The Gift Of A Dusty Closet.

Remember when I kept up this? The project was so beneficial to me in many ways, some of which I am still figuring out now.

A Dusty Closet helped me ORGANIZE my clothes and closet. I always planned the night before what I would wear the next day making my mornings less crazy (so much easier). I was always ready to leave the house dressed for any appointment or "quick" grocery run or equally important if by chance someone unexpectedly knocked on my door, I didn't look/feel like a slump-a-dinka.

The project was so much fun CREATIVELY. If you followed along, the point was to wear a different outfit everyday without wearing the same pieces together more than once, therefore continuously creating new outfits just by shopping my closet. I enjoyed mixing patterns and colors I wouldn't previously imagined combining. So many times I took a cue from Miss Savannah Jane who is a super brave fashionista. During this time I started wearing my hair differently and making a point to do my hair every morning. I also whittled down my makeup to this;

under-eye concealer, cream eyeshadow (2 colors), eyebrow shaping kit, blush, mascara, eyeliner and eyelash curler. That's it.

I SAVED/MADE MONEY shopping my closet. When an item sitting unused for too long was just taking up precious hanger space-off it went to the "consign or donate" bin. At the end of the summer I took two bags of clothes to consignment. I didn't expect much money in return but thought it might be worth ironing everything and placing what needed on a hanger. I had a number in my head. It looked like $20. The buyer took 80% of my clothes and I made $125. When I did donate, I made sure to get a recipe for our taxes. I didn't feel like I "needed" to go shopping, after all I hadn't worn every possible combination in my closet yet. When I did go clothes shopping, I considered carefully every garment candidate and it's applicability to my closet, I wasn't just on cruise control or impulse buying. So I decided to save up my personal money and aim high. The mission: buy a really great handbag. It was hard and took me forever.



So even though I have stopped taking daily photos, I haven't stopped shopping my closet. I am now in the habit I hoped I would find myself in when I started A Dusty Closet at the beginning of this year. Here's the truth. Before this project, I was in an unhappy place mentally every morning while getting ready for the day. When I was teaching, I dressed up every day. I tried my best to look my best. But I haven't had a full-time paying job for over 7 years. My work here at home raising My Littles requires attire able to withstand grubby/dirty little fingers, snot and other stickiness-es, plus the ease of getting up quickly to rescue Littles from owies or being ready at the drop of a hat to roll around on the grass...think yoga pants and a t-shirt. But I need more. I want to use yoga pants FOR YOGA only. I guess what I was looking for all along and trying to preserve by keeping up with A Dusty Closet was...my DIGNITY.