May is over. If I had to use one word to sum up this month of my self-reduction project it would be EFFORTFUL. If you are just joining me and have no idea what I’m referring to you can read about my ‘project 7’ here. If you need a refresher on this particular month {as if you could have forgotten with me rambling on and on about my lack of clothing options} you can read about that here.
So far, the other months in my 7 experiment have been difficult in an emotional ‘I prefer to keep things the way they are’ kind of way. Reducing the number of possessions I had or the amount of money I spent during those months required self-control and really just letting go of the widespread ‘have everything’ mentality I was clinging to. Wearing only 7 pieces of clothing, though, has definitely been more time consuming and actually more work than I anticipated. I really thought this month would provide me with a few extra moments in my day, since I didn’t have the option to stand around and hem and haw about what I was in the mood to wear each morning. Those few extra moments were taken up by trying to get my 7 pieces of clothing washed and dried before the next day; sometimes that meant tossing them in the wash at 10pm and setting my alarm for midnight so I could run down and toss them in the dryer – snap, that’s commitment y’all!
Also, now that the month is over I have a strong urge to burn my 7 pieces. I’ve resisted so far, because those pieces are some of my favorites and I think if I make a rash decision I will regret it in a few weeks when I look into my closet and ‘have nothing to wear’.
I learned a few things about myself and about my clothing this month:
1. I really love wearing pretty things. I guess now I appreciate the value of having something pretty to wear – it boosts confidence and self-esteem. I felt less comfortable, less confident, less secure throughout the month simply because I felt ‘blah’ in my clothing. I don’t think that is necessarily a reflection of my priorities being misplaced on my appearances, though. Let’s face it, I’m a mom. More often than not I sport a schmear of snot that has been lovingly wiped on my shoulder. Sometimes it stays there, not because I don’t have time to change, but because I choose to use those times for something else. I’d say in the grand scheme of things I am usually not focused on my appearances, but even so I felt as if my personality was completely stifled during this month. Having pretty things doesn’t have to be expensive, though – I am definitely not advocating spending money and filling your closet with more things {we’ve been over that in months 1 and 2, stay strong people}! But I do want to take this chance to promote a wonderful place to buy beautiful things for yourself or others that also has a beautiful mission: Noonday Collection. hugs all around for beautiful things.
2. Even though I severely reduced my clothing stash during month 1 of my self-reduction project my closet and dresser were still in a ridiculously full state. It’s like my clothing experiences mitosis through the night and when I wake up there are pieces in my closet I’ve never seen before. Did I buy that? This one still has tags! Surely this is occurring through some scientific voodoo and not simply because I am a clothing addict, always looking for a fix. TJMaxx anyone? After seeing how I was able to survive life with only a few garments, I revisited my clothing and made some tough decisions. I am happy to announce that I have reduced my clothing by almost 1/2 {again} and will probably be able to reduce things a little more once I get my precious, sweet, energizer bunny of a daughter to end her angry teething toddler rampages.
3. My priorities are changing. My heart is changing. and yet, I still think to myself every day:
anyone else suffer from that?
Month 3: Clothing
Month 3: Clothing {update 4}
So it’s day 25 of my month-long attempt to wear only 7 pieces of clothing. If you’re thinking that sounds crazy, you’re absolutely right, and you can read about all the sordid details here.
At this point I’m feeling a bit ripe. Now don’t read too much into that… I swear I have been washing these clothes like usual. There’s just something about wearing the same things over and over, regardless of how clean they are. I chose my 7 articles on May 1st after days of careful consideration. I chose those 7 because they were practical, gave me the most flexibility with weather changes, and mostly they were just some of my favorite pieces. Well, not any more. I am really starting to loathe those horrid green running shorts. And black scrubs at work every day? BORING! also they pick up lint. oh the lint!
In general I have ‘kept to the code’, but just as in the pirate world, I’d say these rules are more like guidelines.
I wish I could say I was enduring this exercise in self-reduction flawlessly….but let’s be real here – I have definitely cheated on more than one occasion and, ready for even more brutal honesty? I don’t feel bad about it! Not even one bit. In general, I’ve been able to follow the guidelines fairly easily, but I’ve made a few additions to the 7 pieces.
If you recall, my articles of clothing for month 3 were:
1) Dark wash skinny jeans
2) aqua running shorts green running shorts {still haven’t found those original shorts…. how can they just disappear?}
3) Grey V-neck short sleeve shirt
4) Flowy white sleeveless shirt
5) black scrubs
6) A formal dress {+ shoes and jewelry to go with it for 2 weddings this month} – aka cheat day, wink wink.
7) 2 pairs of shoes that count as 1 item: brown flip-flops and black sneakers.
Somewhere along the way I added a pair of brown shorts and a black tank top to those pieces, bringing my total to 8 items.
This is pretty much what I have worn every single day this month (aside from my scrubs on work days):
I did end up going to the beach twice this month and decided that wearing my bathing suit didn’t count as another item; it is, after all, practically an undergarment. so doesn’t count.
Only a few more days until this month is over. hallelujahpraisetheLord. I miss my jewelry. I miss my shoes. I miss just being able to choose what I want to wear based on how I’m feeling. I am very much an emotional garment chooser. This month I have gained a new appreciation for the beautiful items hanging in my closet and am excited to be able to express my personality through them once again. oy, I am praying that I continue to realize I can survive with less…. clothing may be the death of me.
Updates on the rest of our recent family activities will be coming soon, if I can stop watching episodes of Bones long enough to get my to-do list accomplished.
Month 3: Clothing {update 3}
I don’t even know where to begin. This month hasn’t been going like I had planned.
I mean, in my mind this month was going to be pretty easy. Pick my 7 items, wear those 7 items, demonstrate that I can survive with fewer clothes in my closet. La. De. Da.
Lemme just say… this has been the most difficult self-reduction month ever! Reducing yourself to 7 articles of clothing is impossible. Well not impossible, because people do it daily all over the world, but really really tricky. The worst aspect of it is when I have to change clothes because of the task I’m doing. I have been doing a lot of work in the community garden these past few weeks. Garden = dirt = dirty clothes. Every time I go I wear my blue running shorts, gray t-shirt, and black tennis shoes. Once back from the garden all of those things need to be washed, so I have to put on my other ‘outfit’ while the garden clothes are being washed: skinny jeans, white shirt, flip flops. It’s a crazy cycle, and happens about 5 times a week on my days off {I work in the garden in the morning, then back home for the rest of the day}. The other 2 days are work days and I wear my scrubs. All this to say, I am doing laundry a lot. Usually by hand, which is tedious.
I have definitely gone out of the house wearing damp clothing on more than one occasion in the past 2 weeks.
Here are a few of the issues I have encountered with this limited clothing supply:
On Tuesday as I was rushing out of the door for work I found my black tennis shoes caked in dirt and mud from the veggie garden. If I were the ‘plan ahead, responsible type’ {which I am not} then I would have washed them immediately after working in the garden on Monday morning so they’d be ready for work on Tuesday morning.Obviously I didn’t do that, so I decided to wear a different clean pair of shoes to work. After all, I’m representing a company and would like to keep my job.
On Wednesday I discovered that my blue running shorts were missing. Tuesday it was blazing hot here in Chesapeake, Virginia. I would probably have been carted to the ER for heat stroke if I had worn my only other ‘bottom half’ clothing: jeans. I searched everywhere and even now as I type this {a week later}, I still haven’t found them! It is driving me bonkers! How can shorts just disappear?!
On Saturday Charlotte came down with a stomach virus. The ‘try to get home quickly but she still threw up in the car twice’ kind of tummy bug. It was absolutely awful hearing her say ‘all done’ to throwing up and crying for ‘bread’ even though I couldn’t give her any. I really had no choice but to break my 7 clothing rules the moment vomit became involved. Together, Charlotte and I probably went through 10 different shirt changes Saturday night. That wasn’t really the worst part, though. The worst part was taking her carseat cover off, washing it, then wrestling with the seat to get the clean cover back on. I’ve never been more relieved to have a washer and dryer in my home. I can’t imagine trying to cart those yucky linens to a laundromat.
Other than those bloopers I’ve been able to stick with the parameters of my little experiment so far {it is now day 12}. I am definitely learning to be thankful that I DO have access to more than 7 things to wear, though. And I am so looking forward to wearing clothing item #7 to a wedding this weekend. Bring on THE DRESS!!
Month 3: clothing {update 2}
To sum up this month so far: slightly interesting, a smidge difficult, and mostly very annoyingly inconvenient. I’ve been getting tons of great questions, so just to clarify my goals and guidelines for this project:
I chose 7 pieces of clothing from my wardrobe. Those 7 pieces are the only 7 I can choose from when I wear clothing this month {which will be most of the time, rest assured}. I doesn’t actually matter how many I have on at one time {I could wear all 7 at once, but that would be uncomfortable and silly}. These 7 pieces will last me the whole month. I can’t trade out pieces {as in “oh I’m tired of wearing this gray shirt, I will trade it in for a pink one, because that’s essentially what all of us do every day – we trade out clothing at the end of the day, and trade in new clothing each morning. Some of us do several trades in a day}. This restriction on clothing means: no jewelry, no accessories, no random shirt changes in the middle of the day ‘just because’, and pretty much no looking fabulous. It also means I have to plan ahead.
The purpose of the entire ‘7’ project {imitated from Jen Hatmaker’s initial experiment} is to help me realize that I am capable of ‘doing without’; I can and will survive if I have less. Fewer possessions, spending less, fewer clothes, less time spent with technology, less waste, more time focused on appropriate priorities, less gluttony. I have already tackled possessions and spending. This month is clothing.
I realize this month’s challenge is a tad confusing and I’m sure most of your thoughts include some ‘what the …..’ phrasing. It’s ok, I know it’s odd, but if I’ve learned anything over the past few years it’s this: if you hinge your salvation and life’s purpose on Jesus’ life, death, and un-death, then your aim should be to imitate what Jesus did here on earth. And if you are truly trying to be ‘like’ Jesus and imitate his perfect ways, that means your life and actions shouldn’t really fall in line with the lives and actions of other people on earth. I’m sure He was called ‘odd’ because he didn’t just fall in line with the cultural norms of the times in which he lived. He was different. So I’m okay with being different too. Sometimes different means saying no to the excess that we have come to know and love in our country.
So far I have worn 5 of my pieces at least once every day. I’ve been working in the community garden a lot, which is dirty and stinky work – I usually wear my tennis shoes, running shorts, and gray shirt. For any other ‘non-dirty’ activity, I wear my skinny jeans, white sleeveless shirt, and flip-flops. The other 2 clothing ‘items’ I have are my scrubs and a formal dress {that I need to wear to 2 weddings later this month}. I don’t feel the pressure to wash the gardening outfit often, since it’s just going to be icky again. The jeans and white shirt have proven harder to keep clean because a) I wear them every single day, b) if I take them off and wash them, I have to wear the sweaty gardening clothes until the nicer clothes are ready. I don’t want to wash them, but I need to wash them… it’s a predicament. I just need to get into a good routine -hold on to your nickers, I’m about to channel the Wilder family and wash some clothing by hand.
On a lighter note, today was my birthday and we spent it surrounded by friends {but you may as well just call them family}: it started with Church, then tending the garden with friends, then a cookout with an even larger circle of friends. It was a beautiful day and my heart feels so full right now. You’ll probably see some pics from those adventures later this week {though not from me; I brought my phone and my dslr camera. my phone died and my dslr had no SD card in it….. so exactly zero pictures will be from me}.
Here’s a photo of what I wore to church this morning {before changing into ‘get dirty’ clothes for gardening, before changing back into this outfit for the cookout}.
Our picnic lunch at the community garden.
And an obligatory Charlie Grace photo: playing on the playground at church
