I am by no means a minimalist and still the amount of clothing that I have is enormous, but one thing that helped me is to go through my closest, VERY thoroughly and to put everything into one huge pile. When faced with everything that I have bought over the years and continue to buy, I was almost sick. Does one person actually NEED thirty pairs of jeans? And just because I can afford it isn't a good reason. And even worse, once you want to part with some of your clothing/shoes/accessories/etc, there is nothing to do with it short of giving it away (which isn't bad). But, giving away a perfectly good pair of Abercrombie and Fitch jeans doesn't seem right. I guess it really hit me that even though an enormous pile of clothing was functional, clean, well-mended, I could hardly get one dime for it (believe me, I tried, I had a yard sale, and no one would buy the stuff).
I love to buy new clothes, to stay up with the trends and to look killer when I go out, but I have to balance that with what I NEED. Honestly, my closet is full, totes are stuffed under the bed (kind sized), and my drawers are popping! Yet, I still have the strongest urge to go to Target. JEEZ!!
I'm not sure if this helps, but all I can say is what I try to do: try to be mindful, don't beat yourself up, stay out of the stores as much as possible, and then do a good deed with what you can't/don't use anymore, such as Goodwill or a place that takes work clothes for women who are less-fortunate and are trying to get on their feet and get a job.
Just a thought.
