If you have been following along on my instagram (@free_babes) you would know that a few months ago I committed to parsing down my two girls’ wardrobes to 20 clothing items total each. that includes tops, tees, jeans, leggings, dresses, vests, everything.  Crazy, I know.

This focus on minimalism was originally sparked by watching the documentary American Bloggger, where one of the moms that lived in a tiny home had a 10 item limit for all her kids clothing (out of pure space necessity).  I later found out about the capsule wardrobe concept on Elise Blaha’s blog, which is definitely worth checking out.

I LOVE clothes and toddler fashion.  Like too much.  For years, I have also been saying I want to travel and invest in experiences with my kids and not things.  But instead I’ve been online shopping with a passion, and besides Florida 4+ times, we haven’t experience much of the world yet.

If i’m going to live an uncommon life with my family full of adventures, travels and experiences (not things) then I have to do two things:

1.  Spend less and have less.

2.  Make more money through creative business ventures. (well, honestly!)

I want to do both so that we can travel a LOT and have freedom of time – air fare is expensive!  But it has to start with the responsible handling of our resources now.  I also read that one of the most honoring things a wife can do is live within the family’s financial means.  And this is honestly really hard for me.  (I hate to admit it out loud…)

So, I donated bags and bags and bags of clothes… and very uncomfortably realized the amount of of material things that existed just in my girls’ closets.   Let’s just say we could have bought a few around the world tickets in the past few years for everything I accumulated.

It was so hard, but so freeing to let go of all that stuff.  I can still shop for cute things – which is awesome because the creative side of me just loves to put together little outfits – but with a 20 item limit I am incredibly conscientious of the pieces I purchase.  I consider them investments for the long haul that will endure through multiple seasons and also hold up to be passed down to Aria and our mystery peanut.  And most importantly, I don’t just buy things impulsively.

I also made a decision to only buy simple patterns, usually organic cottons, and clothes that will not detract from my girls’ sweet spirit.  I want to allow them to express themselves and look adorable, while not being overshadowed by too many sparkles, ruffles and glitter (although there is nothing wrong with a little glitter and sparkle, especially those cute gifts from grandparents).

It’s all a process of embracing minimalism.  hard, but so fun.

SO, in light of this adventure in minimalism, I’m going to do a little series featuring my favorite, high quality, simple brands that inspire how I make up the 20 items in Adeline and Aria’s closet.

First up – S T R I P E S, of course!

Jake and I never found out the gender of our babies, and so unisex stripes have always been my thing.  I’ve developed quite the uni-baby collection, so it doesn’t matter if baby #3 is a girl or boy!

What I love about stripes: they are simple, versatile and just create the cutest little french-inspired-hipster baby.  I mean, come-on.

Check out the links below where you find way more stripes and also some other cute stuff. 🙂

What do you spend your money on impulsively that is taking away from the big-time financial dreams you have?  Leave a comment and share.  There is so much power once you say something out loud.

Clockwise from top:

1.  J.Crew navy striped onesie.  2.  Goat Milk NYC organic black and white stripes.   3.  Mabo organic cotton basics.  4.  Mingo kids stripes with adorable knee patches.