considerations)
7. At no point consider resale value (unless your primary consideration is money, rather than clearing actual space and headspace)
Good luck and keep us posted! My bags are off to a lovely consignment shop tomorrow
Any money I make is earmarked for "frivolous" purchases, which of course may include a special bag I always considered above my price point. Fingers crossed they all find happy homes.