It’s been a week since I completed my 30 day Six-Item Clothing Challenge and with the exception of a few “cheats” (unexpected funeral & my afore-mentioned oversight of my preschool work T-shirt) it was quite a success. In fact, on the last day of the challenge, I realized that I had to actually THINK about what I would wear the next day and I was totally bummed out!
Much to my surprise, I didn’t hate the six items of clothing I chose by the time I reached the end of thirty days. I was a little tired of a few of them but I had picked clothes that I liked and felt good wearing so it wasn’t the torture it could have been.
I have to say, those thirty days did teach me a few things.
- I have WAY too many clothes and I’m not even a clotheshorse! I’m kind of embarrassed to admit it but many of my clothes rarely get worn. Instead, I wear the same few outfits over and over again. ( Can you say “closet purge”?)
- When you have a smaller pool of clothing to choose from, you have to be careful not to wash them all at the same time. Unless, of course, you can spend the day in your pajamas, Then, be my guest!
- I’ve been guilty of the impulsive, last-minute clothing purchase that often ends up being worn just a few times. After my clothing experiment, I realize that I need to change my thinking when I purchase clothing. I need to think about quality and longevity instead of low-cost “disposable” items. This means I will probably be spending more money for clothes but I’ll also be buying fewer items. In the long run, my clothing costs should even out or, perhaps, even go down. I’ll keep you posted.
- Here’s the BIG revelation–Hold on to your hats….Most people don’t notice what I’m wearing from day to day. Shocking, isn’t it? And here I thought I was the center of the universe! Don’t get me wrong. People may notice if I look nice but mostly they have short memories (thankfully). Of course, on some level this hurts my pride. I like to think that people are paying more attention to me than they actually are. But, the humbling reality is that most people are too busy trying to get through their day to care about whether or not I wore a brown T-shirt two days in a row!
So, did the last 30 days change my perspective? Most certainly! Am I going to get rid of all but 6 items of my clothing? No. But….I might scale down to 10 or 12 items (per season, that is!). I guess I’ve still got a long way to go.
“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!” (Eccl. 1:2)
Blessings,
Laura
Laura B Nelson 