Dress for Success

It's been about 3 months now since I started my year of no new clothing. Already my closet looks much better, thanks to the hangers and the purging I've been doing. Almost every time my mother comes to town, I send a box of stuff home for the thrift store where she volunteers. Until now though, I've been hesitant to donate my unwanted work wear.

That's where Dress for Success comes in. They give disadvantaged women suits so that they can go on job interviews. Over the years I've collected large amounts of business clothing, thanks to working office jobs and a stint as an employee at Limited, where I paid in every month for the privelege of purchasing clothes at a discount. I have some old suits. Dress for Success needs suits. Sounds like a perfect match! Not only do they accept clean suits, but they also accept work appropriate separates, closed toed shoes, and accessories. I've got a decent sized pile of clothing all ready to go to their collection site at the Dress Barn in Fargo.

So why am I waiting to bring in my donation? Well, I work at an office with several other professional women who all dress up everyday for work. Earlier this week I sent out an office-wide email inviting others with unwanted work clothing to bring those items to our office. I'll make a stop at the Dress Barn on Friday to deliver all the donations. It makes me feel good to think that my unwanted clothing could help another woman land a job that could be a turning point for her and her family.

Interested in donating your old work clothing? Visit www.dressforsuccess.org to learn more about this great organization and how you can donate!

10 to go!!!

Two full months down already! I've been talking with several people about my no new clothing, no new shoes for 1 year plan, and it has made for some interesting conversations. Apparently I am not the only one thinking about how to better control my closet. One of my favorite blogs, http://www.younghouselove.com is also tackling the issue on their post today. One of the pieces of advice that I like, never buying something on sale if you wouldn't consider it at full price, is one that I have given more than once. While I admire Sherry, I don't think I'll ever be able to edit my closet down to a size that would fit in an Ikea wardrobe, and I am ok with that.

The before pictures are here!!!

So here we have a photo of my new friend, Joy, creator of Huggable Hangers. As you may recall, I have enlisted the help of said hangers in the scaling back of my closet through the next ten

months. I can already tell a difference in the sections of my closet where wire and/or plastic hangers have been replaced with HH. My one disappointment is that the hangers I bought about 6 months ago from Target are a slightly different color and height than the ones I have been aquiring lately. All in all though, I am pleased with the progress.

And speaking of my closet, I finally have pictures of the "before" to share! As you can see, I have more than enough clothes to last at least a year (maybe more!) without any new purchases. My goal is for the after pictures to look much more organized and well-edited. To the left is where most of my more formal, work appropriate clothing hangs. If you've ever been in my closet, this is on your right as you enter from my bedroom. Above the hanging clothes are (from left to right) sweatshirts, t-shirts, shorts/pj pants, and jeans. Below is my hamper that is on permanent loan from my sister (thanks Lins!) where I can sort dirty clothes into whites, darks, and dry clean piles. To the left of my hamper I have a storage box where I keep purses that I am not currently using.

This picture is what you see to your right if you are exiting the bathroom. Hanging on this side are dresses, t-shirts, light coats, extra hangers, and scarves/belts. Above are a few shoe boxes, a kniting project that I bought years ago but never started, the beginnings of a couple of quilts (more on those later) and shorts/capris. On the wall to the left are some hanging shoe racks. Hanging on the right are drawers. I store my perfume and jewelry on top of the drawers. Below the hanging clothes I have a couple of shoe shelves, as well as a collection of shoe boxes with most of the shoes still in them. Below the hanging drawers I store my backpack and other weekend type bags.

So there you have it~a virtual tour of the space that started it all! I'd like to say that big changes are happening, but in reality it is the slow changes happening everyday in my closet that will make a big difference by July 1, 2011, so stay tuned!!!

My first slip-up!

No, it wasn't a fabulous pair of Louboutins, or a great new cardi from J.Crew. Instead it was a $6 YWCA t-shirt. I sit on the board of directors, and it is a worthy cause, but what I find a little bit scary is that it didn't dawn on me that I was cheating on my plan until I got the email that the shirts were in and ready for pick up. OOPS! I felt a little bit guilty and a little bit disappointed in myself when I realized what I had done. Being a perfectionist, I came into this challenge fully prepared to succeed without any errors. Now that perfection is out of the way (ha!) I am thinking ahead to the next 10 months. In the grand scheme, $6 and one shirt is pretty minimal, but I don't want to make slip-ups a habit. Hopefully this will be the only post with that label!

On another note, Anthro sent me a nice birthday card with a coupon for 10 or 15% (I can't remember which) off my entire purchase at one of their stores this month. I look forward to their cute birthday wishes every year. They have such creative ideas. This time around it was a cream necklace with a little birthday candle bead on it. Sadly, the candle broke in several places in the mail, but it's the thought that counts. I decided to pay it forward and give the coupon to a friend who was headed to the Cities, just in case she made it to an Anthro store. I may not be shopping this year, but it doesn't mean I don't look fondly over the pretty pages of the latest Anthro catelog, gathering ideas for next July!

One month down!

And only 11 to go! So far so good with no slip-ups. I have found that I am wearing things I haven't worn in forever, and I am getting compliments. A plain black dress with an old black and white polka dot scarf=supercute belted dress. An old coco colored sweater shell over a blue button down=polished sweater vest look. Knee length yellow plaid shorts with a plain white tee=course appropriate golf attire.

I've decided to keep the ball rolling by investing in some more Huggable Hangers. At $20 for 20 hangers, they are a little spendy (especially compared to the free ones I get when I have my clothes dry cleaned) but they keep my closet looking more organized, they keep things hung nicely, and they really do take up less space than plastic hangers. The other great thing is that I can keep track of what I've been wearing by hanging newly-washed or cleaned clothes on the H.H. My stack of hangers to donate has been growing!

Oh, and I finally did get around to taking some pictures of the pre-reform closet. Look for them soon! I'm hoping that a year will bring a much more organized looking space.

You have new mail!

I always, I mean always, have new emails from all my favorite places. Barneys has a sale! Anthro has new styles! J.Crew has free shipping! Visit the Madewell jeans bar! Obviously these do not help me to stick to a no-purchase plan. So the question becomes~do I unsubscribe to their email blasts? The thought makes me cringe a little. True that fewer emails would be less temptation. I really like seeing the new styles and trends. Maybe I'll just start with a few vendors and see how it goes...

Would you unsubscribe?

Today is the day!
For one year, beginning today, July 1, 2010, I will not purchase any new clothing or shoes for myself. This will be difficult.

Why this change?

I have a big closet. It's a pretty impressive size walk through with rods on both sides. And it is full. I have clothes in there from all the way back in high school (hello, mid 90s!) I've had to stop using plastic hangers and start using wire, store hangers (gotta love Limited hangers!) and Huggable hangers (yes I like them, and yes, they work pretty well). I bet there are several items that I have not worn since I moved into my place 5 years ago. I have work-out gear, casual wear, pajamas, formal dresses, work wear, 15+ suits, and lots of shoes (from Target all the way to the red-soled CL beauties). I bet I could wear a different outfit everyday for a year and never repeat, though that would be a different challenge altogether!

I've been contemplating this decision for a few monthes now. I was aware of my overgrown closet before that though. I was reading an organization magazine that said you should take all the hangers in the closet and face them the wrong way on the rod. When you wear something, you can then hang it the right way. After a given period of time, you are supposed to go through and evaluate all the clothes that you did not wear (hence, their hangers would still be facing the wrong way) and purge the majority of those items. I don't have to do this exercise. I already know that I don't wear even half of what is in my closet on a regular basis. Instead, I have my few go-to items that I wear in heavy rotation.

I do have a few exceptions that I have carved out for myself. Underwear, socks, nylons, and life changing event clothing are still allowed. What qualifies as a life changing event? My wedding, for one. It is true that I am not engaged yet, but my boyfriend is completely unpredicable so I figured I better plan just in case. On the off chance I end up being a bridesmaid or something, I suppose that is covered too, though I don't predict being a part of a wedding party anytime in the next year.

So, despite being a challenge, I predict that this will be a pretty rewarding experience. After all, we are living in a green era, and what could be more green than using what you already own? It will save me money, though I will miss all those fabulous sale finds from J.Crew, Limited, Macys, Anthro, rarely (but gloriously) Barneys, and several others. It should save me time reading email, because I can now delete all the great sale announcements from the previously mentioned stores of choice, though I may need to browse a few just for old times sake. I can't gain too much weight, because if I do, the clothes I own will no longer fit (and I refuse to classify weight gain as a life changing event!) The opposite is also true, but it's not like I'm going to starve myself down to a 6 anytime soon anyway! It will give me an opportunity to rediscover the items in my closet, and get rid of things I will never, ever wear. I can donate all my unwanted items to a thrift store, where someone else will hopefully purchase them and wear them. And, should I ever need to move into a space where I will be downsizing my closet size (married life, perhaps?), I will have few less things to move.

All in all, I am excited by the possibilities of the challenge.

Anyone with me?