I am your typical girly-girl. I love clothes, shoes, jewelry, makeup, hair accessories, purses and hats. This is easily my area of greatest excess. So I sought God about what He'd have me do in this area of my life.
Last night was laundry night. I made sure every stitch of clothing I owned, other than what I was currently wearing was clean. Once clean and put away, I went through every piece of clothing in my closet, trying it on in front of my long mirror, seeing what fit and what didn't, seeing what looked right on me and what didn't and began sorting. (I should mention that I only have my winter and fall clothing out right now. Summer and Spring clothes are in bags in the top of my closet and I'll go through them when it's time to put the winter ones away. What fits now may not fit then so I think it's wise to wait).
The closet cleaning exercise took several hours, but I didn't care. I was doing what I was called to do and besides, trying on clothes is fun! It's like shopping without spending money. I tried on different tops with different skirts, pants, jackets, all in an effort to only keep my favorite ones and ones I could mix and match to make a larger wardrobe with fewer pieces. When I finished, I had one third the clothes I started with and 2/3 of my hangers were empty.
I had 5 pair of dress pants and two pairs of jeans, so I kept all those. I kept 8 blouses and 5 sweaters, 3 skirts, 3 jackets and 5 dresses. That's it! I own 4 purses and they are seasonal, so I'm using my winter purse now. The others are put up. What's a winter purse? Dark color, heavier material. Mine is made of a rich olive green corduroy fabric. Goes with all the dark fall and winter color clothing. I kept one pair of boots, 3 pair of dress shoes, a pair of sneakers and a pair of walking shoes.
When my husband left a few years ago, I had to rediscover who I was. Part of the new "me" is my love for hats. I started collecting them. I think they look real cute with my short hairdo. I usually only wear them on Saturdays and ocassionally to church. Well, I went through my hat collection. I kept 5. I know that's still excess, and the Lord may have me trim further later, but for now, I've got the ones that make me feel like "me". I kept all gloves and scarves I own because I know I will be giving some of these away to people on the street as I'm driving across town to work. Last year I gave away 3 pairs of gloves, 2 jackets and 5 blankets just to people I saw in short sleeves sitting at a bus stop in December, or shivering outside a Circle K.
Closet cleaning done, I now have plenty to give to those in need. My co-worker gets first dibs. We wear about the same size, she doesn't have a budget for clothes and is always thankful for hand-me-downs. What she can't use I give to the Nottinghill Apartments or Gospel Rescue Mission.
Now our God is so good and He knows my love for pretty things and my desire for variety in my wardrobe and while I don't need these things, He always provides for me abundantly. He gave me a plan for getting new things occasionally without having to closet clean again. Every time I get a new item of clothing, I am to take a corresponding one out of my closet and give it away. A new dress replaces an old one, new blouse replaces an old blouse, etc.
I should also point out that while I have an ungodly amount of clothing (pun intended), I don't spend a lot of money on them. The Lord taught me how to spend frugally a few years ago. Every item in my currently cleaned closet was either given to me, bought at a yard sale or a thrift store. I bought one special occasion outfit at Walmart last year and I can't remember the last time I bought clothes any where else. I get compliments on my clothes all the time. I discovered that you don't have to spend half your paycheck on an outfit at some kitchy boutique to look good. And now I get to share a lot of these cute clothes with others. It feels good. Sometimes less is more...
Last night was laundry night. I made sure every stitch of clothing I owned, other than what I was currently wearing was clean. Once clean and put away, I went through every piece of clothing in my closet, trying it on in front of my long mirror, seeing what fit and what didn't, seeing what looked right on me and what didn't and began sorting. (I should mention that I only have my winter and fall clothing out right now. Summer and Spring clothes are in bags in the top of my closet and I'll go through them when it's time to put the winter ones away. What fits now may not fit then so I think it's wise to wait).
The closet cleaning exercise took several hours, but I didn't care. I was doing what I was called to do and besides, trying on clothes is fun! It's like shopping without spending money. I tried on different tops with different skirts, pants, jackets, all in an effort to only keep my favorite ones and ones I could mix and match to make a larger wardrobe with fewer pieces. When I finished, I had one third the clothes I started with and 2/3 of my hangers were empty.
I had 5 pair of dress pants and two pairs of jeans, so I kept all those. I kept 8 blouses and 5 sweaters, 3 skirts, 3 jackets and 5 dresses. That's it! I own 4 purses and they are seasonal, so I'm using my winter purse now. The others are put up. What's a winter purse? Dark color, heavier material. Mine is made of a rich olive green corduroy fabric. Goes with all the dark fall and winter color clothing. I kept one pair of boots, 3 pair of dress shoes, a pair of sneakers and a pair of walking shoes.
When my husband left a few years ago, I had to rediscover who I was. Part of the new "me" is my love for hats. I started collecting them. I think they look real cute with my short hairdo. I usually only wear them on Saturdays and ocassionally to church. Well, I went through my hat collection. I kept 5. I know that's still excess, and the Lord may have me trim further later, but for now, I've got the ones that make me feel like "me". I kept all gloves and scarves I own because I know I will be giving some of these away to people on the street as I'm driving across town to work. Last year I gave away 3 pairs of gloves, 2 jackets and 5 blankets just to people I saw in short sleeves sitting at a bus stop in December, or shivering outside a Circle K.
Closet cleaning done, I now have plenty to give to those in need. My co-worker gets first dibs. We wear about the same size, she doesn't have a budget for clothes and is always thankful for hand-me-downs. What she can't use I give to the Nottinghill Apartments or Gospel Rescue Mission.
Now our God is so good and He knows my love for pretty things and my desire for variety in my wardrobe and while I don't need these things, He always provides for me abundantly. He gave me a plan for getting new things occasionally without having to closet clean again. Every time I get a new item of clothing, I am to take a corresponding one out of my closet and give it away. A new dress replaces an old one, new blouse replaces an old blouse, etc.
I should also point out that while I have an ungodly amount of clothing (pun intended), I don't spend a lot of money on them. The Lord taught me how to spend frugally a few years ago. Every item in my currently cleaned closet was either given to me, bought at a yard sale or a thrift store. I bought one special occasion outfit at Walmart last year and I can't remember the last time I bought clothes any where else. I get compliments on my clothes all the time. I discovered that you don't have to spend half your paycheck on an outfit at some kitchy boutique to look good. And now I get to share a lot of these cute clothes with others. It feels good. Sometimes less is more...
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