Monsters in the Closet, and a Challenge for July

When you were five, did you ask your parents to leave your closet light on? So the monsters wouldn’t come out while you were sleeping, of course.

I am finally OK with dark closets but I have a problem with messy, overfilled ones. (In my own house anyway  – don’t get me started on the TV show “Hoarders”, I will get nightmares again).

The “monsters” that lurk in my closet now take the form of:

  • Stiff, uncomfortable clothes and their cousins: too-high heels
  • The expensive dress I wore once
  • The skirts I just need to let out or take in, then they’ll be perfect
  • Colors that make me look sick – hello, mustard tee, I’m looking at you
  • Duplicates (truth – triplicates) of black tee shirts

These are not really such fearful things of course – but they create psychic as well as physical clutter. They keep me from filling in the holes in my wardrobe that would really boost my style. They make me feel like I have too much when I might actually need a couple of key pieces. They make morning decision-making harder.

I’m not a packrat or anything close. But I can accumulate too many clothing pieces, especially via thrifting. So I gave myself a wardrobe challenge for July:  30 items for the month, for work only. I’m not counting accessories or “play time” clothes this time around. There are months ahead for those challenges!

I’m going to use only these clothes for work, for the month of July.  King the Cat inserts himself at will. That’s my naked mannequin on the right. Nothing kinky.
These will be put aside for July — will I find that I miss them??
  

I started my July challenge yesterday! Maybe I shouldn’t include such a colorful, memorable piece as this skirt, but I love it. And I’ll I need a couple of Wow pieces to balance the neutrals. I think the challenge is going to be fun and help me reflect about how much I need in the closet. I’ll keep you posted.

My new/old skirt. Too pretty to leave out.

Reminder: Monday July 4th is our Visible Monday group posting for anyone who’d like to participate. The simple guidelines are here. Basically, just post something that makes you feel wonderful/visible, and send me a link to it. I’ll post all the pics and links here!

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patti

8 Comments

  1. If I have time to peruse my closet, maybe I'll do a 31 for 31 in August. Having a couple of fun pieces like your skirt make it bearable. I'd like to eventually get back to about 10 outfits per season (for work & other outside the house activities) and am making progress on paring down.
    -valleycat1

  2. Angie – I love your point about discovering your clothes again. I am hoping for this too.

    Serene – hugs back to you, and YES for quality over quantity. But quantity is so tempting . . .

    Debbie – I am enjoying watching your remixes. You have a knack for it, for sure.

    Terri- Thank you. I think this skirt has potential – maybe even for the cold weather?

    Lorena – Great point about packing better for trips. I think I'll try a 10-for-7 later in the summer.

  3. I've seen the 30×30 challenge done and I must admit I have never jumped in. It seems like I have a lot of stuff to be worn and this only limits me.
    I have however done the 10 itms in 7 days…. it has helped me learn how to pack better (for work trips) and it's not that long… 🙂

  4. I'll be very interested to follow your challenge. The bits of bold blue in this skirt are wonderful.

  5. Patti, That is a wow skirt! You definitely need some fun in with the neutrals. I'm in the middle of my second 30 for 30 remix. And seems like I always like my outfits better when I limit myself and have to come up with new combinations and use my accessories more. Good luck with yours! Debbie http://thriftygirlvintage.com

  6. Oh my! That skirt is just so pretty and is beautiful on you! I don't do well with the challenges. But my own personal history has shown me that it's always quality over quantity. Better to have 10 GREAT items than 20 "MYEH!" items. 4th of July hug to you! ~Serene

  7. I did the same for the month of july ,in my case 20 pieces and then ,for a few weeks I had only 5 pieces per week to wear.
    By doing this I could better choose my combinations and it was like discovering my clothes once again. Plus my closet looked so tidy

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