Hello everyone. In the words of the great Barack Obama, is this thing still on!?
So today is day of Kate’s Great 2017 30-day Challenge, which means different things to me on different days, but generally means the following: For 30 days, I don’t have alcohol, I introduce more (read: some) regular exercise, I read more, and I get to sleep earlier. In these chaotic times, I felt I was spiraling into the abyss and needed to try to find some concrete ways to stop the spin. So, for the time being, it’s been these relatively simple ideas.
Now, that’s not all. I’ve been trying to think of ways that I can make my life a little easier. And calmer. And more joyful, too. This probably all sounds terribly selfish to you as the world spins off of its axis (so much spinning in this post), but I’m pretty certain that if I don’t figure out how to calm the %$%^&(%&#$% down, I will soon be locked up in a padded room draining what’s left of the State’s resources. And that’s not good for anyone. So, in addition to the above basic plan, I have a few missions to try to avoid that. And the first I’d like to talk about is one I return to again and again (in my head anyway) and one to which I still don’t have much of an answer, but I’d like to hear your thoughts.
Clothes.
It’s no secret that I’m not a morning person. I don’t like to get up. I don’t like to be spoken to in the morning. I don’t like to talk. And I really dread figuring out what to wear. Although I still really do like clothes and have preferences in styles and whatnot, I really would, at this point, prefer to have a small closet with great choices. And while that’s something that I’ve tried to work on, I’ve really failed at it.
A couple of years ago I decided I was going to go with the capsule wardrobe idea and I chose Banana Republic as my sponsor. Only they didn’t know it and I had to pay for everything. I decided to go with (largely) one store because it seemed easiest and fastest and I was ready to implement this sucker over night. Well, the problem with that idea was that I was stuck with about 12 pieces that were all very much from that two-peek period in 2014 or whenever it was and while I like some of the pieces still, some of them were dumb at the time and I knew it, but was too lazy to do anything about it. I thought, “They fit, they’re affordable. Done.”
But as time went on, I realized that striped cotton t-shirt wasn’t going to do much for me in Wisconsin’s January and, frankly, I hated the way it looked anyway. I felt like a dowdy frump and I wasn’t fun to be around when I wore it because, you know, I felt like a dowdy frump. Enter: Stitch Fix. I wrote about Stitch Fix here. I loved it! A couple of fixes later … The patina has worn off a little. I still think it’s so fun and a great idea, but the pieces aren’t nearly as appealing to me and I’m wondering if it’s just because I expect the service to have the whole array of clothing in the universe at its hands when it really has only a handful of clothes available to it like any other place would.
So, here is what I have learned so far. I am still into the capsule wardrobe because I think it would make my life simpler and cleaner. And from there it would allow me to concentrate on other things and dread mornings so much less. But. I need to realize it won’t happen overnight. I need to stop looking for the quick fix, if you will.
And here’s one more piece: cost and quality.
This is where my latest venture comes into the story. On a whim, I decided to try the ritzy (for moi) MM.LaFleur. It’s a lot like StitchFix in that you get a box whenever you like, but it’s a lot pricier. My first one came last night, but because someone I live with forgot to mention it to me, I didn’t notice it until this morning. As we were supposed to be rushing out the door, though, I dug into it and I could immediately tell that the quality was far superior to anything that I’ve ever gotten from Stitch Fix and, with rare exception, from Banana, too. I haven’t tried anything on yet so it’s more than possible that nothing will fit and, even if it did, I’m not sure I can justify spending that kind of money anyway.
But I’m also sick of being sick of my clothes. And more than that. I’m sick of cycling through clothes I don’t like. I buy them, get tired of them, donate them, buy more, get tired, donate and the cycle goes on and on. So I was thinking a lot about how much money I probably waste on clothes and how sad that is. And then I was reading this article and wondering if spending more on my clothes would have a variety of benefits.
Thoughts?
life and puppies 