Cleanin' out my closet

Anyone else start busting out the Eminem lyrics?  "I'm sorry momma!"  I'm actually apologizing to my real momma.  She's a bit OCD, and when she sees the pictures of my messy closet... when she sees that not all of my hangers match... when she sees that the "after" is still not as organized as her "before"... well..."I'm sorry momma!  I never meant to hurt you!"

 Here's the before:

Things that bother me: My cats are obsessed with that window.  I have to keep the blinds up, so they don't destroy them.  Do you know how many times I have forgotten that the blinds were open and walked in there after my shower to get dressed? umm... too many.

Another view of this side of the closet.

 

The other side of the closet.

Things that bother me: The general messiness. The fact that it's overflowing with things I don't wear. The general messiness.

 

 

And finally the AFTER...

Can you see the difference?  Yes? No? Yes?

 My husband immediately thought I was nuts. 

OK, I covered up the window with shelving.  I know that is wrong, BUT our neighbors were getting an eyeful....often.  It feels more like a walk-in closet now than it did before.   

 

I organized a bit too... see my pretty belts below!

I'm actually so relieved to have this done!  I "rediscovered" a few items that I had forgotten about.  Now, I actually know what I'm working with for the next year.  I also took this opportunity to remove some items that I never wore, mainly because they don't fit me any longer.  Those items will pop up in later posts, because I have big plans to recycle some of them into new pieces of clothing!

 

*Is anyone else cleaning out their closet?  How about cleaning out a litter box? No?? 

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Zara

Have you ever started a diet, and immediately food that you never crave seems irresistible?  You find yourself rummaging through your cabinets...
Is that a twizzler?!  YESSSSS...  wait, it's just a piece of string.  HUMPH.
Is that a cupcake?! YESSSSSSSSSSS!  It expired a few months ago?  ehhhh... these things don't go bad.

Since starting my "clothing diet," this phenomenon has already begun.  As I was driving yesterday, every clothing store was calling me.  I felt like they were all singing "Come on over.  Come on over, baby!"  Anyway, I managed to escape and came home to online "window shop".  Zara is one of my favorite stores and has been ever since I lived in Madrid.  Did you know it's a Spanish brand?  Fun Fact #1.  I want to take these babies home (and love them forever):


Top, Skirt, Shoes, Bag, Pants

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Inspiration & Day 1

Inspiration AKA Name-Dropping like a BOSS:

1. First, I stumbled across The Twenty Pieces Project.  These girls are awesome!  They lived for 1 year with 20 pieces of clothing and no shopping. NO shopping.  That's some serious cold turkey.  Now, they inspire others to do the same.  Having just moved from Japan though (and living in Spain prior to that), I really need to Americanize my closet a little...so I opted for a frugal budget.

2. Next, I found this gem: Putting Me Together.  She reworks items that are already in her closet to create new outfits.  I've been doing this for a long time (especially after living in countries that I couldn't always find items that were my "style"). She does a way better job than I do (apparently a jean jacket with your old prom dress does not dress it down- whatevs), so she inspires me daily.  Bonus points: She also lives in SoCal.

3. I've been reading Cotton and Curls for a while.  I loved her at first, because she provides easy sewing tutorials (I love to sew).  Meanwhile, it recently hit me that her projects help stretch her closet, since she reworks so many items that she already owns.  Pure. Brilliance.  I'll definitely be channeling her when I need to rework and restyle items that I already own. 

So thank you to the ladies that have inspired me.  My husband, MoneyMan, also thanks you.  You see, he is a frugal guy... he is LOVING this mission (and doubting my capability of holding to it).  I love proving him wrong... :)

Anyways, today's outfit is pretty basic.  I had to run a few errands and then I had a teaching interview (HOLLA!).  I didn't want to wear 2 completely different outfits, but I also didn't feel like walking around in a black suit all day. 









Top: The Limited, Skirt: thrifted, Gold Flops: Reef, Bag: Coach 





Suit: Macy's (on clearance with an employee discount- from my college days), Gold Heels: thrifted, Jewelry: gift

I love this jewelry! It is so unique.  My mom gave it to me to match a gown I was wearing to a wedding.  It is definitely different from anything I usually wear, but it's whacky and fun!

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Mission

Hi. I'm Ariel. 

This is how I feel when I go shopping and buy stuff...

I'm a military wife.  This naturally means that I speak with super cool military lingo and go around saying words like "bulkhead", "cover", "rainlocker", and "civies". 

(If you know what these words mean, you must be a military spouse or actual military person.  I imagine you know more about these words and others like them than me, so be my friend and teach me!  If you don't, well google them and impress me with the other words you find online.  I'll use them next time I talk with the MoneyMan (aka my husband), and he'll be so impressed.)

It also means that I refer to my self-imposed challenges as missions.  This blog started with one of those missions.  Normally, these missions are much smaller in scale, like Mission: Wet Cats, which involved washing both of our cats.  See?  It takes a little challenge(although I think washing a cat is more of a big challenge) and dramatically transforms it into something Tom Cruise or Daniel Craig might do. 



Pics from: Daniel Craig, Tom Cruise

 

Anyways, THIS is Mission: 100 Dollar Closet.

Time Period: 365 Days
Price Limit: $100
Mission Description: I cannot spend more than $100 on anything that adds to my closet within the allotted time period.  I'll be posting pictures of my outfits, including any thing I do that creatively streeeeeetches my current wardrobe. 

Disclaimer: This is not a fashion blog.  It's a fashion experiment.  It's also an experiment in simplifying my life.  Finally, it's testing the sanity of a shopaholic (me) that shops as a hobby, as a stress reliever, and as a reward.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Feel free to comment or even join in on Mission: 100 Dollar Closet!    Pin It