Day #15b, jean skirt joy

Just can't get enough of this jean skirt. No cleaning today, as I have French class tonight. Three hours long!

Day #14b, flat surfaces collect stuff on their own (?)

Is it possible that flat surfaces just collect stuff without our knowledge? That they have some sort of stuff "gravity" that scientists have yet to identify? Maybe stores should sell furniture with no flat surfaces. I will go to great lengths to absolve myself from blame :)

Here's another newly clean (but not dusted) surface in my office.

Day #13b, the basement

Here I sit atop a pile of stuff from a box in the basement. Things I have not gone through since we moved into this house over two years ago. And I am embarrassed to say that there are many more boxes just like this one (you can see some of it spilling out of a closet behind me). They are an eyesore and a fire hazard and must go! The second picture is the stuff I kept. It will feel so good to have this stuff out of the house.

Day #12b, clean drawers

Clean drawers. Of the kitchen variety, that is. I spend a minimum of an hour a day in the kitchen. It would be nice to be able to grab the things I need without a struggle. Well, here's one drawer done. The Tupperware drawer. We are always losing the lids. And I hate throwing away perfectly usable food packaging, even in the recycling bin. The Tupperware drawer quickly gets packed.

Day #11b, slacking with no excuse

The good news is that the jean skirt made it's debut today. It was comfortable and appropriate for work. It also went well with my cowboys boots, a personal favorite.

The bad news is that I didn't clean up a darn thing. And had no excuse. Just didn't. I scrubbed the stove to a sparkly shine to make up for this. But there are still piles of clutter spread around the house, waiting for attention. Better luck tomorrow.

Day #10b, anudda sweadda

Here's the new white shirt again with the black dress pants. And over it, anudda sweadda. I find as the weather changes, I am reaching more for belts than for scarves. Maybe it's time to take the scarves out of my closet and put them in the summer box.

Didn't get to any clean up again because of the weekly French class :(

Day #9b, drum roll please...

Drum roll... Here is the new long brown skirt. The new brown short sleeve shirt is under the blue cardigan. The big loophole in sixorless is that jackets and accessories don't count. I didn't take much advantage of that loophole in the summer. But as the cold weather descends, sweaters will be appearing. That is Mr. Fatty on the right looking on with approval.

This entire outfit (boots, sweater, shirt, skirt, belt, and necklace) came from a second hand store. A friend had recommended a shop in the mall where she had bought a cute, black skirt. I thought I'd treat myself to something similar. But not one of the sales girls offered to help me or even said hello. As an experiment, I practically walked into one of them on the way to a clothes rack, but she turned to ignore me and talk to her friend. If the store wants to sell me something, they will have to extend some common courtesy. Non-negotiable. So, the second hand store got my business.

My clean up today was the bottom shelf in the clothes closet. I found some overdue library books and a big pile of sand. Both will be returned to their proper place.

Day #8b, some substitutions, eightorless!

Didn't get to do any clean ups today, but did make some clothing substitutions. Here's the new sixorless for this month:

t-shirt dress ---> jean skirt
jeans (same)
long-sleeve white shirt (same)
balck dress pants (same)
short-sleeved striped shirt ---> long sleeve stretchy shirt (pictured here)
pink sweater ---> black cardigan sweater

plus short sleeve brown shirt and long brown skirt!

Yes, I added two pieces. With the cold weather, I just need more layers. We will see how this goes. Right now it feels like too much clothing :)

And... here's lunch for today. Tomato and cucumber slices on sprouted grain muffins with tahini. The side is green beans sauteed with olives, garlic, and scallions, then topped with pine nuts. So good it ought to be against the law. Also had some miso-lentil soup. I have followed a vegan diet for over a year now and don't miss meat one single bit.

Day #7b, $ for cleaning!

This was the clean-up that REALLY needed to happen. That's right... my purse! Here are pictures of what came out and what went back in. Yes, that is a pair of socks. And the best part? I found an uncashed check for $93.94. Fabulous! And I won't spend it on clothes :)

Made some lentil-miso soup. Could not be easier or more delicious. Onions, mushrooms, bok choy, carrots, lentils, and water. Simmer for 30 minutes then stirred in miso.

Day #6b, wet rat

The flood gates of heaven opened today. It alternated between heavy rain and super, heavy rain. I wore my new black cardigan with the jeans tucked into my boots and a cute bumble bee pin. It would have been a fun picture until I made an umbrella-less dash from my car to my kids' dance lessons. I will wear this outfit again in dry weather and get a photo.

Did manage to squeeze in a shelf clean up today. The most notable find were receipts from Christmas presents. Yes, from 2009! But no, I did not remember what they were for, and I found it interesting to see what I had actually bought for people. I bet they don't remember either. This year, maybe I won't waste time shopping and instead buy gift certificates.

I find it calming to look at these before and after photos.

Day #5b, freezing

OK, I have got to replace some of my sixorless items. The stripped t-shirt is not warm enough on these damp fall days. Especially when the shirt itself is damp because I washed it last night and it wasn't dry by morning :(

But I did get to clean up a little spot today: a little cubby hole next to my computer monitor. There were some paid bills that needed disposing, which required me to crawl around on the floor to plug in the paper shredder. Identity theft does not sound like fun. Also found a CD I had been looking for.

Day #4b, parlez vous?

Sadly, today I did not get to clean up any spots in the house. I started a weekly French class and was pooped when I got home.

But the joy at seeing those clean little spots around the house is off the charts. It's like having my clean closet all around the house. Well, in just a couple spots. But it made me feel good.

Before the French class I had a few minutes to look around a department store for some clothing replacement items. Big zero. Lots of cheaply made stuff, none of it plain enough to go with anything else. Don't get me started on the clearance racks! Land of the misfit clothes.

Then, perhaps by serendipity, the woman sitting to my right in my French class works at a clothing store! I will definitely pay her a visit. Desperately seeking skirt :)

Day #3b, hard to let go

One of the reasons for my former closet of clothes and the piles of stuff around the house is that I find it hard to let things go. That may require some work on a shrink's couch. Today I wore the t-shirt dress even though it was too cold and no longer summer, but I didn't want to give it up. And this pile on the table is stuff that has been sitting there, ready to be donated for weeks. But again, just don't want to give it up. Hoping that the first couple steps will make the next easier.

Ha ha, just noticed the dog sleeping under the table. Glad my clean up is not disturbing her beauty sleep.

And... baked a vegan apple pie tonight. Delish!

Day #1b, cardigan debut, dusty desk

Here's the premiere of the black cardigan. It couldn't be more comfortable. I actually managed to save the spare button that came with it (although at this moment I came remember where I stashed it).

And here's the project for today... a dusty desk. The lamp moved into the living room where it belongs, the dust has been removed, the paper shredder is now under my desk, and voila. Would be nice to get some coordinated frames for those photos.

Day #1b, black is the new pink, and new challenge

A busy day! Some of the sixorless clothes from last month must be traded out. And I had to: a) decide on, and b) start the new challenge.

The pink sweater, versatile but just not flattering in any way (color, cut, or fabric) was replaced with a snappy, black button down cardigan. I can wear it alone or with a shirt under it. Pictures to come...

And as for the next challenge... well, this picture of the area next to my monitor says it all. There are little corners and surfaces all around my house that have collected "stuff". Yes, that is an Easter card from 4 months ago! The challenge this month is to get some of those cleaned up. Some are big and some are small. And some are deceptively big. I thought I'd start with this teeny, weeny corner spot just to get the ball rolling. Turns out it contained, among other things, a door handle that fell off over a month ago. It took me 10 minutes just to find the tool to put the handle back on the door. But the good news, is that this little corner is now clean :)

Makes me feel better just looking at it. I apologize if these pictures aren't as fun as the ones from the clothing challenge. But I promise to keep posting clothing photos since I am actually going on round 3 now.

And when I think of it, I will also post some photos of my vegan meals. Some people are curious what a vegan eats.

Day #30a, made it!

Ce...le...brate less clothes, come on! Let's celebrate! (sung to the tune of the old Kool & the Gang song). Made it!

And what's next?

I'm pretty sure it will be the decluttering. Now that my closet is clear, the rest of the house needs the same treatment. It would make me VERY happy.

I still plan to stick with six or less clothes, though. So I will continue to post about this as well.

We're gonna have a good time tonight...!

Day #29a, almost there, almost where?

I just can't get enough of my scarves. They can create so many looks. Some are hippy, some are chic, some are hippy-chic.

Well here it is, the eleventh hour. I'm on the verge of victory (again), yet feeling a little lost. What now?? What will fill the gap that sixorless leaves? Can another sixorless challenge even fill the gap? Somehow it feels like it won't.

Whether or not I officially challenge myself again, there are no plans to go over 6 yet. The t-shirt dress and pink sweater will be replaced. But that will be enough to keep me feeling satisfied in the clothes area. More than satisfied, actually. Ironically, I don't normally shop for key wardrobe pieces so regularly.

This will fill my thoughts tomorrow... on day 30 of the 30 days :)

Day #28, more press... and better decide soon!

My good friend Jason wrote a follow up article about my challenge that was published in the Cornwall Free News (the link is also on the main blog page on the right):

http://cornwallfreenews.com/2010/09/six-items-challenge-a-success-by-jason-setnyk-six-items-challenge-a-success-cornwall-ontario-by-jason-setnyk-september-21-2010/

I really want to bring a copy in to Echo Trends to thank them again for their help. I also need to get my butt in there because there are only 2 days left in this challenge! Where did the time go? Will I plow forward? I really want to. Sixorless makes a world of difference for me.

Day #27a, working from home

It is rare that I get the luxury of working from home. Most of the time, I absolutely have to deal with things at work face-to-face. But there is a massive deadline coming up, and I must get a mountain of paper work done without distraction. So I got to wear my jeans mid-week. Woo hoo!

Family ate the left over turkey-newburg for dinner, but I guess it didn't reheat well because they didn't dig in like the first time.

Day #26a, stress free din-din

Yay! Things went well tonight. The meat eaters had pasta with a tomato, red pepper, and pepperoni sauce. A big hit. I had a beautiful vegan meal. Here's a picture just in case you think that all vegans eat is salad :)

Day #25a, new challenge... maybe

I've been thinking over possible challenges for the next month as a possible replacement for sixorless. The thing that is really stressing me out, now that getting dressed isn't, is dinner time. My three kids, three cats, two large dogs, two fish, and myself(!) (husband is always still at work) are starving and want to eat as soon as we get home. Problem is that nothing is ready, we are all grumpy, and none of us eat the same thing. Obviously, the pets don't eat what the people eat. But I follow a vegan diet and am the lone plant eater in a sea of carnivores. This makes for a frantic evening.

So today I did a big food shop and tonight I cooked 4 meals and froze them. Dinner for the next coupe nights, anyway, should be a breeze. This is the turkey-newburg that I made for the meat eaters. Maybe my challenge should be to do what it takes to lighten up the stress at dinner.

In case anyone is wondering, I wore the jeans and striped shirt today.

Day #24a, burning questions

Managed not to put my hands on my hips in this photo!

There are 3 burning questions tumbling around in my brain today...

First, am I cheating with the workout clothes? This morning, I managed to get my jeans on before I had to dash out the door for my kid's hockey practice. But I'm still wearing my work out clothes on the top. There are obviously no sixorless police who will haul me in. But I like to think that I will do what I say I will do. This workout clothes thing is bugging me.

Second, there is less than a week left to this challenge. How will I update my wardrobe? I am enjoying having just a few clothes to worry about so much. Even if I don't formally initiate another 30 days, I will probably stick with six clothing items anyway. Maybe I can switch from the six-or-less challenge to the six-or-so challenge :) The black pants, jeans, and white shirt are fine. The pink sweater is blah. The striped short sleeve shirt is not warm enough any more. Neither is the t-shirt dress. I'd like to swap these last three items for a different sweater, a long-sleeve stretchy shirt, and a skirt (yes mom, wherever you are, your baby is finally wearing skirts).

Third, what will the new challenge be? It doesn't seem fair to call the clothing thing a "challenge" anymore because I like doing it too much. I have been mulling over things that are bugging me similar to my packed closet used to, and here's what I got: 1) areas in my home that need cleaning, 2) piles of stuff that need to be sorted (and mostly tossed or donated), 3) on work days at dinner time I am stressed to the max trying to get food in front of my hungry kids as fast as possible. I wish all of these three issues could be solved. But which one first???

Day #23a, one pose pony

This is too funny. In looking over my blog photos, I notice it's almost impossible for me to pose without my hands on my hips. Ha ha! I don't know what to do with my hands in the pictures, so I always apparently do the same thing. I need to think of 7 new hand poses for the last week of the challenge.

Out came the pink tights again today. Yes, they are pinker than bubble gum but I just like them, and before long it will be too cold to wear them. One friend at work said I looked "spiffy". I can live with that.

Day #22a, still loving the scarves

I want to thank the folks at Echo Trends for pointing me toward scarves. I never wore them before, and now I feel under-dressed without one. I used to think they were something that "old people" wore, and was convinced they would make me look old. Can a little scrap of fabric really have that much power :) ? Or can the absence of a scarf really make me look young?

Well, now I've updated my view of scarves and decided that there are "old ways" of wearing scarves and "young ways" of wearing scarves. An old way would be babushka style, over my hair just after I had my rollers set, or in a giant bow around my neck. A young way would be loosely tied and thrown over my shoulder like in this picture.

Of course, I could just ask someone, "hey, does this scarf make me look old?" But it's probably like the "hey, does this make me look fat?" question. No one would give an honest answer, and I don't really want an honest answer anyway!

Day #21a, again with the slacking

Not only am I slacking with the clothes (today white shirt, black pants, and out the door), but I am slacking with my posts. Just so busy. But will use the time saved on my clothes to keep up with the posts!

Day #20a, slacking off a bit

Today, I took the "spend less time thinking about my clothes" mantra a little too far. I threw onthe black pants and stripped shirt and ran off to start my day. If I want to be able to pull off such a basic canvas, I need to be mindful of the details. Need to do better tomorrow.

Day #19a, another layer attempt

As I mentioned before, I love it when other people layer clothes. It looks very cool to me. I had picked these six items hoping to layer some of them. Today I tried the pink sweater over the t-shirt dress. I think this worked just OK. The colors don't quite go together. Maybe a scarf could have pulled it all together. And the style of the sweater doesn't really go with the style of the t-shirt dress. Well, it definitely changed the look of the t-shirt dress. It really looks like a skirt. To really do this sixorless challenge right, I would try all of the combinations of the magic 6 before(!) the 30 days began. That is a level of proactive that I don't possess at this moment in time. Maybe next month.

Day #18a, did I cheat?

Maybe this is one of those "if you have to ask, you know the answer already" things. But I will throw this question out into the ether anyway.

The sixorless challenge permits unlimited workout wear (and outerwear and accessories). This seems reasonable. Anyone with even a modest workout routine needs a couple tops and bottoms which would leave a total of two items for all other activities. But the workout wear should be just that: workout wear. It should not be part of the regular wardrobe.

Well day 18a was a Sunday. I wore sweatpants, a t-shirt, and a sweatshirt to work out in the morning. At mid-morning, my family was ready to dash out the door to food shop. "Let me just get changed," I called. "Just wear what you're wearing," they replied. And so out the door I went in my workout clothes. Suddenly, it was mid-afternoon, we were headed to the playground, and I still had my workout clothes on. Then it was dinner time, then it was bed time. Still wearing my workout clothes.

Arg. The shoe shopping binge was worse. But, I definitely thing this all-day-sweats episode violated the spirit of the challenge. Double arg.

Day #17a, life after sixorless?

On the weekends, the absolute last thing I want to do is think about what to wear. Sixorless solves that problem. Today the pink sweater and jeans were just right. Note that while I have figured out the self-timer on my camera, I have not figured out how to aim the camera properly. But, at least your can see that I am wearing the shoes that I binged on last weekend. I wore the black pair almost every day to work this week. This means there is no excuse for getting rid of all of the unworn shoes in my hall closet and in a large box in the basement. It should be no different than the purge that occurred in my clothes closet. But somehow it's harder.

I've been thinking about what to do when this second 30 day challenge is over. It seems silly to do it again, although I am committed to continue in the spirit of the challenge (rethink wardrobe monthly, mercilessly purge old clothes, get clothes that fit and work together). But on a day like 9/11, I would like to try a new challenge with more meaning, more impact. What could that be? One possibility rolling around in my head is to go day by day, room by room, drawer by drawer, and donate all of the useful stuff that I am not using to the second hand store. That would be much harder than the sixorless challenge, but at least would make a small positive contribution to the world. I'm going to surf around the internet for other ideas. Only 13 days left for this challenge. Time flies.

Day #16a, same clothes 3 times this week!

These pictures are paying off. By looking at them, I just realized that I wore the same white shirt and black pants 3 times this week. And it was a short week because of the holiday! But with the accessories, it did not feel like the same shirt and pants at all. Today, I rolled up the sleeves and wore this hat and scarf. The hat received several compliments. And no one said "hey, aren't those the same pants?", but maybe they were thinking it.

Day #15a, layers

I have always admired when people wear layered clothing. It all looks so pulled together and chic. I wouldn't say I was chic on day 15a, but I really did like this outfit. It just felt like a little more that just a pants and shirt. I bought this shirt purposely to be able to do this, so I glad it worked. The nice thing about this combo is that either shirt can be worn alone. Next month, I will for sure be adding a sweater to my magic six list. Fingers crossed I will find one that can work in this way.

Day #14a, Pink!

Well, I figured out the perfect way to get people not to notice my six items of clothes. Pink tights! These didn't look nearly that pink in the package. Or maybe they did, but they look even pinker on my pink legs. People at work stared at my knees like there were six of them. To be honest, I quite liked these tights and will wear them again. Maybe some of the shock value will have worn off.

Day #13a, using the scarf book

Today was a better day. I wore the white shirt and black dress pants (both clean!) with the new black shoes. The scarf knot came out of my new "How to Tie Scarves" book. I am back on the sixorless horse and feel good. Every experience is an opportunity for learning, right?

Day #12a, Miss Lazy Bones

Another challenge stumble. I just could not bring myself to hand wash any shirts on the night of day #11a. And so for the first time I wore an unwashed shirt. I'm certain not a single person noticed. But I knew. I didn't even want to take a picture.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Day #11a, shopping binge

It has taken a couple days to make this post. First, because things have been so busy. But second, because I experienced my first real stumble in the challenge.

I once went a month eating only raw food. I felt absolutely fantastic. But, on the day I went back to "normal food" I was at a friend's house for pizza. I must have eaten 6 slices. It was awful. It didn't feel good or even taste good, but their was so much pent up cooked food cravings that the flood gates opened.

Well a similar this happened on day 11. I was at the mall and saw a shoe sale sign. I came home with not one but two pairs AND a watch. I didn't need any of this stuff, but there was pent up shopping desire that I did not recognize until it was too late. I'm trying to enjoy the shoes that I bought, but so far they just make me feel a little guilty. Clogs are my Achilles heel.

Day #10a, lovin' the t-shirt dress

I really love wearing this t-shirt dress. As the name suggests, it can be worn as a shirt or a dress. I have already done both. Why aren't they more popular? Now that the temperatures have dropped a bit, I am going to try layering this... definitely with the pink sweater and maybe even with the white shirt.

Went to the second hand clothing store and came home with two nice scarves. One all silk Oscar de La Renta for just $0.99! Why so scarf happy tonight? Because earlier at the library I found a book on all the different ways to tie and wear scarves. Only $2 at the Friends of the Library book sale. Hard to believe someone didn't snatch this little gem up before I did.

Day #9a, casual Friday, self-portraits

Fridays at work are casual days, so the striped top and jeans were just fine. Now that I am spending more time thinking about accessories, I am spending less time (OK, no time) putting on makeup. As you can tell by this lovely self portrait. I never have the time in the morning to put it on, and just hate taking it off at night. This picture suggests that I might want to make the time :( It has been an extremely odd experience to have a photo taken every day. I have been hiding from cameras since forever. I try to focus on the clothes in the pictures, but can't help being critical of how the rest of me looks too. Maybe there is a sixorless version for makeup that would help.

Day #8a, tricks of the sixorless trade

Today was hot as Hades. I couldn't bear the thought of wearing the black dress pants (orange juice washed out) with the humidity. The jeans are not dressy enough for work. And, the t-shirt dress was not clean. What is a sixorless girl to do? Look carefully, and you will notice that the skirt I wore today is actually the scarf I wore on Monday! I kept waiting for someone at work to figure this out (a couple folks know about the challenge and check in everyday to see what I'm wearing). Finally, I started telling people that my skirt was actually a scarf. No one seemed as tickled by this fact as I was. Well, to each his/her own.

PS - From this picture, I can see that I need to get some bras that do a little more for the girls.

Day #7a, Murphy's Law of sixorless

There is a reason why I did not post a picture on the 7th day of the challenge... Murphy's Law of sixorless...

I wore the striped shirt with my black dress pants and a pair of peep toe heels. For lunch, I came home, washed my hands, put on an apron, prepared my lunch, washed my hands again, carried my lunch over to the counter... then promptly sat in a puddle of orange juice on a stool.

So I had to change into my workout sweats (my evening wear) much sooner than usual. A shout out to my five year old for the fruity surprise!

Day #6a, weather issues

Trying to look cool here, but to be honest I'm hot as heck. It was nearly 85 degrees today, and this shirt dress is too short to wear without stockings or tights. You'd think with a planning window of only 30 days, that it would be easy to pick clothes appropriate for the weather. But I got faked out by the cold air two weeks ago.

I felt good at work today, proud that I put in a little effort to look nice. As I said earlier, I've never paid so much attention to my clothes as now when I have fewer clothes. Quite the paradox. I wish you could see the cute , thin leather belt around my waist. I thought it really made the outfit look unique.

Day #5a, the stress of a white shirt

During the first challenge, I decided to have no light colored clothes. But there is something so sharp about a nice white shirt that I wanted to add one to this magic six. Well, the stress of a white shirt reared it's ugly head immediately. First, it was hard to find the right one. I saw lots of Seinfeld puffy shirts, eyelet shirts, collarless shirts, etc. But a classic, slightly fitted white shirt was hard to track down. And did I mention they were all see-through? I could see the back of my hand through all of them, even the one I ended up buying. I had to buy a camisole, which I have not done in forever years.

Then as soon as I put it on, the stress came back in a new form. I have 3 kids, two big hairy dogs, and 3 cats. I jumped left and right, bobbed and weaved, even wore an apron while fixing my kids morning bowl of cereal to avoid stains. At work, everyone seemed to be lunging at me with pencils, pens, and gads... permanent markers. I made it home safely and quickly changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants.

If my shirt is compromised by one of these stain monsters, would it be breaking any rules to replace the shirt during the 30 days???

Day #4a, a tad too warm

And here is... drum roll... the pink sweater. It was in the 80's today. So this was not the most comfortable thing in the world. But during the hour that we went ice skating it was just right.

The unclutter of my closet is making the rest of my house look like an overstuffed junk yard. I really want to call in sick at work and spend a full day tossing stuff out! This week, things are too hectic but I already feel the sniffles coming on for next week :)