What Not to Wear

Closet-cleaning can be a humbling experience. Yesterday, I decided to tackle mine, and purge it of all the clothes that I no longer wear, or just should not be wearing. The fact of the matter is, I pretty much wear the same thing every day. Jeans and a t-shirt. Sure, when I decided to become a stay-at-home mother, I chuckled to myself quite frequently, because I was not going to become one of "those" mothers - - you know, the ones that don't brush their teeth, wear their jammies to the store, and basically just don't care anymore. Not me! Yet, here I am, a year and a half later, wearing my standard jeans, t-shirt, and Dansko clogs every day, with dry, cracked hands, mousey hair, and not a whole lot to get dressed up for anymore. I wouldn't say I've totally let myself go, because I do put on make-up every day. I don't know why I do it - - some days we don't ever leave the house - - I guess it is just something I do to make myself feel like I haven't totally given up. Anyway, back to my closet. As evident from the 6 bags of clothes and shoes that are currently on their way to the thrift store, my closet was bursting at the seams with suits I won't wear anymore, things that were purchased because they were "a bargain", clothes that were too big, clothes that were too small, and clothes that, whether they fit or not, I have absolutely no business wearing. So, they are gone, and it feels good.

Did you see Oprah the other day? I love watching Oprah - - it is my daily "mental break" while I am preparing dinner. The episode I am referring to is the "Shlumpadinka Makeovers". Yikes, that was scary. I'm pretty sure I'm a shlumpadinka. Along with my desire to declutter my home, this was the other inspiration for cleaning out my closet. I especially loved the list of "10 Essentials" that Lloyd Boston talked about, and that if you base your wardrobe around these 10 items, you can never say you have "nothing to wear":

• gauze scarves (in bright colors)
• a trench coat (right now, I'm in love with this one)
• a black turtleneck and a white turtleneck
• a tunic
• a pair of white jeans, and a pair of dark jeans
• a black dress
• a white denim jacket
• a black skirt
• a cashmere sweater (sorry, there is no way I'm wearing cashmere around two little boys, lest it be covered in jam, boogers, and dirt)
• flats (in leapord print or a bright color)

I think some of things on this list obviously don't fit it to my day-to-day activities, but we do go out in public a lot, and it wouldn't hurt me to change out of my "uniform" once in a while. It was fun to see all of the makeovers and to think that there may be hope for me after all! I love clothes, I love make-up, and I have always been a girly-girl at heart. The fact of the matter is, it is hard to find the time to spend on myself. Just this morning, Griffin, for some reason, decided to "sleep in" (he's usually up at 5:00 a.m.) so I quickly rushed into the shower. Seriously, I had just closed the shower door when Camden knocked, and informed me that Griffin was awake. Rascals.