Sometimes I Write

I swear I’m not sprinkling miracle grow on my children’s food, but Max has gone through 4 shoe sizes and 2 clothing sizes so far this year! His brother and sister have also hit growth spurts which means it’s time to shop. Being homeschoolers, we don’t usually feel the pressure to arrive at the end of August with new wardrobes. Although they did ask for new pajamas, I’m sure that had nothing to do with our schooling. *wink*

I said usually, so here we are in September and I’m tired of the incessant nagging about the need for new clothes. The kids are bothering me about it too, but before shopping for bigger sizes, we had to get rid of the smaller stuff. In true leadership fashion, I started with my closet and dresser then took turns with each of the kids sorting theirs. Here is my 5 step method:

1.  Make 2 piles on the bed: Donate and Trash. Start with the closet and work from top to bottom and left to right.

Does it fit?

If not, let it go. I don’t play the size game. I don’t need 8 shirts I hope to fit into in the next year. When I lose weight, I’ll reward myself with some new shirts instead of ice cream.

Am I comfortable when I wear it?

If not, I probably haven’t worn it in months and it doesn’t belong next to my beloved favorites.

Does it need repairs?

If yes, I usually let someone else repair and wear it. I can sew buttons and seams and that’s about as far as I’m willing to go.

When did I last wear it?

Unless it’s seasonal, I’m ruthless. If it’s been more than a month or two, I get rid of it. There’s a reason for not wearing the clothes you have, and it doesn’t require a therapist to figure it out. Repeat the previous questions to get to the bottom of the issue and move on.

Is it a good color for me?

This one is tricky and makes me wonder if I might need therapy. I wear A LOT of black. I’m talking a 6 to 1 ratio to any other color in my closet which means teal and brown get a small shout out and there might be a blue thrown in there somewhere. I work with street people and dark colors help me blend in better. I’m also a round, red-headed, blue-green eyed, fair-skinned woman. Teals, browns, and greens look fabulous on me. Black is slimming (nobody really believes that, right?) and trendy. Ha!  Besides, all of those colors match my sleeve tattoo. That’s an important fashion detail for me.;)

2.  Moving on to the dresser, I repeat the same questions as above except for the sock/underwear drawer. Old and single socks go into the cleaning rag-bag and underwear beyond repair end up in the trash. Why are they still in there anyway??

3. Shoes. Our house is not overrun by them, so fast growing feet is a bit of a challenge. Everyone has a pair of athletic type shoes and either Crocs (Benny & the kids) or flip-flops (me), and Zoe and I each have a pair of sandals. In warm weather I wear my five-finger shoes about 6 days a week.

I seriously LOVE these shoes. I even got one of our summer interns hooked on them. Max is begging me for a pair of his own. I told him maybe for his 21^st birthday or when his feet have stopped growing, whichever comes first.

4.  Seasonal items like winter coats, snow pants, hats, and gloves, and swimming suits are sorted too so we’re ready for the next season, then the previous season’s clothes go in a tub up in the closet.

5.  Max takes the trash out, Zoe takes the donation bag to the van, and Pete…well…that boy needs to step up and get a job instead of standing there with his cute little grin.

There you go. Another de-cluttering month to brag about to you fine people. One last thing before I move on to September’s challenge (which I completed today). I have 2 very important clothing philosophies:

When donating: Be a helper, not a hoarder. If I’m not using it, I know there are lots of people out there that need it. I start with my friends. I pass clothing on to them instead of storing them, but I don’t pass along crap that needs to be thrown away. That’s just rude.

Check out local charities to find out who needs what and how to schedule a donation pick up by visiting:

http://www.donationtown.org/news/donate-clothes.html

When buying new stuff: Be smart and buy what you love and will wear. I don’t buy items just because they’re on sale and there’s a 30% chance I’ll wear it in the future. I ask myself the same questions I ask when I’m de-cluttering so I won’t have buyer’s remorse the next time.

There was nothing weird to report this time, but I’ll bet some of you have stories.

What’s the strangest or funniest item of clothing you’ve de-cluttered?