Day 17 Outfits

Today’s Challenge Outfit called for black blazer, white shirt, skinny or straight jeans, leopard belt and nude heels. Since the black blazer I’d ordered had to go back because it didn’t’ fit, I subbed in a black cardigan. And because I’m hard to fit in heels, I don’t have nude heels so I chose my comfy neutral flats.

Since joining this wardrobe challenge, I’ve done a lot of cleaning out. First of all, I had to clean out my closet. The closets in our house are very small, so there is no room for unnecessary items. And even though I use a second closet to store my off-season clothes, my main closet can get very crowded and cluttered.

The first thing I did was pull out any clothes, including the shoes, that I just don’t enjoy wearing. If I don’t enjoy wearing something, I don’t wear it and it just takes up precious space in my closet. Second, I pulled out all the things that don’t fit any more. There is no room for things that I can’t zip unless I take off the weight I’ve slowly put on the past few years. It’s time to be honest with myself: I probably will never be that thin again. Off to the Good-Will they went. By that time, I’d made room for the new things I wanted to purchase to update my wardrobe and participate in the challenge. Now all the clothes in my closet fit the following criteria:
1. Do I enjoy wearing this?
2. Does this fit?
3. Is it on trend or can it be styled with something new to refresh it?

Then I cleaned out my dresser drawers and reorganized all my accessories and my jewelry. And in full disclosure, no jewelry went to Good-Will; I enjoy it all, even the old stuff from my mother.

All this closet clearing set me to thinking about my personal life. What things am I holding on to in my life that are just using up time and not contributing to my life? What am I allowing to steal minutes, or even hours from my day? I am taking a hard look at the things that occupy my mind and my attention. Maybe instead of listening to talk shows of people just mouthing their opinions about things they know little about, I could spend more time working on my writing. Instead of playing a computer game, I could spend more time talking to my husband or writing letters to far away friends and family. Yes, more than just my closet needs cleaning out. I’m still a work in progress, inside and out.

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 (NKJV)

Peace and blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Dee