Month 2: CLOTHING

Fasting from clothing doesn’t mean runnin’ around au naturel.  Here’s what it means:

1. Tom and I (not the girls) have each come up with our own clothing fast scheme.  For simplicity’s sake, it basically means that we are each limiting our clothing choices to 7 pieces for the month.  This does not include shoes or undergarments.  We are allowing ourselves the luxury of undies, socks and shoes outside of the 7 pieces.  (More details about my plan at the end of this post.)
   
2. We will be aggressively going through our clothes and chopping our wardrobes down considerably.  This will mark the first opportunity to really share meaningfully from our surplus and we are super excited about the possibilities.
   
3. The girls will also be going through their clothing stockpiles and skinnying their wardrobes down.  The question we will put to them is, “How much of each type of clothing is enough?”  Because really, that’s all we need.  It doesn’t mean you can’t dress cute.  It doesn’t mean you’re in trouble if your idea of enough is different than mom and dad’s idea.  It does mean that sharing clothes and accessories when you can is encouraged.
   
4. None of us will buy new clothes during the month.  Sydney almost went into apoplexy when she realized this meant she would not be able to buy any clothing on or around her birthday, which is this month.  We assured her that gift cards work just as well 4 weeks from now as they do today, and there would be more spring clothes in the stores by then.  We think she will survive and probably won’t even be emotionally scarred.
   
5. We need to figure out a laundry system this month.  We have so many clothes that we, unfortunately, are not very disciplined about getting laundry done at a measured pace.  Frankly, we can let it pile up for a while before we feel compelled to do laundry.  Imagine how little laundry Tom or I will have with only 7 pieces of clothing to wash.  It makes me almost giddy.

I can’t speak for Tom on this, but I am truly looking forward to the simplicity of this month.  I’m not stressed about having only a few combos to choose from.  Maybe I’ll be singing another tune in a week, but until the reality sets in, I choose to live happily in my self-delusion. 

Because I’m a girl and this month really goes to my whole outward appearance and presentation, I’ve come up with my own fasting boundaries that fall into 7 categories.  I think they’ll serve to make me aware of how little I really need to be suitably presentable for darn near everything, short of meeting the President of the United States or something.  (I’m not expecting any calls from the White House this month.)  If you’re interested, here’s the full rundown on my personal clothing/appearance menu of choices for the month:

7 clothes:  skirt, slacks, jeans, white blouse, vest, 2 turtlenecks

6 undergarments:  particulars withheld because that’s my prerogative

5 tools:  powder, blush, mascara, curling iron, hairspray

4 personal hygiene:  shampoo/bodywash combo, lotion, toothpaste, deodorant

3 cold weather gear:  coat, boots, gloves

2 shoes:  loafers, cowboy boots

1 symbol:  cross necklace

And that’s it.  7 categories, 28 items to the simplified, streamlined, no fuss me.

Bring it on.