Gifts, old and new

The end of Dec and first few days of January afforded me a bunch of time off which was very welcome.  I've been less than thrilled with my situation at work, so it's nice to get a break to recharge my brain and get my mindset better aligned.  It also afforded me some time to do a bit of purging around the house!  I managed to clear out a TON of random junk from my drawer in the bathroom and from under my sink.  I also did some purging from a few places in the kitchen and goodwill benefited in the form of some cook wear!

For Christmas, my husband gifted me with a new wool zip jacket, a new scarf and a pair of new boots. All three items have served to help me 'freshen' my wardrobe a bit and allows for some new outfit looks.  Just what I needed as I felt my resolve to not buy anything weaken in the wake of major holiday sale prices.  50% off everything!!! (eye roll)

In the process of purging, I stumbled upon a gift card to Banana Republic in a dresser drawer.  I only vaguely remembered putting it there for 'safe keeping'.  When I looked it up on their website, I discovered it was valued at $500!  I think I received this as a birthday or Christmas gift a few years back while I was in the midst of a weight loss challenge, so I set it aside to spend once I'd reached my goals.  It was then forgotten...  Admittedly I briefly contemplated spending it since it was a gift back in the day but that kind of defeats the purpose of this challenge.  I've tucked it into my wallet (where I am less likely to forget about it!) and I'll not spend it until after Oct 1, 2017.  I'm thinking I'll likely use it to replace things that will be worn out by then...that seems to be the trend.

I am still donating one thing for each day that passes, but I will say, it's getting more challenging!

Easy donations: four sweatshirts, sweat pants, camel pea coat, four sports bras, two sports bra tops, two pairs of shorts, a pair of tights, three tech t's (from races), four t-shirts, and two pair of yoga pants.

Harder donations (things I still like but that I have to admit that I am just not wearing):

Sorel boots - bought these for a recruiting trip to Maine a few years back (in Nov).  They are just too warm for around here - my feet sweat!  I do appreciate how comfy they are though...

















little black dress - my mom gave me this a couple of years ago.  It was hers and she never wore it and since it fit me, I thought it would be a good basic to have.  I've never worn it so it's time to go.  Still has tags!!

flannel from Madewell - cute black and white basic flannel that fits me great.  I've worn it once or twice but I feel weird in it.  It's just not me.  Not truly my look and it's obvious when I have it on.  Someone else will make much better use of it.

wool jacket from jcrew - I bought this from thredup last year.  It's the exact same style as a black blazer I already have and LOVE but it's not the same fabric.  This one is much heavier weight and I just don't wear it.  The one I love is fast wearing out but unless I can find an exact duplicate, I'll likely wear it until it's rags!

funky moto jacket from Banana Republic - bought this in Vegas last year.  Loved it there.  Got it home and it just feels too flashy for the real world. It's also too big in the body for me, so I don't feel like it's flattering.  I still adore it, I just don't adore it on me. Letting it go...















wool wrap from Neve - this is the hardest one of all to donate.  I LOVE this wrap. It's gorgeous, soft and it looks great on me...I just don't wear it.  It's really hard to wear a big soft wrap to work because 1, it's hot in my building on the second floor and 2, there is no way to wear a coat over it (because of how it wraps).  Love it in theory (and in the mirror) but in practice, it's just not working for me.












All of the pictured items will to go www.thredup.com so at least they'll earn me some credit and ultimately go to someone who really wants and appreciates them (instead of ending up in some bargain bin somewhere!).  I just noticed that there is a definite theme to the items I like...all black, white and/or grey.  You should see the remainder of my closet!  Its that a bad thing?  When I truly weed out my closet and curate it down to my favorite pieces...they are mostly black, white or grey.  Oh well, it is what it is...

I also stumbled upon my old Bates Rugby jacket that I'll likely not wear again any time soon, but I just can't bear to part with it...not yet, anyway.

These all bring me up to date as of next Saturday, 1/21/17.  I'll be out of town the 23rd - 27th, so if I can't get to more donations before then, they'll have to wait until I return.

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!