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?
clothing
Month 3: Clothing
Did you know it is now May? I am just as surprised as you are. This whole ‘time passing by’ thing is getting really old. Enough already. When I said I was going to take a month off of my project in self-reduction I truly believed the next month would be slower in arriving. April just zoomed on by, and here we are: hello May! If you are just tuning in, I have embarked on a personal journey to combat excess in imitation of Jen Hatmaker’s book ‘7: an experimental mutiny against excess’. During the first 3 months I focused on reducing my possessions and spending. This month I will be tackling clothing. You may remember that in Month 1 I purged nearly half the contents of my closets and drawers, counting those as possessions right along with everything else in my house. I got rid of a ridiculous amount of clothing. and guess what? There’s still a lot of clothing floating around in there that I am certain I don’t actually wear. I am not a big spender when it comes to clothing{or anything, really}; one of the earliest lessons I learned from my mom was how to spot steal at a thrift store. That being said, the sheer number of garments in my closet is ridiculous. Frankly, my wardrobe could easily outfit 4 or 5 women comfortably. Can we say excessive?! In order to combat the american mentality of see it – buy it {which is how I got into this predicament in the first place}, I will wear only 7 pieces of clothing this month. I know, I’m sort of shocked at the prospect as well. Let’s figure out the guidelines.
Before I started to carefully select my 7 precious articles of clothing, I took a peek into my drawers and closets to see what I had to work with:
223 pieces of clothing
37 pairs of shoes/sandals/boots
12 pairs of scrubs
I know. I was shocked too. I don’t have any scientific proof, but I’m pretty sure my clothes and shoes have been multiplying in my closet when I close the door. Your’s too? ok, glad I’m not the only one. I was secretly hoping my collection would come up shorter than Jen’s. and it did…. winning! As I was re-reading Jen’s chapter on clothing, she reported that she had 327 pieces of clothing in her closet. My greed and lust over clothing is not as severe as Jen Hatmaker’s or, say, a Kardashian’s…. I’m certain there’s a crown waiting for me in heaven for that accomplishment alone.
Here are the 7 pieces I have chosen:
1) Dark wash skinny jeans {I pretty much wear these every day anyway, no shame}
2) aqua running shorts
3) Grey V-neck short sleeve shirt
4) Flowy white sleeveless shirt
5) Navy blue black scrub set {when I got up today…day 1…. to get dressed for work I realized the blue scrub set I had previously chosen to be the work attire that would carry me through this month was in the wash, so I had to settle for my second choice}
6) A formal dress – TBD – I don’t know which one in my closet I will wear yet, but we have 2 weddings to attend towards the end of the month and I don’t want to wear sneakers and running shorts on my friends’ big days {though the sneakers would give me a distinct advantage for dancing, with the added traction and all…. in light of this discovery, I actually may rethink the formal dress}.
7) Shoes count as one item together but I will only alternate between 2 pairs: brown flip-flops and black sneakers.
Here are a few more details:
- Undergarments don’t count. just…. no.
- No jewelry {not even earrings, I will wear my wedding band… because it’s my experiment. I do what I want}
- No accessories {no scarves, no belts…. no pizzaz}
- No coat, no rain boots
Day 1:
Black scrubs, black tennis shoes. I did wear a headband, but not for pizzaz. It is a necessity to keep my frizz in check while at work. I do it for the kids.
I am really fortunate in that I only work 2 days a week, so wearing 1 pair of scrubs is totally do-able. I doubt anyone will even notice. My patients certainly won’t – I get excited when they simply notice the presence of a person in the room; I’m pretty sure they don’t care what I wear, they just want me to get out of their face!
Will you join me this month? If at the very least, will you count the number of clothing items and shoes in your closet? Just throwing off the blindfold and refusing naiveté of our excessive tendencies is a great first step.
I’m just sayin’.