Tips for Embracing the Clothes in Your Closet this Spring

Like many of you, I am chomping at the bit in anticipation of spring.  Every glimpse of sun makes me think, “Yes!  Spring is coming.”  Spring used to be my favorite season for clothing shopping because I love the bright colors (have you seen our lime green dishes?).  Except this spring, I’m not buying anything.  No cute flip flops.  No cute shorts and skirts.  No tees.  Nothing.  Or at least that continues to be the plan as we approach another season with the…

No New Clothes Challenge

Last May, I told Martin we needed to stop buying clothes.  It wasn’t like we were hauling shopping card loads home or anything.  It just felt like we had more clothes than we needed, and we were still buying the occasional item.  As many of you know, this challenge was only supposed to last through the summer.  And now here we are in March.  We’ve gone almost a year!  We’re at the point where we never even think about clothes shopping any more.  It’s true I am ready to stomp on every last sweater and toss them out the window because I’m so sick of them.  (I had 6; lost a wool one to our German washer.)  Next year, maybe they can feel new and exciting all over again.

I have no desire to even walk into a clothing store now.  Martin snapped this photo of me in the Rocky Mountains, several days after we began our challenge.

Here’s how I’ve made The No New Clothes Challenge last six months longer than I’d planned.  Feel free to join me in stepping back, looking at what you have, and adding less to your closet.

1.  Think about what you own.

Don’t just pull open the dresser drawers or closet door when you’re in a rush to get dressed and head out for the day.  Stop and look over the items you have when you aren’t rushed.  For me, this time is always while I am putting away clean laundry.  That’s when I have the strongest feel for what I’m wearing, what I could be wearing more, and what I never seem to touch.

2.  Get more use out of what you have.

Wanna join me in darning your own socks?  Or what else could you do?  Now that spring is on its way, look at how you can combine light sweaters with short sleeved shirts.  Create combinations with a white collared shirt under lighter clothes.  I’m thinking that a purchase of one or two more collared shirts of different colors would be well worth the investment.

3.  Add little details every now and then.

Add a little pizzaz to an outfit.  A pair of dangling earrings a friend made me make all the difference in my outfit.  So does wearing a ring I don’t typically wear.  Adding a little detail to your wardrobe can change your focus from feeling like you’re wearing the same thing too often (which I assure you – you aren’t!) to giving you a secret pleasure every time you look at your hands, flick your hair, or gesture.  Plus people generally tend to comment on little accessories far more than a piece of clothing.

4.  Think of people who don’t have as many clothes.

It’s so easy to compare ourselves and our clothes to one another.  But what about the people who don’t have access to clothing?  Often times, the people making our clothes in factories around the world don’t even own the cheapest version of the article they’re producing.  The most powerful way to get over the “what should I wear?” conundrum is to look at the people of our world – not the people of our workplace or school.  Rather, think of the people around the world who have so very much less than we have.

5.  Eliminate temptations.

Finally – and for me, the most influential step – remove temptations to have new clothes.  Skip clothing stores.  Unsubscribe from their catalogues.  Avoid their websites.  When you don’t experience the consumer culture urging you to add to your clothes collection, you can lose the desire to acquire more than you need.  Be patient.  Keep resisting.  And soon, you’ll only go into a store for things you truly need.

What are your thoughts on clothes and shopping this season?  Love spring fashion?  Cutting back?  Spending more?  Skipping clothes shopping all together with us?  Or dare to take a guess:  just how long do you think we can keep out of the clothing stores?

You can check out the whole journey of resisting temptations in American malls and European shops in a whole new category called: No New Clothes Challenge.  I know – you didn’t see that heading coming, did you?!  ha.