Winter Capsule Wardrobe Week #2

I faithfully dressed from my capsule wardrobe this week except the day I was out of commission.  I haven't worn my pearls in a while and I almost forgot how much I enjoy them.  It's been so warm that the first outfit is actually a cammy and a light weight, short sleeved cardigan.  I was still hot.

I decided to honor the sun and all its warmth with my sun shirt.  Thankfully I was able to remove the outer layer when the afternoon hit 65 degrees.  I enjoy my headbands too.

Simple outfit; no need for layers with the wonderful weather.

A little bit dressier outfit for my husband's Christmas party.  The scarf is from a hometown friend.  The shirt is from a boutique that opened up near me that has nice clothes for reasonable prices.  And did you notice the jeans?  That's right!  I wore jeans.  I also put on a layer of make-up. 

Speaking of Minimalism

Tuesday I had my first public speaking engagement on the topic of minimalism.  It was with a group of moms at a church.  I was so thankful for the opportunity to share what I've learned so far.  I prepared thoroughly but still found myself nervously wondering about all the things I could or "should" add on the morning of the presentation.  Then I reminded myself I was talking about minimalism.  If I couldn't minimize my presentation, I shouldn't be giving it.  I stuck to my script and followed my outline.  I only strayed once and it was for just a brief second, I promise.   I'm very happy to report that it went well.


Talking with the moms was very rewarding.  I was encouraged when they laughed with me about my imperfections.  They understood because they've been there.  There was a spirit of hope. I am inspired, even more, to continue my journey and find more opportunities to share.

Monday Decluttering Reset

The weekends are pleasantly full in our house.  Our kids are in and out with activities, my husband and I try to get out of the house for an activity, and the dogs love all the attention they get.  Inevitably, Monday is a reset with the amount of clean up there is to do.  I make the choice to save all cleaning until the work week because I consider housekeeping my job as I do not work outside the home.  The weekend if for the family.

The routine is different from my focused 15 minutes.  Monday is devoted to the decluttering reset so I can slowly progress through everything.  I start with a long shower with my favorite tunes.  I pamper myself with lotions and potions.  The house gets the same type of treatment.   It's very cathartic.

Here are the before and after pictures.

My husband asks me daily, "How did your day go?"  I usually give a neutral response of, "Ok."  The surprising thing is when I start to tell him what I've accomplished in a day, he always calls me on my neutral response.  He knows I'm a rockstar, even if I'm not sure.  Last month, I challenged myself to no whining.  This month I will choose to be positive and accept that I am enough.  Life is good.

Making the Most of the Thrift Store

I am making a conscious effort to reduce my carbon/environmental footprint.  I wouldn't go so far to call myself an environmental minimalist, but I'm starting.  I've decided to use the thrift store for as many items as I can.  Online shopping like Amazon is extremely convenient, but I'm determined to try the local thrift place that is near by first.  I don't go to the thrift store without a purpose.  I have specific items and a plan to use them with a relatively short time frame.  This is my way to combat clutter that takes up space.  Recently I have purchased:

1) Ice Cube Trays - I took a friend's advice to freeze milk and yogurt for daily power smoothies.  I actually went to a box store first and was not successful.  It opened my mind to the possibilities.

2) A basket and bows - I used in making a raffle basket for a charity.  The basket was $1 and so was the bag of bows.  I used it immediate upon getting home. I wish I had snagged a picture, it looked great when it was done.

3) Wrapping tissue - It's new and still in its original packaging.  With Christmas around the corner, I couldn't pass up the deal.  I used it the next day while wrapping present.

4) Books - A friend of my daughter makes a version of an altered book by creating artwork on the pages of old books.  Sometimes the art relates to the story on the page and other times, it does not. I gave them to her the next time I saw her and she was delighted.

5) T-Shirts for a themed quilt - You might have noticed I'm into a turtle theme.  I would really like a t-shirt quilt along those lines sometime in the future.  I have started looking now so I only use what I love and not the items that are available when the time comes. This requires some storage space but I've made that choice

6) Pearls - enough said, right? I wear them regularly.

As you can see, I had a plan for each purchase.  I put the items to use within days, save the t-shirts for which I have a long term goal.  I use this same philosophy when going to a regular store.  The thrift store is wily because there's a sense that the item will not be there next time and certainly not for such a low price and there's always some use for it.

Go in to a store with a plan.  Don't purchase what you don't need.  Make use of the item(s) purchased asap.

Winter Capsule Wardrobe Week #1

I dressed to go out three times this week.  I'm definitely looking forward to my haircut next week.  It seemed my hair didn't want to behave.

I love my skin care products from Roden and Fields.

I have fought acne all my life and I finally have decluttered my face.  It's so nice to have smooth, clear skin!

My other good news is I dropped 11 pounds this week!  Yup, I'm happy to be gaining momentum toward my daily routine.  It helps keep the pounds off.

If it's on the floor, you don't need it no more.

Today I got back into the groove of laundry.  The Tide that I purchased prior to my surgery had a malfunction and decided to explode/leak everywhere.  People in the house noticed, but not the extent that it had leaked.  I found a nice puddle under the bag in front of the washer.  It feels amazing to have it all cleaned up.  I look forward to my daily laundry routine resuming now.

This is the first time I am showing my before and after pictures on my blog rather than just my supportive group of peeps on FB.  This is me and I'm real.  So is my struggle to manage things at times. The majority of the clothes on top of the washer need to be air dried.  We take that term very loosely in our house.  The mess on the floor was mostly things people other than me don't know how to wash or mismatched socks belonging to the youth.  Funny thing is, they don't wear matched socks so I threw them all in the wash along with the other items that could be washed and I deemed worth saving.

Obviously in had been put in the down position where it liked to leak.

It took me about 40 minutes to get to the results you see in the after picture.  Much more than my normal 15 minute focused clean up.  It was well worth it.  

(Side note: you can save a lot of money if you can live with a washer and dryer that don't match.)

After today, I may start a new motto:  "If it's on the floor, you don't need to no more."

Cha, Cha, Cha, Changes

I watched "Hoarding, Buried Alive" last night for the first time this year.  Last year I binged watched it until they started to repeat shows.  Some watch the show and say, "Thank God, I'm not that bad."  For me, it's very motivating.  I'm not in a hoarding situation and I never want material things to have power over me.

Last night's episode featured an older couple. They were forced to deal with their problem after the ambulance team reported them to to the county. The gurney wouldn't make it to the bedroom.  The wife admitted she was purposefully not taking her medication because she wanted to end her life.   The three adult children were the support group along with a licensed counselor.  It was so sad to see the mom focus on hoard items when her children were trying desperately to gain her attention.  The counselor then explained how addiction works and holds an immense power to consume the hoarder.  Then I got to thinking about my situation in a different way.  Yesterday morning, when I stepped on the scale, I hit an all time high number: 250.  Maybe I was watching this episode it an attempt to feel better about myself.  Maybe I have an addiction.

I made it a topic of my therapy session today.  My therapist reminded me that I deal with lot of health issues for which I take medication.  That medication is what peaked my weight in the first place.  In recent months, life has thrown a few emotional curve balls.  I had back-to-back surgeries and numerous medication changes, in November alone, to improve a chronic condition.  My therapist concluded that I have not misplaced an addiction because I didn't start with one.  Yes turned to comfort food in a time of stress and frustration.  It has added about 20 pounds to an already large number made by the meds.

I guess when I think about it, this is a journey and I have to tackle minimizing my stuff everyday.  Whether it's household items, emotional baggage, weight, memorabilia, food, or cyber clutter, it has to be dealt with on a regular basis.  And that's what I'm doing.  I'm not running from the situation.  I am positive I can make the changes needed to make the change needed.