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Mar. 9th, 2012 03:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluecastleSo far today has mostly been about hiding in my office and hoping my headache goes away soon. I think it is, at least I don't want to throw up at the moment so that's positive.
It could be stress. Last night was not fun. I get home and pick up the mail, and there's my credit card bill, which I don't think about much until I notice that it's a big bill, and that they charged me a late fee for not paying last month. Except I totally did. Except I didn't. Apparently I some haze I sent it to a card listed on my online bill pay that I no longer HAVE. Cue telephone hell. The upshot of which is I have to get the bank to tell me what the other credit card number is because I apparently tossed all the paperwork when I got rid of the old card (and didn't delete it from billpay. duh.)
To top it all off, at some point -- maybe in conjuction with my reporting a couple small bogus charges to my checking account, my bank axed my debit card. All of this I found out at the bank last weekend. They are supposed to be sending me a new debit card, but it has not arrived yet.
Also yesterday my actual credit card -- the one I am now delinquent in paying despite my trying very hard not to have late payments because I have a LOT of debt etc -- stopped working. Which means at at the moment, until my new debit card arrives I have no access to any of my money via bits of plastic. I have money -- maybe not enough to keep screwing up like this, but some. But no way to get to it. If the promised debit card doesn't arrive today then I will have to go and cash a check at the bank tomorrow.
Jokes on me I guess for being so dependent on my debit card. But still.
All of which wasn't even the point of this except to say last night was stressful, and I was feeling like I hated all my clothes yesterday, so I took my FEELINGS and made a rather large sweep of my closet. Structurally it's a stupid closet. It's maybe 8 feet long, but there's only a normal door to it, so you can only really access the 3 feet of space directly in the door opening w/o sliding stuff around and pulling your arms out of their sockets and stuff. (And its the part of the house with the solid plaster walls so opening it up to useful size would be a real job).
And while I wasn't going to opt to only wear one thing for a year, I though I might be able to come closer to something like the 333 Project where you pick 30 items and pledge to only wear those for 3 months.
I took everything out of the closet and it ended up in one of three places. If I LOVED it (or I liked it and its a REALLY useful wardrobe staple -- like this grey cardigan I have on today), it went back in the closet. If I didn't like it, or it didn't fit, it went into a garbage bag destined to be donated to the 2nd hand shop in town. If I was MAYBE about it it either went into the guest room closet, or into one of two storage bags -- labeled vaguely "maybe spring/summer" and "maybe fall/winter."
I want to do a breakdown of what I ended up with, which was I think 50 things. Which mostly fit across the actual opening of the closet. It's something like two vests, 3 sleeveless shirts, 3 short sleeved shirts, 5 long sleeved shirts, 8 sweaters, 5 jackets and I think 10 dresses, oh and 5 skirts. I already know I want to swap out one sweater for a shrug in the maybe closet, and add one short sleeved blouse from the maybe spring/summer bag.
In an ideal world all of the tops would go with all the skirts/bottoms but I'm not sure I can say that. Part of me is really contemplating only buying black, white, grey or off-white tops from now on just to make that a reality. But we'll see.
It's a work in progress, but this morning I was able to pull out some leggings and a tank (from my earlier dresser overhaul), pop on a dress and a cardigan, stick on some comfy socks and my slouchy boots, add a string of pearls and head out the door.
There's still a lot of work to do to weed out the rather large maybe pile. But if you stick it in storage for long enough and never get anything out, then probably you didn't need it in the first place. I tell myself. Repeatedly. I have minor hoarding genes from both sides of the family after all.
(Oh, and there's a bin of vaguely costumey pieces for stuff that kind of fits, or doesn't fit my everyday needs, but might be useful in a show someday)
Now I just need to do all that laundry in the basement and see what that brings the number up to. If I had plenty of room, I'd be likely to keep the maybes (or more of them at any rate) but part of my whole house de-cluttering (in fits and starts) is to really get honest about what I have room for.
So onwards I go. And I'll have a large trip to the church run thrift store in town tomorrow. It's a start anyhow.
It could be stress. Last night was not fun. I get home and pick up the mail, and there's my credit card bill, which I don't think about much until I notice that it's a big bill, and that they charged me a late fee for not paying last month. Except I totally did. Except I didn't. Apparently I some haze I sent it to a card listed on my online bill pay that I no longer HAVE. Cue telephone hell. The upshot of which is I have to get the bank to tell me what the other credit card number is because I apparently tossed all the paperwork when I got rid of the old card (and didn't delete it from billpay. duh.)
To top it all off, at some point -- maybe in conjuction with my reporting a couple small bogus charges to my checking account, my bank axed my debit card. All of this I found out at the bank last weekend. They are supposed to be sending me a new debit card, but it has not arrived yet.
Also yesterday my actual credit card -- the one I am now delinquent in paying despite my trying very hard not to have late payments because I have a LOT of debt etc -- stopped working. Which means at at the moment, until my new debit card arrives I have no access to any of my money via bits of plastic. I have money -- maybe not enough to keep screwing up like this, but some. But no way to get to it. If the promised debit card doesn't arrive today then I will have to go and cash a check at the bank tomorrow.
Jokes on me I guess for being so dependent on my debit card. But still.
All of which wasn't even the point of this except to say last night was stressful, and I was feeling like I hated all my clothes yesterday, so I took my FEELINGS and made a rather large sweep of my closet. Structurally it's a stupid closet. It's maybe 8 feet long, but there's only a normal door to it, so you can only really access the 3 feet of space directly in the door opening w/o sliding stuff around and pulling your arms out of their sockets and stuff. (And its the part of the house with the solid plaster walls so opening it up to useful size would be a real job).
And while I wasn't going to opt to only wear one thing for a year, I though I might be able to come closer to something like the 333 Project where you pick 30 items and pledge to only wear those for 3 months.
I took everything out of the closet and it ended up in one of three places. If I LOVED it (or I liked it and its a REALLY useful wardrobe staple -- like this grey cardigan I have on today), it went back in the closet. If I didn't like it, or it didn't fit, it went into a garbage bag destined to be donated to the 2nd hand shop in town. If I was MAYBE about it it either went into the guest room closet, or into one of two storage bags -- labeled vaguely "maybe spring/summer" and "maybe fall/winter."
I want to do a breakdown of what I ended up with, which was I think 50 things. Which mostly fit across the actual opening of the closet. It's something like two vests, 3 sleeveless shirts, 3 short sleeved shirts, 5 long sleeved shirts, 8 sweaters, 5 jackets and I think 10 dresses, oh and 5 skirts. I already know I want to swap out one sweater for a shrug in the maybe closet, and add one short sleeved blouse from the maybe spring/summer bag.
In an ideal world all of the tops would go with all the skirts/bottoms but I'm not sure I can say that. Part of me is really contemplating only buying black, white, grey or off-white tops from now on just to make that a reality. But we'll see.
It's a work in progress, but this morning I was able to pull out some leggings and a tank (from my earlier dresser overhaul), pop on a dress and a cardigan, stick on some comfy socks and my slouchy boots, add a string of pearls and head out the door.
There's still a lot of work to do to weed out the rather large maybe pile. But if you stick it in storage for long enough and never get anything out, then probably you didn't need it in the first place. I tell myself. Repeatedly. I have minor hoarding genes from both sides of the family after all.
(Oh, and there's a bin of vaguely costumey pieces for stuff that kind of fits, or doesn't fit my everyday needs, but might be useful in a show someday)
Now I just need to do all that laundry in the basement and see what that brings the number up to. If I had plenty of room, I'd be likely to keep the maybes (or more of them at any rate) but part of my whole house de-cluttering (in fits and starts) is to really get honest about what I have room for.
So onwards I go. And I'll have a large trip to the church run thrift store in town tomorrow. It's a start anyhow.
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no subject
Date: 2012-03-10 02:01 am (UTC)I found that moving out and then back into our house made me really ruthless about Getting rid of STUFF. The upshot of which is we have 600 more sf but dramatically less furniture, and fewer clothes, shoes, books (a toughie), and kitchen crap.
It also made it easier to resist little Lego-sized hole punches at the Muji store. :)
Have fun with the clean sweep project. If it doesn't nourish you somehow it's gotta go, right?
ps you get my aredblush Arthur and Eames on the Oregon Trail * icon for no reason except it makes me happy.
*there was a thing, at some point, when we all went gonzo over the idea for a day or two.
Edited to fix the infamous dropped "n" from the iPad.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-10 02:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-10 02:53 am (UTC)But feel free to drive by.
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Date: 2012-03-10 02:59 am (UTC)Maybe another time then! I long to see you again!!! and someday we're gonna get Ms. Valancy down here.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-10 03:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-10 03:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-10 03:40 am (UTC)If the plane we are supposed to be on ever arrives at JFK, that is. New departure time is 11:40 which puts as at the hotel around 1:30! Yikes.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-10 03:43 am (UTC)Yay for skiing with the boy! Spring break! WOO!!! When do you kids come back?
no subject
Date: 2012-03-10 02:51 am (UTC)So now I am starting a new job with a real need for building a new wardrobe. I have reddish brown hair and greenish eyes so black is honestly not a color I should be wearing. I like your accomplishments though!
And oh I have been there with the debit card. Bank open on Saturdays? Go by and get some cash w/a check.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-10 03:13 am (UTC)You can build a wardrobe around any neutral, grey or navy or brown or khaki... Whatever makes you feel good. I do theatre, ergo I have a lot of black :)
Then pick a couple other colors that make you happy and that go with your neutrals for tops. It's a place to start! You'll get there!
no subject
Date: 2012-03-10 03:28 am (UTC)I think I am going to curl up in bed with my laptop and google around and see if i can get ideas. :)
no subject
Date: 2012-03-10 11:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-10 11:57 am (UTC)