Okay, tell the truth-did you drag your winter clothing boxes out this past weekend? I did. Out came sweaters, long-sleeved shirts and some dresses I forgot about but really like. I unpacked socks, scarves, and two sweaters. I packed away most of my sleeveless shirts and bright-colored linen skirts. I couldn't pack them all away because I AM GOING TO THE BEACH NEXT WEEK. Oh, sorry, did I shout that? Anyway, after I did my boxes I pulled down the girl's boxes and went through their clothes. Away went most of the lightweight sundresses, tee shirts and shorts. Our house is small and we (all four of us) share the one clothes closet* so we have to do a seasonal shift. I stand in the closet every morning, somehow without my family knowing where I am, looking over my clothes and figuring out what I will wear that day. It is peaceful.
So I pulled down the boxes and found some nice surprises. Shoes I forgot. Those dresses I love to wear. A pair of jeans and a scarf I forgot about. Even the girl's clothing was a pleasant joy. Somehow my 7 (almost 8!) year old can wear just about everything from last winter. I am jealous. She has a big wardrobe of dresses and leggings and jeans and tee shirts and sweaters. The 4 year old always has way too many clothes between big sister hand-me-downs, friend hand-me-downs, grandparent gifts and the inevitable purchases that I make to account for her slightly different taste than big sister or to fill in the gaps. My girls both have interesting styles of dressing; big sister is good at matching odd items and she comes up with new outfits that surprise me on a regular basis. Little sister wants sparkle and twirl and she does NOT mix-and-match. If a shirt 'goes with' a skirt they must be worn together. Every time. Since her wardrobe is 99% hand-me-down this means that the outfits usually are composed of items that didn't originally match each other. She decides that one shirt and one bottom are a set and they just are. And she remembers it.
I am much more like older daughter. I mix things up differently almost every time. I sometimes stand in my closet and think 'wait, what did I wear this skirt with the last time because I liked that combo...' I read once about a woman who would take a polaroid of herself in every outfit and put them on a bulletin board in her closet so she could remember what she liked to wear. Aside from the shock at having a closet big enough to hold a bulletin board, this idea seems to me like it would rob me of those five minutes of peace, standing in the closet and figuring out what I was going to wear.
So, did you pull out your warm clothes yet?
*honesty compels me to admit that we do have two walk-in closets in our house but the other one holds mostly craft materials. A family has to have priorities.
I haven't pulled mine out mainly because I never put them away. I tend to wear the style shirts year round and just toss a cardigan over the top. Of course, it really helps that where I work, I can live in jeans.
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