According to my records, it looks like I'm all caught up on donations through 1/25. That means that I need to locate 34 items to remove from my wardrobe to be caught up through March 1st. I was looking for some sunglasses the other day and stumbled upon my old tri gear. I have been storing it all to use again one day, but I noticed that the material really, really stinks. I think that lycra and chlorine don't mix if left over time (even if things were washed). I'm probably going to toss all my outfits and just plan to buy new things should I take up the sport again. I can't help but wonder if any of the lycra things would still have any stretch in them anyway! Luckily, I know some of the swim suits are still fine as I've worn them for lap swimming in the past year.
It is also time to be ruthless on the bin of clothing that is too small for me. There are certain things that I love and that cannot be replaced but even being totally reasonable about how much weight I can lose now that I'm finally starting to work out again, there are still things that I can safely give away. To be perfectly honest, this stash of extra clothing is part of the reason for this challenge in the first place. I needed a true incentive to dig into it and be honest with myself. If I haven't worn it in more than 2 years, I'm clearly not going to and it's time to let go. That'll be my goal for this coming weekend.
My shoe wardrobe is also looking like it needs a good purging as well. Now that my winter boots have joined the collection, there just isn't enough room in my tiny closet. I wear boots most of the winter and sandals most of the summer. Overlapping those are a few pairs of flats and one pair of heeled black patent shoes. Everything else needs to go. I'll commit to doing this purge this evening and bringing that '34 items' down to a more manageable number!
Mid-February I was in Florida for work and was able to take a couple of days off to drive over to Tampa to visit with my parents. It also happened to be my birthday. After hearing about my challenge, my mom gave me $100 so that I could buy some clothes. Except, that's not how it works and I had to tell her that had she bought me clothes, I could have accepted them...but now that I have money, I can't use it on clothing! I am going to need a good pair of polarized non-prescription sunglasses for our kayaking in Hawaii in May, so I'll probably put it towards those. While that could be considered an accessory...with my history of sun damage in my eyes, I'm counting this as a medical necessity. What was funny was that while I was explaining this to my mom, I mentioned that it's not as hard as I thought it would be. She pointed out that it had only been 4 months. WHAT? I can't believe it's only been 4 months...well now, 5. I'm not even half way and I'm not only running out of things to give away, but I am starting to try and rationalize buying new things. I'm not actually doing the buying yet, but it's clear I am looking for excuses.
To be fair, I had not counted on the wear and tear to my clothing. Because I've purged so much, I wear the same things (basics) over and over again and they are truly getting worn out. My black work pants, a few pairs of jeans, my black pencil skirt, white t-shirts, my black blazer, an ivory cable sweater, a few striped tops...all of them have now seen better days. I need spring to get here faster so that I can put some of the wintry things away for a good rest before they fall apart!
