Elegance is refusal

Image from Pinterest

When I first heard this Coco Chanel quote, the first thought that came to me was food.  That I had to refuse food to become elegant and trim like the bird-like Mademoiselle Chanel.  And being a food-lover there was no way I could picture myself eating tiny portions so I’ve always had a bit of a block towards this quote.

Lately and from two different sources I have heard of a more enticing way to look at it, which ties in perfectly with my love of curating a beautiful life by decluttering items that do not fit the vision of the lifestyle I have for  myself.

And that is just it – refusal of anything that does not elevate your life to exquisite elegance.

- Refusing junky foods in favour of high quality fresh foods.

- Refusing possessions that detract from rather than add to my enjoyment of life.  And this includes refusal of excess possessions.  We all like different ways of living, but I feel at my most content when I have less around me.

- Refusing clothing that does not make me look and feel chic and sophisticated.  That includes clothing I wear to work or out, loungewear at home, nightwear and lingerie.  Everything!

- Refusing to be around people that bring me down or make me feel bad about myself.

- Refusing to accept others beliefs as gospel.  I’m cultivating my own wonderful and empowering beliefs thank you very much.

- Refusing negative thoughts because they don’t feel good and they weaken your immune system.  Apparently it’s been proven in tests which gave me a jolt when I heard that.

- Refusing to listen to myself when I say something is too big or scary to entertain.  What could I achieve if I believed I could do that huge achievement.  Why would I block it from my mind immediately?  Even if I never do it, I’ve at least not closed my mind to it.

Pondering this quote made me think of a decluttering challenge I did years ago imaginatively titled 100 Things.  You can probably guess that the object of this challenge is to find 100 Things in your home to say au revoir to.  I had such fun (isn't it great that we all have different definitions of fun...) so I’m going to do it again.

I don’t have a timeframe for this as that sounds far too stressful and I like to be relaxed.  Perhaps I’ll report at the bottom of each week’s post how many items I’ve decluttered for the week and count up to 100.  I’m sure I could come up with 100 items before Christmas though.

Some challenges count like items as one, such as a stack of magazines.  I’ll be doing it my way which is one item is one item.  Purely because I’ve been through so many layers of decluttering already.  Still, I know I’ll have 100 items lurking around just waiting to be moved on so that someone else can gain use from them.  And I can enjoy that much more room in my home.

My method will be to gather the items in my guest bedroom and donate when I am passing a charity shop.  I’ve just done a big box-load last week so will be starting this challenge afresh.

Here is my starting list for this week:

1. One belt that I never wear anymore even though it’s quite nice and I think I should.

2. One magazine that I have read.

3. A top that I no longer like on myself.

4. A pair of trousers that I was given by a well-meaning elderly relative that don’t do anything for me.

5. A bra (it is still quite new but I have decided beige knit bras have no place in my stylish life, I don’t care if models wear them).

6. One home décor item that I never want to display.

If you’d like to relieve yourself of 100 extraneous items before Christmas, please feel free to join me in the comments section each week!