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.