No, I haven't thrown out the spouse! We're heading to the coast this weekend. For the past several years we have gone to the Oregon coast for a few days after Christmas. It's usually cold and wet and uncrowded, and we like watching the waves crash ashore from the comfort of an overheated beach-front hotel room. This time of year the whales are migrating along the coast to the warmer waters in California and Mexico and there's always a chance that we'll spot one through the binoculars.
Rain or shine we'll be walking the beach. The spouse has a new toy, a metal detector. He has visions of finding great treasure buried in the sand. I am once again a stereotype, the metal detecting senior citizen!
This year we're meeting my college roommate and her husband at the coast. I made lots of great memories with Beth when we were younger. I'm looking forward to catching up with her and creating some new one.
The after-Christmas sales are calling. I really don't need anything, but the factory outlet mall at the coast is an opportunity for Beth and I to have some quality bonding time over discounted fashions. Before I leave home I need to make room in my overfilled closets for any new treasures and fashion finds.
Since I retired I have purged my wardrobe several times. It has been difficult for me to let go of my professional wardrobe. My head knows that I don't need, and will never wear, all those suits that are still hanging on padded hangers, but there's a little voice that says "what if..." Little by little I'm letting go and replacing professional wear with fleece, cotton jersey, and denim. I also have a new category of leisure wear to incorporate into my wardrobe, RV clothes. Since our RV is small and has limited storage, RV clothes are those that are multipurpose and can be rolled up and packed into a small space...and still be marginally presentable. I don't have a travel iron in the RV!
It's time for me to quit the delaying tactics and get busy. How many pairs of high heeled black patent leather pumps does a retired senior need? It's so hard to decide if I want to keep the wedges or the heels. This is definitely a first world problem!
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When in doubt (that you NEED them), throw out.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a rain-free vacation.
I am so with you - the work/professional clothes languish in the closet, but I cannot part with them.
ReplyDeleteI love your clothes chart - I am going to have to study it before my next shopping spree!
I'm headed to the mall tomorrow, not to buy clothes, but to meet up with my daughter and spend a little time with her. I'll probably buy something I don't need ... but it's worth the price.
ReplyDeleteI have a very full closet, but I only wear a small portion of the clothes in there. It's really hard to part with some of my old favorites, but I think by now (six years into retirement), only a small portion of them are work related. Good luck with the purge! :-)
ReplyDeleteYea for the overheated room!
ReplyDeleteI remember taking my trunk load of suits and trimmings to a consignment shop. Out of my life, and occasionally small checks rolled in.
Losing weight caused me to purge much of my closet, but not enough. I still have all of those blazers I used to wear. They are too big and I do not want to grow back into them, so why do I have them???
ReplyDeleteHave fun at the coast. In what part of the Oregon coast will you be staying?
Ohhh! Pairing down is never easy. I've been collecting clogs, dansko, for each occasion, just so that I can come in and take my shoes off without sitting. Believe me, I do not miss those old city shoes of mine.
ReplyDeleteOh Jann, I love the visual! Absolutely perfect for those indecisive folks such as myself!
ReplyDeleteI've been seriously considering a short trip to the coast also. I love winter on the beach! My youngest daughter just got back, and sadly, they didn't see any whales, but they had one beautiful clear night!
Here's to a Happy 2014, with less stuff!!
Keep a few things that go well to parties. That's where I wear my heels now.
ReplyDeleteGood thing you aren't married to Bill... he lives with the firm belief that if you buy something new, you get rid of the old. Needless to say, I just don't agree with Bill all of the time ;-) Happy Shopping!
ReplyDeleteI hope you’ve done all your sorting out and made room for new! Anyway, that’s what happens to me. I don’t ‘do’ the Sales but I did buy a few things beforehand and some of them were already reduced. As for heels: I’ve bought a pair of purple boots (no kidding), flat, and very comfortable. They’ll become part of my mainstay outfits now. Well, I am getting old!
ReplyDeleteDo you even want to wear heels? The last time I wore heels to school I limped for days afterwards. Never again. :-)
ReplyDeleteI hope your beach trip was fun and that you found great treasures.