Should it stay or should it go?

Happy April! I mean, it’s really spring – and March (the month, not our March ?) didn’t go out like a lamb but reasonably close. Spring and autumn are weird smells times for us. This is still farm country, though less so after Brexit, which means these are the muck spreading seasons before and after planting. It used to be that the muck simply smelled of manure. Now, there seems to be a lot more adding of chemicals which means the stuff smells vanilla-metallic. Which is really not nice.

Also, we’re in the middle of a week of ‘very high’ pollen count. I am not generally bothered by the vicissitudes of plants spewing stuff into the air but I’m actually having issues this year. I mean, they must be really going great guns.

To manage this period right now I’ve been wearing my sample of Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Mandarine Basilic. It’s citrus but smoothed out by the basil. So, sharp, but not too sharp – and it mutes the weird outdoor smells very well. Apparently there’s some green tea in this as well which again moderates the citrus sharpness of the mandarin and provides a nice, sort of strange loamy astringent aspect.

Ironically (or maybe not) a lot of the people who moved this direction from cities during covid couldn’t manage the smells of the countryside – and didn’t appreciate locals and farmers telling them to ef off when they complained the smells were ruining their garden parties and bbqs. End product: many moved back to where they started out.

On a different note, I see that there’s a new Neela Vermeire Creations perfume, Eshal, which is based around tuberose. As noted, I’m not buying samples or bottles these days so I am supremely hoping some other Posse person is planning on reviewing this.

Anyway, today’s post title. I have noted at various times and probably too frequently that I did a clothes clear-out over the past year-ish and plugged wardrobe holes. So, I now appear to be able to get dressed in the morning without major hissy fits or anxiety.

I hanker after things but am showing restraint, as noted several times.

Broken record.

Within this process and my no (or only charity shops) buy for perfume I still wonder about certain things I own (should it stay or should it go?). And I wonder if this is ever your state of being as well.

As noted, I’m good on clothing. I’m fine on handbags and shoes. Really, I am.
But I look at the one black handbag I own and think “should you go?” I don’t use it even half as much as the olive green one I posted about a few weeks ago. It’s a nice shape and zips around so fairly secure, and good for travel. But my heart doesn’t pitter patter. I think I should hold on to it rather than ebay etc. I still wear a lot of black … But I wonder why looking at it makes me twitchy.

Around 10 years ago I stuck a number of pieces of jewellery on an auction site as finances were very tight and they, again, weren’t things that made my heart go pitter pat. Those sales plugged a hole and paid for groceries for around six months – until I was more financially secure.

I look periodically at my jewellery box and wonder if there’s anything else that might be divested (I don’t wear you, you’re not a family item, etc, can I put you to better use?). So far I’m not there.

In the past (fairly far back, like 20 years) I had a terrible habit of divesting things and then wanting them. I still yearn for a pair of high heeled brogues I wore a lot when I worked in a corporate environment in NY but passed along after having a baby and thinking I’d never dress decently again. Silly me.

I’ve also divested/given away a lot of perfume which mostly I’ve been fine with. The only thing I really wonder about is what happened to the ¼ ounce of Guerlain Vol de Nuit perfume because I’m pretty sure I hadn’t finished it. I hope where it went/whoever ended up with it was extremely happy and felt lucky.

So, where do you fit in this? Do you keep EVERYTHING or do clear-outs every six months? Are there divestment regrets? Are there things you’re currently hankering after but showing restraint?

Pics: Pexels