Challenge...revised?

So prepping for the challenge and thinking about it has made me realize a few things:

1) Most of my outfits use core pieces of my wardrobe, the rest is just "extra"
I mean, for seven days, I'm pretty much using all the "bottoms" I wear in weekly rotation anyway. Sure, there are a few I left out, but they don't get worn much anyway. I admittedly wear some of them (jeans) a few times before washing, sometimes a few days in a row. This is no challenge.

2) I have new pieces that I should wear because if I don't wear them, what's the point in having them?
I have a super cute tank-top I bought this spring, but because I rarely wear tank-tops, it's still sitting in my closet with the tags on (and past its return by date). However, it will look incredibly cute under jackets and cardigans, so I think I'll wear it this fall, and even maybe this August if it does get incredibly hot...but why ban it from rotation?
You know what else I found? A cami with the tags still on from LAST SUMMER! Holy carp! I forgot I even had it! But cleaning out my closet made me find it, and I'm wearing it today! It's cute under a black top that I bought this spring and had only worn once this summer. I think cleaning out my closet and prepping for this challenge made me start wearing things I hadn't been wearing yet this summer, and that's a good thing!

3) No new clothes is HARD!
My favorite boutique is having a "Tent Event" sale...and I haven't allowed myself to even drive by, because I know I'd stop and shop...I can't decide if this is a good or bad thing...probably good as I really stuck to my budget this last pay cycle, but I can't stop thinking about all the cute clothes that might be on sale really cheap.

4) However, this has been a good little exercise in consumerism.
I think that I clean out my closet and drawers more often than I really do. Just because I make a decision to donate a shirt here and a pair of shoes there, doesn't mean I'm really taking a good look at my wardrobe. Even now, I have a pair of metallic pink shoes that I haven't worn for a few years that I'm having trouble parting with, along with a 1/2 size too small pair of brown peep-toe pumps (anybody wear a 9.5?). Why can't I just get rid of them? They have no function in my life!
But thinking about the flooding back home, and in Milwaukee and reading first hand accounts of people loosing homes and possessions, I just keep thinking, if my house was hit by a flood and I had to throw away most of what I own, what would I really miss? I sure wouldn't miss those shoes! And everything that would get ruined that I would have to throw away and wouldn't even miss...would just be WORK.

5) I have bigger goals than a new pair of shoes or a new dress I'll only wear two or three times.
I WANT TO TRAVEL THE WORLD. And to this day, I've only been to one other country...Canada. *sad noise here...womp womp* Everything adds up. Every mocha, every pair of shoes, every cheap t-shirt. When I think about how much I spent on coffee the last year, I could buy a plane ticket, no problem. Maybe not one to Europe, but one to San Francisco or Seattle, or anywhere in the continental US. That doesn't mean I can NEVER have a coffee (I just drank my first one in a week while sitting here at the coffee shop, writing this.) But I don't need one daily. Some habits are harder to kick than others. I used to buy purses ALL the time. The last one I bought was almost two years ago. I've learned to love them and wear them out! As I said, it's been a week since my last coffee, but when I woke up this morning and drove to work, it's ALL I could think about. Every day is a new day, and every step in the right direction is a good one.

So I may not take on my initial clothing challenge, but it has given me so much to think about, I'm glad I considered doing it. :-)

Picking out the Pieces

I'll post pictures when I get home, but I'm gearing up for my August challenge. I have already cleaned out one small/medium shopping bag of clothes, which isn't a lot, but it feels good. I even put two pairs of shoes on top of the bag. Win!

I'm actually struggling to come up with my challenge outfits, but here's what I have so far:

#1. Black v-neck t-shirt, black and white striped vest, denim skirt, (not pictured, gray leggings)

#2. Gray tunic/dress (not pictured black leggings)

#3. khaki pants, purple v-neck t-shirt

#4. blue dress. optional white jacket (it's like I won't need the jacket in august, but it's there if I want it)

Still need to complete:
#5. Jeans

#6. gray capris

#7. black capris

Seven Outfits

I just read an awesome article on NYTimes.com

I have recently been contemplating putting a restriction on myself to buy no new clothes until the new year. I've been thinking about this after taking a look at the number of dresses I bought this spring because "this summer I am going to live in dresses. They're so easy and breezy." - Thoughts from my winter (stir-crazy) brain.

Reality check: I mostly live in jeans and t-shirts. Just like any other part of the year.

Yesterday, I broke out one tunic/dress that I had only worn once. Today I'm wearing another dress that I had only worn once (but just had to have before I went to DC in June).

This article inspired me to commit to no new clothing purchases the rest of the year. It also inspired me to make a bigger commitment: seven outfits for the month of August. It's many more pieces than the people at Six Items or Less, but I'm looking at eight days travel for work, plus, it's freaking August in Nebraska. Hot, humid, sweaty. I don't want to be doing laundry every third day just because I sweat through them in one wear.

I also have to dress up for two work events, so that would also severely limit my options.

So seven outfits for 31 days. If you look at it this way, I only have to wear each one 4.428574 times AND I can mix and match. It should be easy. Then come September, I'll add in a few pieces. And a few more each in October, November, and December. By January 1st, hopefully I'll have a new outlook on consumption and clothing.

Anybody with me? I'm thinking about firing up the blog to keep track. And you know you miss my blog....