More Donations

I needed another day before updating since I wanted to take a few photos this time.  I did manage to pull 22 items (caught up through tomorrow!) from my closet.  This includes a couple of things pictured below that I have had in my wardrobe since I worked for Polo Ralph Lauren.  I've been carting these things all over the country and I realized yesterday that it was time to let go.

Pictured here are a brown chalk-stripe double breasted blazer, a tweed skirt, and multiple long sleeved shirts all from Polo Ralph Lauren that I honestly haven't worn in years.

I also donated a striped t that is mostly brand new but somehow already has pin holes across the front.  That's what I get for cheaping out on something! Of the 22 items, more than half are tennis outfits that my mom handed down to me when we joined a tennis club a few years back.  I kept two outfits and one skirt and I am donating the rest.  I just don't need that much stuff.  In fact, since we don't belong to the tennis club anymore, it's likely these kept items will end up as a donation before this year is out anyway.

Also included in this batch is a Banana Republic tank blouse that I bought and never wore and a sleeveless sweater from Madewell that I wore once or twice and decided I didn't like how it looked on me.  These two items (and the old Polo things above) perfectly illustrate WHY I have too much.  And I keep stuff like this because I like it or 'it gives me joy' but yet I don't wear it (or can't wear it) and it's just stupid.

Rick and I are talking about selling everything we own and moving into an Airstream and traveling the country.  It's mostly a pipe-dream since we still have two large dogs and a cat and I cannot imagine that would be a good situation for any of us...but maybe someday.  Even thinking about the space we'd have with that kind of a lifestyle makes me a little more ambitious with my purging!

Still Holding Strong!

Even during the holiday season of 'spend, spend, spend'...is that a song?  It should be!

Not being able to buy anything for myself has really kept me on the straight and narrow when all my favorite stores are bombarding me with seasonal 'deals' and 'time is running out' emails. Not buying clothing means that the cute snowman printed scarf was not thrown into the basket at Fred Meyer the other day, no matter how inexpensive.  Today I ordered two plain white t-shirts from Banana Republic (using a credit I'd earned) and I resisted the call of the dark teal long sleeved sweater that was screaming my name...  I stuck to only ordering the two t's which are to replace my existing ones that are looking too ratty to wear to work.  I'll donate the old ones (or make them into rags) when the new ones arrive.

My husband and I are even looking at ways to shrink the spending of this season even more.  We are collecting ideas for non-stuff traditions to implement for future years.  The first one is the 'White Envelope' that I'm planning to do this year.

http://www.giving101.org/white-envelope-project/

This year, we also limited stocking-stuff to just 5 items.  It is forcing us to be more thoughtful about the things we buy and not just grab junk to fill the thing!  In general we don't go crazy with spending at the holidays anyway and we never use credit so that it comes back to haunt us in January, but I think we can do better.  Next year, we are thinking about ways to add experience gifts.  I'd like to limit the whole holiday to 1 bought gift, 1 made gift and 1 experience gift each.  I haven't proposed it to him yet, but I know he stresses himself out about gift-giving so I'm not sure if the 'made' thing will be a good thing or a bad thing in his mind.  I know he'll be on board with the experience gift, for sure.

Anyway, I've been remiss about tracking my donations.  According to this blog (my only record of this), I last donated on 11/28.  I have since also donated the old version of my 'dog walking' shoes now that the new ones arrived.  I also thew out a white tank that somehow got a huge black smuge across the front that will not wash out.  It's right near the neck too, so I can't even use it for layering. Not happy about that one!  That means I am covered through November and I now need to come up with 20 things to donate to be caught up until tomorrow when I will be back to report in!

Made a purchase!

That's right - I bought something new that is wardrobe related...and on CyberMonday, no less!  A few weeks ago, I noticed that my 4+ year old dog walking waterproof clogs were no longer waterproof. I wear these every single day and my feet were getting wet.  I wasn't sure if it was sweaty feet until I started needing socks (as it got colder) and now I can see from the socks that the wetness starts at the toes. Upon further investigation, I could see that the seals along the rubber were cracked open on both feet.  I actually tried gluing them back together but I think the rubber has dried out or deformed as I could not get it to seal again.  The whole purpose of these shoes was to be able to walk my dogs with dry feet (and good traction) so I am going to replace them.  LLBean was having a sale and free shipping, so I ordered a new pair. I will donate the old pair to Goodwill.  The soles are super worn (traction is failing) but they are still thick and while they do leak slightly, they will still keep one drier than a pair of tennis shoes.  In the PNW, that's a pretty big deal.  I'll donate them as soon as my new ones arrive.

I've also been removing things from my closet on a weekly basis (not daily, but I make sure I have one thing for each day that passes).  My latest donation was a pair of Mountain Hardwear tights.  I wore them once ages ago and didn't like them much but I couldn't remember why.  I wore them to PT last week and now I remember!  They are oddly not stretchy in the right places, somewhat 'thin' looking in other places and they are dog hair and lint magnetic...not good for solid black tights. They are now in the donation box along with a couple of sports bras, some pairs of thick wool socks and enough barrettes and headbands to outfit an entire cheer-leading squad! I finally pulled all the tortoise-shell colored accessories out of my stash...I'll never wear them again even if I have long hair again one day as they look stupid with silver hair.  I'm not counting the hair accessories as 'wardrobe removals' but they are in the donation box anyway.  I'm also tossing out a ratty nightshirt I used to wear.  It's way too full of holes to donate, the wrong material to be a rag, so it's going into the trash.

11/22: # Nike sports bra
11/23: # dk grey oddly un-supportive sports bra
11/24: # ratty nightshirt
11/25: # pair of wool hiking socks
11/26: # pair of thick cable socks
11/27: # pair of wool hiking socks
11/28: # mountain hardwear tights

Quick Run to Goodwill

On Sunday my husband purged a bunch of things from his closet/office, so he wanted to make a quick run to the donation location.  Always looking to combine trips, I grabbed a few donations to take along.  It was a rush job, so I didn't take any photos.  My last post brought me up to item #46 (11/15), so here is what's happened since then.

11/16 #47: hooded running jacket that I just don't wear anymore
11/17 #48: Iluminight cycling vest that I also don't wear anymore
11/18 #49: Wrap plaid skirt for covering up bike shorts (never worn)
11/19 #50: snap wrap skirt for cover up post-races/triathlons that is too big
11/20 #51: running wind-shirt jacket thingy that I bought because it seemed like a good idea at the time and then never wore

For today, I'm removing a super worn out sleep tank from my wardrobe.  I'm not going to donate it as it's really ratty.  It's also not the right material for the rag pile, so this will be my first 'throw away' item.  It's actually so worn out, that I'm embarrassed to admit that I was still wearing it, so I'm not even going to take a photo of it. Use your imagination!

I also donated a couple of older frying pans, some decorative items that are no longer our style and a pile of books.  These don't count as wardrobe items, of course..but it always feels good to get some of the clutter out of the house.

Digging into the drawers

When I did my first closet purge (and subsequent capsule wardrobe) more than 18 months ago, I focused on clothing and shoes.  I really didn't pay too much attention to accessories because I tend to dress simply. A few scarves here and there, a belt out of necessity, simple jewelry...  I use the same purse every day and I only change it out seasonally (mostly because it rains all winter and I don't like using open-top leather bags in that situation).  When it was time to simplify and cut my over-spending habit, accessories were low priority.

I wear the same black leather belt almost every day. It's actually reversible, so even when black isn't right for the outfit, light brown/tan often is.  And because I've got big legs and plenty of 'back' but a small waist, all of my jeans and most of my dress pants require belts.  Every night when I get undressed, I roll up my belt and tuck it into one of the top drawers in my dresser.  There is a cute pink dyed snakeskin belt in the same drawer that I bought for one particular outfit that I notice each night.  And before I started this challenge, I bought a second black leather/silver buckle belt to tide me over because mine is looking worn.  That one also is in the same drawer.  There were just three belts in the forefront of my brain.

Now that I'm giving away things every day, I find myself having to go into places I never bothered cleaning before because I'm not ready to lean out my closet even more just yet!  This weekend, I opened BOTH of the top drawers of my dresser and stumbled upon a belt mecca!  I guess I knew that I had a lot of them that I'd been pretending were not there, but I didn't realize how many were still left after the house-moving purge 4 years ago.  I decided on twelve that will be donated (pictured above).  The remaining 5 or so are all uniquely suited to certain outfits and until I do the big final purge of my wardrobe, they'll remain in my possession.  Once the decision is made on each of their corresponding clothing items, then I will likely be getting rid of even more belts.

This covers me until 11/15, or item #46. :-)

Donations Still Happening

Item 25 & 26: 2 Black t-shirts.  I can only wear one at a time so who needs 3??

Item 27: Tankini top.  Bought this AGES ago and never wore it.  Not even sure which bottoms I'd originally intended to wear it with as it was so long ago.  

Item 28: Cropped black workout pants.  These have a fold-over waist which on me means 'fall down every time I bend over' waist.  They were never used for workouts but for lounging around and how many pairs of ugly lounging around pants does one girl need?  Time to go!














Items 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, & 34 will bring me up to date through tomorrow (11/3).
Three tech t's, a pair of workout shorts that are WAY too short and that I'll never feel confident enough to wear (feels good to finally accept that!), a sports bra and a workout bra top thing.  I'm happy to be making room in my fitness clothing drawer!

New Shoes!

About a week after I posted my 'rules' for this challenge (including the one where items won or given to me is acceptable) I actually won a new pair of Nike ID shoes!!  For September at my Orange Theory Fitness studio, we had a bingo card full of random tasks to fill up as much as we could.  An example would be 'take Alycia's class' or 'complete the DriTri'.  For every row of 'bingo' we got a ticket into a raffle.  I filled up almost my whole card and to my great shock...I won the grand prize!!

I actually picked out and ordered my shoes the day of my eye surgery and they just arrived today.  I'm so excited as they look exactly like I pictured AND they fit and are super comfy!!  These will be my studio shoes and the other pair I've been wearing will be set aside for distance running only (outside).

Super cute and totally on theme, right?

Catching up on donations

I wasn't sure how much I'd like 'blogging' about the items I donate but I think it's a good idea.  It's keeping me on track because it turns out that it is really easy to forget about this as life goes on!  I know that it's not the most interesting subject matter, so going forward I will try to condense as much as possible and only take pictures of items that might be unique (once I've finished the current collection).

On the 'buy nothing new' front, I faced a challenge last week.  While traveling to Florida for work,  I did a few workouts in a local Orange Theory Fitness studio.  They had some OTF branded gear different from what they have at my home studio and I was really tempted. I even considered making an 'excuse' that it was OK since I was traveling, but then realized that was really stupid.  I don't NEED anything.  Temptation averted!

Donation #18 & 19: Two baseball hats.  I bought the Napali coast one after our epic kayaking adventure and as much as I loved that trip, I've never worn this hat.  I have memories...I don't need the hat.  The other hat is left over from my days in retail at Polo Ralph Lauren.  It's a minimum of 20 years old and it also doesn't get worn.

Donations 20 - 23: Three t-shirts...in a pile.  Nothing interesting about these except maybe that purple wall behind them.  That's the accent wall in my office/guest room.  Fabulous color, isn't it? :-)

Donation 24: workout pants.  Bought these from Fabletics because they had a drawstring (key feature for workout pants for me) but they are just way too heavy-weight for indoor workouts but not suited to outdoor running in the wet Oregon winters.

More Donations

My eye is healing well.  It actually seems to be faster this time around, but I think that's because this time, I know how to do the drops better so that half of it doesn't run into my nasal passages.  More medicine in the eye where it belongs means that it works as it should.  Duh.  Anyway, I'm glad its going well because tomorrow I'm traveling for work and that dry (and pressurized) environment on the airplane would have been torture a week ago.

Today I'm doing some 'catch up' on my donations.  I'd pulled the items from my wardrobe already, but today I took the photos and boxed it up.  We'll drop the donations off this afternoon.  I also took photos of my items for the upcoming week since I'll be on the road.

Item #12:  An O'Neil rash guard that I bought for either a Hawaii trip or a kayaking adventure that I never wore.  What a waste.

Item #13: Black cowl neck sweater dress from Madewell.  Wore this twice.  Cute but too much volume in the middle for me and a tad too short for work-comfort.  Plus, now that I work on the second floor of our building, it's way warmer than the first floor so I can't imagine ever being comfortable in something this bulky again.













Item #14: Reebok tank.  Cute, but not comfortable in the OTF environment.

















Item #15: Polka dot silk scarf.  Also cute, but too big...there was just way too much material in this scarf for my style.  This one still has the tags on it.
















Item #16; Mini Cooper T.  This one is going into the rag pile.  I love this t and it's gotten a TON of wear, but I bought it in Nov of 2003 and it looks it.  It's getting a new hole every time it goes into the laundry.  Farewell faithful t.  I'll miss you!













And because I'll be in travel mode all day tomorrow:

Item #17: Truckette bag/purse by Queen Bee (local company).  I used this bag for 5 or 6 years...every day.  It's really worn on the bottom and the material is bubbling and coming apart on the cover flap above the flowers.  I replaced it with a similar one a couple of weeks go, so it's time to send this one to goodwill.  Great bag...another item that I'll miss!

On the Mend!

Donations 7 & 8:

Donations 9, 10 and 11 are a striped t like the one pictured above but in navy, a bathing suit and a pair of New Balance Minimus shoes.  I'll take more pictures going forward but while the T is cute, no one needs to see an old bathing suit or beaten up shoes!

My eye is healing.  Slowly but surely.  The first few days were pretty brutal as expected but I'm back at work today and doing pretty well, It's still gross looking and will likely remain so for a few weeks.  I'm hoping that at my doctor's appt tomorrow, I get to reduce the number of times per day that I need to put in drops.  Four is a lot and kind of a pain in the butt.

Because my eye cannot take 'stimulus' like breezes, heat, cold or the sun, I've been staying indoors. I've also been going pretty stir-crazy since I went from almost daily exercise to none.  On Sunday I managed to walk on our treadmill in the garage (with no fan on me) for about 2 miles and then I lifted some light upper body weights.  After that, we thought that maybe a walk in an indoor mall would do me good as well.  My husband and I headed to one of two enclosed malls in our area and prepared to fight the crowds to 'walk the mall circuit' a bit.  It was really weird to be walking past all these stores and all this clothing and know that I can't even buy one little thing.  I didn't really want to but it felt weird knowing that I couldn't even if I did.  I think that speaks to my consumerism tendencies and it partly explains how I managed to amass such a huge wardrobe when I worked in retail and was in these places every single day.  I mean, to say "I'm not going to buy anything" and then never go into a store, open a catalog or browse the internet is easy.  There is no temptation.  It's like saying I'm only going to eat healthy food when living on a ranch where there is only healthy food in the fridge and you don't have a car or anything within walking distance.  The hard part would be to continue to expose myself to temptation and still not buy.  I'm not ready for that yet, but I suspect that might have to be a part of my plans this year just to say that I could do it.  Of course, there was a Tesla store in the mall...I would have been happy to go in there and buy something...a car is not part of my wardrobe, right!?

Anyway, this past weekend I did pull out all of my fall/winter clothing and packed away the few things I have that are just too summery (shorts, a few sundresses, sandals).  I will be in FL next week, but I have enough light weight things to cover me and I did keep one pair of shorts out to take along. It was much nicer to get ready for work with a freshened wardrobe this morning...even if there was nothing truly new...just things I'd missed seeing all summer.  Nothing like pulling on a pair of pretty tall black boots to make a girl feel good about herself!

I also came across the bin of clothing that doesn't fit me.  I was shocked at how full it is...  I will really need to make my final weight decision soon if I plan to keep these clothes.  Otherwise, I'll run out of things to donate much faster than I had anticipated!  I'm so close too...maybe 10 lbs...

Fix that eyeball!

Item #5: jeans.  I'd bought these to tide me over when I'd gained a little too much weight to be comfortable in my favorite jeans.  Now these are too big again so they are going to goodwill.  I'm also posting Item #6 now since I won't be able to do much involving my eyes this afternoon or tomorrow.  Item #6 is a hoodie from Nike.  I bought this at a Sports Authority store-closing sale without even trying it on.  It fits, but I don't like it.  Too stiff, too thick and the arms are too long and have thumb-holes.  I hate thumb-holes in my sleeves!

Today is my eye surgery.  I'm having the pterygium in my right eye removed later this afternoon. This means that this evening and most of the day tomorrow, I'll be on the couch doing my best not to tear my hair out or gouge out my eyes.  The surgery involves the cutting of the damaged tissue off my eyeball and then replacing it by gluing in (yes, glue!) a piece of non-damaged material from up under my eyelid.  I don't remember it being all that painful when I had my left eye done in May, but I do remember how incredibly irritating it was.  If you know what it feels like when a strand of hair pokes you in the eye, then imagine that from multiple hairs and constantly, and you get the idea of what I'll be dealing with.  I can't wait! *eyeroll*...or don't...'cause that hurts like a son-of-a-b!  Then I get to spend the next month or so with a zombie-looking eye and people looking at me funny.

Big sigh.  Knowing that the end result will be stable vision and the ability to get updated prescription glasses (and maybe contacts) will get me through the next week.  That and knowing that this is eye #2 and I don't have a third!  *wink*...or not...that hurts like a son-of-a-b, too!

Think lubricating thoughts for me...will you?

Oct 4, Donation number 4.

Quick post today because I don't have much to say but I've to a ton to do!  Today I am finally giving up my leopard print jacket.  I really wanted a leopard printed jacket or coat of some type (preferably vintage) so I shopped for ages on ebay and other sites.  I ended up settling on this one but when I got it, it was a major disappointment.  It's too big and the arms are cropped so it looks weird.  The color is also really wrong on me...I think I need a much richer colored leopard print because this one, with my silver hair, washes me out and makes me look like a grandma that's been hiding in a basement for years.  I swear that I could smell moth balls when looking at my reflection.

For now, I'll stick to my leopard print flats.  Yay for fall! (most people celebrate the return of the pumpkin spice latte...me?  it's my leopard print flats!)  Woo hoo!

Nutritional Impact

How does nutrition have anything to do with minimalism?  Well, when it comes to the need to 'Find Freedom'...freedom from food obsession is high on my list of priorities.  That said, getting to a healthy, stable weight will also be key in wardrobe maintenance.

More than 5 years ago, I 'went paleo' permanently.  Before you roll your eyes or snort at my choice of diet, hear me out.  Trust that I will not go into details, rules or dogma here.  Let's just say that the last 5 years have been a journey of self-discovery that began with the paleo diet.  When I decided to drop grains, legumes, seed oils and processed food from my diet, I started really paying attention to how I felt and how my body reacted.  A few months down the road, I discovered the Whole30 and did my first 30 day challenge (which is super strict paleo, for anyone not interested in following the link).  The intent of Whole30 is to kind of detox your body (without weird drinks or starving yourself) of traditionally problematic foods, and then systematically re-introduce eliminated foods to determine how your body deals with each of them.  I did multiple Whole30's over the years with varying levels of success on those controlled reintroduction periods.  The end result was that, over time, I've figured out what things my body does well on, what things are worth 'splurging' on and what things I never really care to eat again.  I also know what things I need to avoid if I want to lose weight mostly because I cannot control myself around those foods.  I have learned that I can get to my current weight (10 lbs up from my lowest) without too much effort by just being my normal active self and eating consistently well and that if I want to go lower, I have to track and restrict my intake.

Let me clarify that I don't care what anyone else eats.  I don't avoid whole food groups on principle, but there are foods that just don't make me feel great and they are last on my list of priority.  In summary, I avoid grains (oddly enough, wheat is the least problematic for me and corn is the worst), legumes including soy, seed/grain oils and dairy protein (specifically, casein).  I also try to avoid all forms of sugar, but that's mostly because of empty calories and cravings...not because I cannot digest it.  I also eat very little processed food and only items with ingredients I recognize.  We really make so many things from scratch and we cook from home a lot.  My meals are predominantly vegetables, fruit and high quality meats.  I compliment this with healthy forms of fat, nuts (only as a condiment...not as a snack!) and occasional seeds.  None of this is due to allergies, so I do the best I can and I try not to be 'that person' when we are eating out or when I'm traveling.

I don't understand why some people have such hate for the paleo diet and are constantly posting articles about how some fossil human had grains in their teeth so the paleo diet is bunk.  I also don't understand how anyone can say that any one diet is perfect for everyone.  I've seen how others do great on soy or corn and I know how badly my body reacts to those things...so clearly we are not all the same.  There is no ONE diet just like there is no ONE religion.  To each their own.  Let me do my thing and I'll let you do yours.  Disclaimer - I know when I first discovered paleo and Whole30 I was so super excited about how awesome they both made me feel that I wanted to share that with everyone.  I still think this way but I've long since given up on my evangelism.  I apologize to those I may have accosted back in those days! ;-)  We must all be patient with recent converts to any new way of eating as they tend to go overboard.

All of this matters partly because I feel like my way of eating has finally given me freedom from food obsession which was a big issue with me, prior to discovering paleo/Whole30.  It wasn't uncommon for me to eat an entire half-gallon of Breyer's Mint Chip ice cream in one sitting.  Or an entire box of Kraft Mac & Cheese mixed with canned corn.  Or an entire 3 ft baguette with margarine...  This also matters because I have two size ranges of clothing in my wardrobe.  I have my current size range in my active wardrobe.  I have the sizes I would wear if I were 10 lbs smaller packed away in a couple of big Rubbermaid bins (mostly bottoms, but some dresses and fitted tops, too).  Before this year is out, I need to decide where I want to live in terms of weight because I cannot keep two wardrobes.  Giving away 1 item per day will eventually necessitate that I eliminate one of these size ranges.  I need to decide which one it will be before that day arrives.  Am I happy with where I am and the amount of effort I need (or don't need) to put in to live here?  Or am I willing to give it a final push down to the weight I'd rather be and then put in the effort needed to stay there?  This is the decision that must be made in the very near future.

Today's donation: This is a dot tank from Banana Republic that I've maybe worn once.  Instead of giving this to Goodwill, I will be sending it to ThredUp.  ThredUp is an online consignment store that I've used in the past.  Not only have I given them lots of things, but I've bought a few favorites from them as well.  I like using them because then I know that the item will go to someone who really wants and will wear it.  They are very selective about what they'll accept, so not everything I give away can go this route.  BR items that are current and in like new condition certainly can though!

Wardrobe Donations Begin

I started my challenge yesterday, October 1st.  No more buying things to wear.  None.

Early last week my husband bought a Patagonia Nano Puff hooded jacket.  I really liked it and felt it would be a great grab and go jacket all winter (our winters are mild and wet), so I ordered one online for me (well before Oct 1).  Thinking that I was being smart, I ordered an XS men's version from last year for $124 instead of the original $250, directly from Patagonia.  Today we went to REI to look at backpacking gear.  While there, I found the men's jacket and tried it on in a small (they had no xs) to see if it would fit.  It will be perfect in the shoulders, arms and chest...but waaayyy too tight in the hips.  I won't even be able to zip it.  :-(  Oh well, guess I'll just ship it back when it arrives.   Rick suggested just going ahead and getting the women's version...even if it's full price.  Yeah, great idea except that I can't buy anything anymore.  When I pointed that out, I could tell that he felt a little sorry for me (even if just briefly!).  Well, now he sees what this challenge will mean!

No biggie though - later today I stumbled upon a fleece lined hard-shell jacket I bought on a whim last year and it'll serve the exact same purpose.  I'd totally forgotten that I had it and it's one of my favorites!  And, as a bonus, it actually fits me.  This is why I need to get rid of more clothing...favorites in hiding.  We can't have that!

Yesterday I pulled a light weight orange sweater out of my closet to donate. I bought it for our trip to Maui and wore it there, but I've not worn it since.  I saw it in the front of my closet all summer long and never once pulled it on.  Time for it to go to someone who will appreciate it.

Today I selected a white tech t that I've never even worn.  Such a shame.
















I also plan to pull out a few things in advance to cover my give-aways for Wed - Fri when I'll be recovering from eye surgery.  I doubt I'll want to even look at my closet then!

Let the purging begin.

Wardrobe Challenge: Buy Nothing New for One Year

You read that right.  This former consummate consumer is going dark on her wardrobe!

From October 1, 2016 to October 1, 2017, I will buy no new clothing.  My mantra will be 'Less is More'

Here are my official rules:

1. Buy nothing new for myself for 1 calendar year beginning Oct 1, 2016. This includes all apparel including athletic wear, shoes, bags, jewelry and accessories.
2. Vacation is not an excuse to break the challenge.
3. Gifts, prizes and giveaways do not count and are acceptable.
4. In addition to not buying anything new, every day, I must get rid of one item.  Preference will be to thrift it, donate it or recycle it, but if it is not usable, disposal is OK too.  Pairs cannot be separated to cover two days for this part of the challenge! 
5. Items being removed will be documented here on a regular basis (may not be daily).

There are three exceptions to these rules:

• I am allowed to replace something that cannot be fixed (i.e. dog chews up a bra, I can buy a new bra to replace it)
• It shouldn't need to be said, but in the case of disaster (house burns down), game is over.
• I've been shopping for a new winter coat for 2 years.  Should I find the perfect coat, I can buy it as a replacement even though my current coat is still usable (it's too big and really worn but I'm super picky about what I want and I can't find it!).

For the past week, I've had to resist the urge to go on a shopping spree (similar to the urge to pork out on ice cream the day before starting a diet!).  I have bought a few basics (new bra, new pair of dress pants, black flats and a couple of layering tops for work), but I did not go crazy.  I've also spent the week unsubscribing to every apparel related company that emails me.  I'm amazed at how many I get and how I've just gotten used to deleting them without noticing the volume. I've also instructed my husband to dump any clothing catalogs we receive directly into the recycling bin on the way back from the mailbox. 

Excited.  Nervous.  Curious. Determined.  Let's do this!

(anyone want to join me?)

The Wardrobe Transition

My current closet 'before'

As anyone who's known me for while can attest, I like clothing.  I'm not really a fashion diva as my style has typically trended fairly 'classic', but I have exhibited varying levels of obsession with wardrobe over the years.  A large chunk of my teens and 20's spent in the retail industry is partly to blame.  Personal insecurities contributed.  Financial freedom sealed the deal.

My last career position in retail was working as a store manager for Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Stores.  I manged a large volume 'outlet' not far from NYC.  As such, we not only carried all the typical factory store inventory, but we were occasionally recipients of boxes of random cast-offs from the full retail stores in the city.  This meant some pretty unique and outstanding items.  It wasn't uncommon to find pieces with the names of the runway models marked on the inside in our shipments a few weeks after fashion week was over.  Add to that the policy that employees got a 50% discount on top of the already discounted prices, and suddenly I could afford things that only the very wealthy would typically buy.  And buy I did.  The credit card debt mounted and my closet walls were pushed to their limits.  Funny, because I could still only wear one outfit at a time. ;)

Fast forward many years and I still had some lingering habits from those days.  A penchant for super high quality items, the inability to pass up on a screaming deal, and the need/desire to have EXACTLY the right combination of shoes/outfit for whatever the occasion happened to be...

The contrast was that I was an engineer by day and a small farmer by night...neither of which required any fashion beyond jeans and t-shirts.  The good news for my wardrobe was that our farm house had a master closet the size of a room.  Further good news is that my husband had very little to store which left me with TONS of room to keep all my clothing.  Beyond this, we also had a 10ft pipe suspended from the rafters in the basement that housed all clothing that either didn't fit, or was so far out of season that it was not needed.  Lastly, I possessed a full sized (bulky) dresser that also lived in this mammoth closet...

When we sold the farm and moved into town, my closet options shrunk drastically.  I had to downsize to one 6 foot bar and a normal sized dresser.  This required a massive purging and Goodwill was the biggest recipient!  I also managed to take possession of our guest closet as well, so I managed to get by...

A few years of fighting with this closet situation (it was still a battle), and I was ready to look into remodeling options.  Then I had a bit of an epiphany.  I was traveling for work and realized that I'd mis-packed and was short quite a few things.  I managed to re-arrange my outfit plans using only the things I'd brought and was able to make 5 days worth of outfits from the reduced amount of clothing.  It was kind of fun!  It also made me realize that maybe less would be more.  Then I stumbled upon Project 333.  Live with 33 items for 3 months? The idea both scared and excited me and I figured that meant I should try it.

July of 2015, I did.  I opted for 47 pieces of clothing.  I chose to not count purses, outerwear or jewelry (or socks and underwear) because I felt I had zero issue with 'overbuying' these things (still don't).  I didn't count athletic wear (biking, camping, running, etc) either.  I curated my 47 pieces (47 because I was 47 years old) out of the things I already owned, packed away everything else in bins (or donated it) and went for three months using only those items.  I LOVED it!  Packing for trips was so much easier.  Mornings were smoother.  And oddly enough, I felt better about how I looked because I really enjoyed 95% of the things I'd kept in my wardrobe.  When the quarter was over, I donated a few items, switched out a few items (mostly sandals for boots), bought a couple of things and did it again.  It was great!

Things I discovered:

• I need way less than I think I need if those things I have are carefully chosen.
• Shopping is significantly more fun if I limit it to a short period and to carefully curated items
• It's much easier to recycle magazines or delete marketing emails when I know I'm not buying - I'm less tempted
• I have my own style!  Each quarter I would gravitate towards certain things/styles...and I always felt good wearing those things
• When your items are limited, you don't tolerate mediocrity very well.  If I wore something that I only felt was 'OK', it might get a second chance but would likely be permanently removed from the rotation at the end of the cycle.
• Keeping certain things set aside for 3 months makes them feel new and exciting again when they make a re-appearance (like tall boots do every fall).
• A whole dresser is SO not necessary

I kept this up for all 6 cycles (changing out every quarter) since the first time.  Over time, I was finding that I got a little careless with the 47 item count.  I only have 36 nice wood hangers in my closet, so if I run out of hangers, I know I've let items creep back in (knowing I have things in drawers, too).  I've been ignoring the fact that some things are still on dry-cleaner hangers and yet there are no empty wood ones.  I've also gone a little crazy the past few months on updating/increasing my workout clothing since we'd joined a new fitness studio.  Now those things are getting overwhelming and I need to scale that back, too.

Enter the new challenge.

Starting on October 1st, I will buy no new clothing for 1 year.

Simplicity - Our Journey Continues

Since it's been more than three years since I last posted, much has happened (as would be expected!).  I've decided to begin blogging regularly again because I have created a new challenge for myself, and I'd like a place to document the journey.  This new challenge starts October first, so I have about a week to get 'my readers' (*snicker*...like I have any anymore!) up to date and to lay the groundwork for what will be happening.

But first, a bit of a recap:

Our trip to Kauai was fabulous...a trip of a lifetime...particularly the sea kayaking down the Na'Pali coast.  That was not something either of us will forget, ever.  Truly spectacular!  My photos truly did not do it justice!

During the second half of 2013, I re-joined Leanness Lifestyle (now called Leanness Lifestyle University) and lost most of the weight I wanted to lose.  My recent weight/nutrition journey is a whole post in and of itself, so in the meantime, suffice it to say that I'm up about 10 lbs from my lowest but still feeling great.  My body size will play a role in my upcoming challenge, so there will be more on that to come.

In May of 2014, Rick shattered his lower left leg in a slow-motion motorcycle crash in the woods of south western Oregon.  Surgery one was May 18th to have an external fixator attached to his leg.  Three weeks on the couch (literally) in prep for surgery two on June 5th.  I was tasked with a LOT of home-care for this poor guy over the following few months.  To say 'it was a challenge' just does not do either of us justice. But we made it through.

2014 was the year from hell at work, too.  That horrific word 'busy' doesn't even begin to describe it.  End result, was a job change in the spring of 2016.  I've left my role as the University Program Manager for my company (which also went through a crazy merger in that time-frame) and now I'm back on the technical side of things as a program manager for our R&D organization.  I am much happier in this role, despite the inevitable challenges that come with any new position.

2015 included a long recovery for Rick, another trip to Hawaii for both of us (Maui, this time), ridiculous work hours and travel for me, nowhere near enough biking, hiking, kayaking or running as we'd like and all of this prompted an overwhelming desire to regain some control over our lives.

In July of 2015, I did my first total closet clean out and spent the next three months with only 47 pieces of clothing in my closet (not including underwear or athletic wear).  It was an interesting challenge for me and one that I repeated with each of the following quarters - allowing for one 'change-over' the first week of each quarter to switch out a few items as needed for seasonal changes and variety.  It was a fun way to do a little simplifying during an insanely busy time and one that actually helped me feel more in control when I desperately needed it.  there will be more information on this in posts to come as well.

2016 has been a whirlwind so far.  As I already mentioned - I made a major job change in the first few months of the year.  We also saw the staggeringly devastating loss of our sweet dog, Maggie.  As much as life is easier with just two dogs, Maggie was something special and we miss her daily still...

Rick and I joined our local Orange Theory Fitness studio in March of 2016 and have been more consistent about going to those workouts than any fitness-related thing either of us has done in over a decade! It's been great fun doing this together.  He's benefited from the all-around workouts (not just weight lifting) and I'm benefiting from the motivation I get from seeing results.  Plus, it's fun (most of the time)!

This past May, I had surgery to remove pterygium (Surfer's Eye or sun damaged tissue) from my left eye.  The healing process was the single most annoying thing I've ever felt. But one eye is as good as new, now.  Pterygium is likely a remnant from my days of 80's tans with no sunscreen and years of living in the south and hardly ever wearing sunglasses.  Remember to wear your sunglasses, boys and girls!  Surgery on the right eye is in two weeks.  As much as I dread it, I'm excited to have both eyes done so that they can heal and I can get updated glasses.  My Rx is clearly off but until I'm through this, new glasses would be a waste because this affects my vision in varying ways.

And at the end of August, Rick changed jobs, too.  For him, the change was from a very, very large company, (Intel fully absorbed McAfee in 2015) to a much smaller one.  He's been in this new role for less than a month and so far, so good. We have high hopes!  If nothing else, he is looking forward to supporting products and a company that he believes in and that's always a big improvement.

I think that brings us up to date since my last posting.  Nothing like covering 3 years worth of life in a few paragraphs, huh?

We still have plans for early retirement. In fact, we've been shopping for land, off and on, for awhile now.  I think the plan will be to buy some property (hopefully on a lake) and build an off-grid tiny home (and a tiny barn for tiny goats!).    But...we aren't there yet.  Life continues with dual incomes, still living by a budget, working on retirement savings and watching the value of our home virtually skyrocket.  It's insane but we aren't complaining.  We are also trying to simplify.  I can't say we'll ever get to true minimalism, but we definitely want to work in that direction.

My challenge starting October 1 will be our next step down that path.