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"  A couple of years ago, I&amp;#039;m positive I&amp;#039;d have been the perfect case study for the A&amp;amp;amp;E show Hoarders. Especially when it came to clothes. I kept everything I&amp;#039;d ever purchased, borrowed, and been gifted, all of it in heaps that would eventually creep out of closets and drawers. I even had my architect expand my closets, but it didn&amp;#039;t solve the problem and was still far from the fantasy kingdom everyone envisioned I had. There was always a presumption that because of what I do, I had this Holy Grail of a walk-in closet with a rotating conveyor belt of clothes and shoes\u2014a magical The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe closet that was meticulously organized and knew to purge when something was tired, ill-fitting, or forgotten about. In reality, my closet kingdom was closer to an overcrowded municipality. Until the day I came clean. It&amp;#039;s probably not a coincidence that environmental awareness became a hot-button issue around the same time an energy-saving lightbulb went on above my head. It was now my time to edit and live and dress in a more efficient way. Those clothes I never wore but swore I would one day had to go. Another rule: If I never missed it till I found it cleaning up, it was destined to be someone else&amp;#039;s Goodwill hunting. And my daily self-imposed tough love: Did I honestly need that faded snap-front Western shirt from tenth grade (what I referred to as &amp;quot; irreplaceable vintage&amp;quot;)? Or those 25 flannels or six black hooded sweatshirts? I also discovered how to invest in a better system of &amp;quot;Garanimals&amp;quot; dressing, in which a few pieces can seamlessly mix and match in several variations. Soon my new way of thinking expanded into other aspects of my life\u2014grooming, shopping, what I carry with me. It was a downsize of everything I, well, hoarded. Recently, while discussing ideas for this annual eco issue, I recounted to our photo producer, Juliet, my long journey. She told me her sister-in-law Candice was having her own too-much-stuff crisis, only she had no time to deal with it. As a new mom of nine-month-old Jasper and working as a social-event planner, she was running in different directions, all while trying to keep up with current trends. She embraced her mess\u2014and style-challenged ways\u2014and moved on with her day. Lightbulb again! (Those eco-bulbs last forever!) Let me pay it forward with my own experience and expertise. I decided to fill in Candice on how I finally got organized and to show her how to remain stylish just by following a few simple suggestions. After all, there&amp;#039;s nothing on the environmentally friendly books that says having less stuff means you can&amp;#039;t remain chic. We started by taking some of the most overwhelming elements of Candice&amp;#039;s life and simplifying them\u2014easy solutions that began with a laundry list of the must-haves. I wanted to share that list and some tricks that will, I hope, help you toward a clean (living) start. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/fashion/a11073/joe-zee-s-easy-solutions-for-eco-living/>