2 of 7: Clothes

Tomorrow starts our second challenge in the book Justin and I are reading. This 30 day challenge will be on clothes. We've each chosen 7 different articles of clothing to wear for the next 30 days. (Note: we DO get to wash them :) We aren't including underwear, coats or pajamas in that count and in addition to the 7 clothing items, we also each choose one pair of shoes to wear for the 30 days as well.

In comparison to the first challenge with food, I expect this month to be much easier. Granted, it was a little tricky picking out my items, but all in all I think I made some good decisions. One thing I realized I had to change my thinking on right off the bat was, "If I choose this shirt, will people notice if I wear it 2 or 3 times in the same week?" I'll have to throw that way of thinking right out the window for this challenge. So there, folks. I don't care if you care that I've worn the same thing 3 (or 4 or 5, maybe even 7 times that week).

In fact, I'll go ahead and just tell you that I've decided to only designate one pair of pants in my 7 count. Risky, I know. But it really came down to the whole decision to have only one pair of shoes for the duration of this challenge. I chose my comfy Keen shoes and they really only go with one pair of jeans that I have. So why waste one of my items on another pair of pants that I probably won't wear much anyway?

My other items include 3 basic V-neck t-shirts. One black, one yellow and one striped. All of which coordinate with a green long-sleeve cardigan or can go under my comfy half-zip pull over sweatshirt that is charcoal grey. (I anticipate this to be what I wear ever other day, if not multiple days in a row.) Finally, I choose a nice-looking but casual pain blue sweater. Those in addition to a plain ol' pair of blue jeans are going to get me through the next month.

I already realize I'll have to do laundry on more days during the week, but it will be a much smaller load. I won't spend but 5 seconds on deciding what to wear that day. This challenge should also solidify Justin and I's desire to completely renovate our wardrobe next year. In addition to the challenges we are taking in this book, we've also made a goal to not purchase any clothes this whole year. For us or our girls. So far, so good. Starting next year, we really want to invest in a few quality items of clothes rather than having lots of cheap items that don't last and just fill up your closet space.

I'm going to try including the girls in on this month's challenge as well. Rather than 7 items though, I am going to up that to 10. I think because in the past I've found most of my girls' clothing on consignment, I've collected so many more pieces just because they were so inexpensive (and cute!). And even with 2 closets full of clothes for each of them, I still find myself going to the same pieces every week. As Mirabel continues to grow and I clear out her closet just to fill it back up with more of Eloise's old stuff, I'm quickly learning how much of it they just don't wear. Why keep it all? I'm having a hay day packing up the extra stuff and finding worthy causes and people to give it to. Win-win.