In the Closet

I haven't been able to do much on my bucket list since I checked off "#2: Have a child," but I am working on one item little by little. It's number 156: Love all the clothes in my closet. And it's a pretty big deal. I mentioned before that I've drastically changed sizes over the past year and a half, and I'm currently finding myself down to a size 10 for the first time in more than a decade, and while I've never been too focused on my weight, wow is this making shopping a LOT more fun! Now, if only I had some MONEY to shop with :)

But as much as buying new clothes is important, the other and perhaps larger task in this project is getting RID of things. My closet is more or less full, I own clothing...I just don't love it. I don't even like it all. And I don't want to be bogged down by it anymore.

I'm sick of throwing on clothes in a rush, and then being uncomfortable the rest of the day as they don't fit or flatter. I'm sick of getting all bent out of shape before I go somewhere because I "have nothing to wear." My life is very full. I barely have time for the things and people that I DO love, I'm done wasting it on things I don't. So I have some prioritizing to do.

Here are some of the rules I'm going by:

1. Always try it on. I've never been a catalog or online shopper, and I'm terrible at knowing how something will look on me or feel. So even if The Cupcake is throwing a fit, no buying and returning later - that's just double the work. Try it before you buy it.

2. If I don't immediately love it when I try it on, I don't buy it. Don't even consider it. There are so many beautiful things in the world these days, there is no need to settle or talk myself into something - I don't have $$$ to waste on things I don't love. In the past if something was a really great deal it has sort of elevated my opinion of it - but no more. No instant love = no sale.

3. If it is inconvenient, it goes away. If it needs to be hemmed or taken in or otherwise repaired - even if it's a great deal - no sale. I just don't have time to get to those things right now, and I know it.

4. Consider the ladies. This means if I can't wear a bra, or would have to buy some sort of special bra, or if my straps would hang out and annoy the crap out of me all day, no sale. When I got my mermaid I went out and bought a bunch of backless shirts...but stick on bras suck. I end up cupping myself all day, and that's just not a good look. Perhaps in some really specific situations this might be allowed (formal wear?) but for daily outfits - no go.

5. It all goes in the wash. I hate to iron, and I definitely don't have time in my day for it. I'll never hand wash garments either. And I can't really afford to dry clean. Everything in my life has to tolerate puke, poop, and pureed carrots (which stain like a b!@#$). I don't have time right now for high maintenance clothes.

6. If it's too big, it goes away. I know, I know, this might not be permanent weight loss, and maybe I'll have to buy a whole new wardrobe if I gain it back or keep shrinking - but I don't have room to keep multiple separate wardrobes, and I'm sick of grabbing clothes that seem okay in the morning, and are falling off my hips halfway through the day. If I wear something, and it proves to be annoyingly large - it's going in the GET RID OF bins, the same way I am constantly rotating TC's wardrobe.

(GET RID OF method is yet to be determined. I'd love to have a yard sale, or put everything on ebay, take it to a consignment shop, or otherwise profit from it - but that takes SO MUCH TIME. For now, it's all getting piled in boxes in the attic).

7. The Norm rule. This has been in effect for...oh, 11 years now. Norm is mostly white, and constantly freaked out, which means my house is COVERED in tiny white hairs that stick to everything. Especially black clothes. Or navy. Or anything fleece. I haven't seen hubby in a black t-shirt forever. When I was working full time I occasionally had "work only" black clothes that I rarely wore around the house, but now that I'm home more than away, it really doesn't make sense to invest in things I can almost never wear. Nina Garcia would not survive in my house :)

I'm trying to pay more attention to clothes that can work together, though I've never been able to limit myself in terms of colors. I have an odd attachment to tie dye, I know, but I'm okay with that. I'm trying to ease up on the sparkles - if only because they often complicate rule #5, but also glitter and studs are a baby hazard (gasp!) so I'm toning it down a little...at least until I can wear jewelry again :) (TC has a mean grip and lightning speed, she WILL rip that crap right off of you). While my life is pretty messy right now, I don't need to keep "paint clothes" or things "I might wear in the mud" - keeping clothes BECAUSE they are ruined already is silly, that's what aprons and bleach are for.

I've hauled 3 giant laundry baskets out of my bedroom so far, and since I had TC I believe I've purchased 3 pairs of pants and 12 tops - plus a bunch of jeans from the goodwill. Half of those jeans ended up violating my "rules" above and got the axe - mostly because I found myself hiking them up all day long, I'm just NOT made for low rise jeans, and there are better options for me. Hoping to finish this project by the end of the year, get some photos up of what I'm keeping and ditching, and slowly build my closet back up while keeping to the rules above.