30 Days, 30 Clothes Update

(written on 9/23/13)

Statement #1: The first half of the month went really well! I had to do mid-week laundry, instead of multiple loads on the weekends, but other than that it was easy. Not as hard to decide what to wear when there aren't as many choices! Every time I wished I could wear a different work outfit or snuggle up in my sweats, I just thought about how blessed I am. 

Which brings us to: Statement #2: I started cheating on Day 19. But I have some very good reasons (otherwise known as excuses). Last week I came down with Chickenpox. I developed 230+ itchy, red bumps, as well as some intermittent headache and fever. 

On the second day I was home sick, I started out with good intentions - since my PJs were dirty from the day before, I put on my exercise pants and purple sweater. But I quickly discovered that a ribbed sweater wasn't the most comfortable thing on my tender skin. And I got cold. So I decided to incorporate three new clothing items into my wardrobe: my sweats, another long sleeve shirt, and a fleece zip-up. I've been alternating wearing my PJs one day, while washing the sweats outfit, then vice versa. So now it's more like "30 Days, 33 Clothes". And that brings us to...

Statement #3: I might cheat more this week. When I go back to work, I may need to pick tops that hide the most skin possible (i.e. turtlenecks?) so that, with the help of makeup, I can achieve the "I Have Bad Acne" look instead of the "I'm Clearly Diseased and Might Make You Sick, Too" look. 

[update: I didn't need to cheat further - it took so long to get back to work that I only had one day left before the 30 days ended.]

So, there you have it - my confession that I cheated on the 30 Days, 30 Clothes experiment. For other reasons, I know that this virus is an attack of the enemy. But I also believe and declare that God can't be thwarted, and therefore He can still carry out His plans. Even in small things like my failed clothing experiment, He can still teach me things - appreciating what I have, being creative with those things, and moderating my desires to acquire more. 

30 Days, 30 clothes

Right before the seasons change, I always feel like I have "nothing to wear". For example, right now I have worn and re-worn all my summer clothes and I'm a bit tired of them. But I know that as soon as the weather allows me to wear scarves, coats, and sweaters, I'll feel like I have a whole new wardrobe.

I've been thinking lately about how to simplify and be thankful for what I have. Reading the book "7" (see this post) got me thinking about just how many clothes I own. So today I decided to count. Not including socks, underwear, glasses, and hair ties, I have 197 articles of clothing. Just estimating in my head, I think this means I can go about 3 or 4 months without repeating an identical outfit. And yet I want more clothes. 

[Honesty moment: I kind of feel proud for only having 197 items. I don't know the exact statistics, but I think most American women have more. Plus many of my clothes have been in my wardrobe for years (I love it when I get complimented on a skirt I bought at age 14). But then I remember that the vast majority of the world does NOT have this kind of wardrobe. I'm wealthier than 90% of the world (so are you if you make over $25,000 a year). Factor in my husband's income, and we're in the top 1%. I'm crazy blessed and crazy selfish if I think I don't have enough.]

I have decided to reduce for the month of September. I picked out 30 articles of clothing (again, not including socks, underwear, glasses, and hair ties), which is a reduction of 85%. I'm not going to post this until October, because I have a suspicion that no one else will notice. It's an experiment. 

30 clothes is still a lot. Just playing around for a few minutes, I discovered I have 19 different work outfits I can make with these clothes, and I have 20 work days in September. 

Here's what I selected:

7 Bottoms:
 PJs, black work pants, jeans, "adventure" pants (I'm hoping to go hiking), lavender capris, exercise capris, off-white skirt 

14 tops:
 Black and white dress, black sweater, black short sleeve T, black tank, gray zip-up, Mariner's T, purple sweater, grayish purple top, cream tank, lacy tank, blue long sleeve, blue button-down, blue short sleeve, green flowered short sleeve

Accessories/Other:
Black coat, white raincoat, tan purse, hiking boots, tan flats, black flip flops, black tennis shoes, black flats, black tights

My goal is to prove to myself that I have more than enough. Plus it's a "fast" in a way, and God teaches during fasts, so we'll see what other lessons he may have for me.