A Brand New Day Wardrobe Reset!
I was surrounded. Not by the police. Not by a pack of wolves. Not even my needy – albeit cute – toddlers. No….by piles of never been worn – perfectly good clothing. I was folding them to go into my “List onto Poshmark” pile and my mind started tallying up what I had spent on this beautiful pile of clothes. YIKES. I knew I wouldn’t see a quarter of that by reselling it online.
I continued to ponder on the fact that over the course of the last year and a half I had fallen prey to several lifestyle bloggers and fashion influencers on Instagram, as well as several boutique fashion VIP customer groups on Facebook. The pressure to snag a “one of a kind” top or skirt was real. I scrolled through social media in the mornings while sipping my coffee and I was entranced by how adorable the drape of an oversized white pullover looked on the perfectly coifed influencer. The caption would read something like this “Loving this cozy sweater! Be sure to snag one now while it’s 30% off – it’s sure to be a favorite!” and I would find myself clicking on the link in the bio and somehow that sweater would be in my cart along with a couple other things that looked super cute…..and with the ease of a few taps on my screen – in 5 days or less, the brown box would arrive with the beautiful sweater inside! I tore it open with excitement just knowing it would be THE sweater that would be worn on repeat through the entire season. On it went – and as I looked in the mirror I realized that it looked VERY different on the 20-something darling pup-mom influencer than it did on my 36-year-old-had-two-babies-work-from-home-mom-bod.
I get it…..we need clothes. If we walked around in the nude, it would cause QUITE the stir and possibly get us thrown in jail, which would really suck for my husband and kids. They need me to stay out of jail.
But do we NEED piles and piles of clothes that literally sit – unworn – tags still on – in our closet? I googled some stats on this and stumbled on this article which was published back in November 2017, so it’s a bit out of date, but the stats were really interesting. These were a few of my favorites:
What is the average value of the clothes in a woman’s closet?
Women have an average of $1,000 to $2,500 of clothing sitting in their wardrobe. Even though this seems high, 9% of women have more than $10,000 sitting in their closet!
How much of the average woman’s wardrobe is never worn?
More than 50% of women claim 25% of their wardrobe sits in the closet collecting dust. This equates to around $600 thrown out the window.
How large is the apparel industry?
Globally, the apparel industry is worth an amazing $2.4 trillion.
What if we just spent one (or maybe two if it goes well) month out of the year shopping from our OWN closets? Like wearing the 25% of clothing that may be collecting dust?!? Getting some new and creative ideas of styling what we already have with a pretty necklace, a vibrant scarf, or a fun blazer!
I am 100% a marketing person’s DREAM come true. If I see a Taco Bell commercial on television, I will immediately tell Bryan I need a chalupa. So, when I see all the beautiful women on my social media feeds telling me I NEED to snag the gorgeous top, skirt, dress, or jacket that they are rocking- and it looks SOOO cute – I feel like I really do NEED to have it! I also have a cazillion promotional emails in my gmail account that have super snappy subject lines which draw me in – no matter what. Here are few just from today:
- You Deserve Something Special….
- Shoe Deals You Don’t Want to Miss…
- LAST Call for Our Big *3* Day Sale…
- 10% off is just ONE click away….
Am I the only one who gets sucked into these things? I mean, hell – I consider myself to be a micro-influencer of sorts. I have friends who love seeing my reviews on my fashion finds and some beloved women on Instagram who follow me and tell me how cute things are that I post about. I get paid a small amount from my affiliate links. I made a whole $30.00 last month from my blog posts for Old Navy and Walmart! And I was psyched about it! But I want to add value to your life, not just to mine. I don’t have an unlimited budget for clothing and it makes me sad to think when I went through my closet I have 23 items that still have tags still on them……some of them I purchased months ago. What a waste! There are people out there who would LOVE to have that kind of frivolous lifestyle.
While I am blessed and grateful to have that frivolity in my life, I am going to suspend it for a month. My word for 2019 is FOCUS, so for April, I am honing in my creative skills to wear what I have in my closet – and not purchase any new clothing for 30 days.
I want to focus on styling things that I already own and wear those 23 pieces of clothing with pride!
As one that is easily influenced, I am taking ACTION for the month.
STEP 1: I subscribed to Unroll.me a service that rolls up all those spammy promotional emails and puts them out of sight – out of mind! HURRAY!
STEP 2: I also went through my “follow” list on Instagram and “hid” my favorite blogger gals and their stories. (Sorry, my loves – I’ve gotta do it.) I started following some travel and food accounts instead so I can continue focusing on my dreams to see the world and to fuel my body with healthy and delicious dishes!
STEP 3: I went through my GROUPS that I am apart of (which are FAR too many) on Facebook and left several that I don’t care about or that doesn’t pique my interest any longer. I turned off my notifications on the boutique groups and all my Direct Sales friends groups – because YES, even though I am one of those direct sales girls – I need a break. 30 Days to reset doesn’t mean I won’t come back….I just need to detoxify what I’m focusing on.
STEP 4: Allow myself a treat when it comes to self-care, health and wellness. This means if I want to invest in a couple of good bath bombs that make me happy – I will. If I NEED a pair of underwear for working out because mine have holes in them – I WILL buy them. If I want to buy a new water bottle for the gym because it has a snazzy saying on it and will fuel my desire to drink more water – I will get it! An investment in my health and wellness gives a return that is absolutely priceless.
STEP 5: Align myself with others who want to join me in this challenge! I am issuing a hashtag for social media so those who want to jump on the reset can follow one another and encourage one another! #springshoppingbreak
*Disclaimer – if it is your birthday month or lost a ton of weight (doing the FASTer Way to Fat Loss, of course – wink, wink) and you legitimately need new clothing because you have pants that are falling off you – remember, we need to avoid jail. Let’s stick to the #progressnotperfection motto and try to avoid spending the excess on every little sale shirt we scroll by. I want us to dive into our closets and enjoy finding things we may have been hesitant to wear before!
This is going to be a HUGE challenge for me because April is when Rachel Hollis’ clothing line with QVC comes out. Also, I am attending Seminar with Senegence in Tulsa, Oklahoma; as well as I have a shopping addiction in general. Hahaha….but I really feel like this is going to be good for me and I hope it is for you, too. Focusing on another area of my life to better it is always a good idea.
So, who’s with me??? Join me on Instagram and let’s post photos together and get our hashtag on! 🙂
