A few months ago when Michael and I started talking about moving, I decided that was the time to begin going through our stuff and slowly removing things from our home that we no longer wanted to keep.
You may already know about
how I feel about clutter and unwanted items, but if you don't here's the long and short of it: I can't stand it. If there is something sitting around my home that I don't plan on using or don't even like, it MUST go.
So when the possibility of moving showed up in our radar, we sat down one Saturday afternoon and started going through our things. We began by going through each of our own wardrobes. Well, since Michael only has about 5 shirts total and maybe 5 pairs of shorts, he was done right away.
He came over to my side of the closet and began to help me out. He was amazed, to say the least. I had a LOT of clothes. I still do have a lot of clothes. Yes, I know most people aren't amazed to hear that a woman my age would possess a small mountain of clothing, but it was shocking for us.
You see, we rarely go anywhere fancy. I really don't wear heals or expensive clothing on a daily basis. Most days if I'm not wearing jeans and a comfy top, I'm wearing jean shorts and a comfy top. What can I say? I like to be comfortable. On top of that, the only things I do that require special clothing are hiking and spending time in the snow at the cabin. Southern CA really isn't known for its wide variety of weather, so we get away with wearing generally the same types of clothes year round.
My abundance of unnecessary clothing got me thinking, "Why do I have so much clothes, and yet I often feel like I have nothing to wear?" Is it just normal for women to feel like they have nothing to wear even though they have a walk in closet larger than my college dorm?
What was MY deal? I truly had a lot of clothes that I never wore, that I thought were ugly, or that I just never had an occasion in which to wear them.
Sitting in my bedroom going through my drawers and pulling out the unwanted items, I was able to recall almost every moment I had purchased the items I was holding. I realized that for each piece of clothing that I didn't want anymore, I had purchased it for someone/something else. Not for me.
Every time I bought a piece of clothing that I thought would make me more like someone who I thought was more beautiful, sexy, thin, attractive, or smarter than me, I ended up not being happy with the purchase and quickly lost interest.
You see, when I was younger (middle school-ish) I had a lot of people tell me that I should stop wearing such plain clothing and should start wearing cuter clothes (I know they meant it in a loving way). The thing is, I don't think I dress very plain. I think I dress comfortably and cute. I've never been one of those girls who can wear stilettos all day and make it look like her toes don't feel like they've spontaneously caught on fire.
why am i suddenly wishing i had put on foundation this morning?
Yes, I enjoy wearing skirts and dresses and looking stylish, but I'm more of a cotton sundress with wedges girl than a polyester blend dress with spike heels. That's just not Rhiannon.
The most common argument I get from people trying to get me to "branch out" from what I normally wear is that I have a nice figure, and I should take advantage of it. But I don't think I need to wear skin tight clothing on a Sunday afternoon when I'm trying to relax, to take advantage of my figure! I think I need to wear what I like and what
I think looks nice on
ME. After all, I feel more confident when I'm wearing something I'm comfortable in, and isn't confidence the best accessory??
So, I've resolved to dress like myself (what a revelation, huh?). I donated everything I ever bought because I thought it would make me more like someone else I admired. Or anything I ever bought because I thought it's what I SHOULD be wearing. Once that was through, I decided not to buy any more clothes. Not for a while. Not that buying clothes is wrong, or the main issue here. I just need to focus on what I already have.
Not to mention, getting rid of the clothes I didn't even like, has forced me to explore new ways to wear the clothing I already own. I often felt uncomfortable or just grumpy all day when I was wearing something that I didn't really like. I was just forcing myself to wear the clothes because I felt guilty owning them and not wearing them. By not buying new clothes for a while I've rediscovered some pieces I really love and that are really comfy and flattering.
Going on a clothes buying "fast" (I'm coming up on almost 3 months!) has really been a small victory for me. I used to buy at least one item of clothing a month in the past. That's a lot when more often than not, I was buying multiple items of clothing. I'm pretty proud of myself! It's also been a nice break for my wallet. :)
