Everything I Wear is on the Floor

Lucy

I should be working on an assignment for my Introduction to Photoshop class, but I wanted to take a minute to write about the realization I had today. I know I talked about clothes a lot in my last post but what more do you expect? I’m a 27-year old woman with a love for trendy (and comfortable) attire, and I’ve eliminated the option for buying anything new that would allow me to keep up with the times, so I’m making due. Expect most of my posts to begin with a clothing update…

Anyway, back to my realization. I was driving home today and thought about how messy my our bedroom is. We have clothes everywhere, mountains of clean shirts hidden under dirty jeans, a vacuum cleaner that poses as a glorified coat rack, panties strewn across the ceiling fan … it’s just a mess. I considered going on a hunt for the clean clothes to fold and put away, but I hate those dresser drawers because they’re totally stuffed with things I don’t wear.

… er…

Wait a second. I don’t wear what’s in my drawers. But I need to find a home for the clothes I do wear. After about the third speed bump into my subdivision, it hit me. Everything I wear is on the floor (minus dresses bc it’s way too cold to wear those now). What’s that, you say? Everything I wear is on the floor?

‘Tis true. Two months of wearing the same clothes over and over and buying nothing new has led me to recognize the obvious. Without any recent contributions, I still only wear about half of the stuff in my closet + drawers + clothes basket.

I don’t understand! I take piles and buckets and baskets full of clothes to Good Will at least four or five times a year. How can there still be so much I don’t wear?

There just is.

So, while the rest of the world is relaxing, shopping and spending time with loved ones on Good Friday, I will be emptying six, cherry wood, over sized dresser drawers and a closet stuffed to the brim. No rest for the weary here.

How are you celebrating the three-day weekend? 

*The picture above is of lovely Lucy. She’s such a great dog. I’ve been volunteering at the Humane Society for three weeks now, and Lucy is the highlight of every visit for me. She was dropped off at the shelter as a pup and now it’s been three years. I would take her home today if I could, but we don’t have a yard and I don’t think my two cats would be very pleased. I volunteer on my lunch break twice a week (which I started as my ‘plenty to give’ challenge) and every day I walk into the shelter hoping not to find her there. Without fail, there she is, smiling as wide as she can. Knowing that we’re going to play tug of war outside in the park with some old rope toy and run around playing tag for a bit, then she’ll walk on a leash around the yard to sniff out trails left by wild animals. She has a good life. Lots of different people come take her for walks every day, and I’m sure she has her favorites. I just wish she could have something stable, a real home with her own dog bed and not listen to other yappers or late night meows. For now, I’ll be her Tuesday & Friday stability for an hour or so at a time. Man, I love that dog.

My List to Give Freely

My friend’s daughter, Maddie. She was relaxing on her mother’s leg while watching a rugby game.

It is really important to me to fulfill both ends of my personal challenge – to buy nothing and to give freely to others. No shopping has been surprisingly easier than I imagined. It’s still freezing in Atlanta, so layering is the only way to go. Don’t judge me, but sometimes I even layer with the same clothes I wore a day or two before. It’s not because I haven’t amassed an insane amount of shirts, leggings, and camis; that’s what made me start this whole challenge. I could probably go two months without doing laundry and never wear the same thing twice.

Some days it takes me way longer to decide on an outfit because I’m ready for something new, and other times I just kind of throw on what I’ve worn in recent days. (I should mention here that I’m one of those anomaly people that don’t sweat easily, so my clothes could realistically be worn multiple times and I’d smell fine. Just so you know.) Once the weather warms up, my options will nearly triple. Dresses make up at least half of my total wardrobe.

Back to the other part of this challenge: give freely – at no financial cost to me or them. Time is money, no doubt. But my time and talents are all I have to give in this adventure. This is a list of things I’ve come up with to give:

1. Volunteer hours for local nonprofits (preferably animal shelters & kids organizations)
2. Make things that mean something to someone else (handmade pillows, paintings, photograph pets and kids, copywriting, cooking)
3. Connect people

Alright, that may not look like a lot. But I assure you that by volunteering, creating and connecting, I can impact a lot of people in my community. I’ve already got my first connection in progress…

What kind of things have you made for someone else that they weren’t expecting?