GIRLS' ROOM: Goodbye to my clothes

[gcal]

I have 6 pair of jeans. Two get worn. The others sit in the drawer. I have about a dozen tshirts. Four get worn. Not much in here for dirty laundry, so I wash every 2 or 3 days. As soon as my favorites are clean, I wear them. Same with nearly every other category of clothing I have, from lingerie to shoes to jackets. I have a tenth of what I had in the house, and I still have too much.

 

[ggwoman]

That's what I'm thinking too, I still have so very much and now I wonder WHY? When I was poor, single mom/worker/fulltime university student, we (my little son and I) lived in the van for a winter down at the beach below Ferndale, CA. I still remember: had three pair of jeans, 6 pair of mens socks (better made and last longer), 2 thermal shirts, a flannel shirt, a sweater, a down vest, two T shirts and 7 undies. Now I am debating whether to keep my two overalls or cut one up into shortalls and keep the other. They are so comfy. Not much room though to pack stuff and they take up a lot of room, but darn they are useful. I love all the pockets. As I am wearing my worn clothes for the last times, I just toss them out when done. LOL

 

[gcal]

Got the MyFitnessPal app. I like its flexibilty. Third day so far. I just hiked 40 minutes through the woods on a rough, muddy construction trail to earn an upgrade from cookies to apple pie for my afternoon snack. OMG!!! I am a slave to pastry!

If I keep this up, tho, I will be buying a whole new wardrobe. All of my current stuff will go. Except socks. My socks will probably still fit.

 

[Yogidog]

If I had it to do over again, I would be ruthless, get rid of all clothes and buy only outside gear, athletic and yoga wear and one nice outfit and one get dirty. Enough for one week with contmplemntry colors. Sitting here with too many clothes in vehicle!

 

[Queen]

That is my style, I realized long ago that I only wear the top of the stack, so why have a huge stack. And, for the first time in my life, I'm not wearing jeans. They're really nowhere near as comfy as yoga pants... and there is no one I need to impress. ;-)

 

[mockturtle]

I seldom wear jeans, either. Mostly nylon hiking pants. More comfortable and they dry quickly.

 

[Suanne]

I'm back at my sticks and bricks, doing the downsizing thing again. First to go: 3 large bags of clothes. Thanks for the inspiration to tackle my closet!

 

[JLynne]

I remember when I donated my work clothes. I vowed I'd never be a slave in a corporate or time clock environment again. It was hard parting with the shoes and corporate clothes. Kept thinking "who are you kidding? You're gonna need these clothes to get a job! You can't survive without a job"
That was 2013. Not a problem. I did it!

 

[ggwoman]

That is my style, I realized long ago that I only wear the top of the stack, so why have a huge stack.  And, for the first time in my life, I'm not wearing jeans.  They're really nowhere near as comfy as yoga pants... and there is no one I need to impress. ;-)

Ok, this was a helpful insight. No need for jeans. They are so heavy anyway and since I have to mail everything to myself on the other side of the ocean, that will save on postage $. I have 3-4 pair of yoga pants, easy, comfy and look "nice enough" LOL. I will keep my cotton pants for now too as they are lightweight and roll nicely, taking up little space.

 

[Cheli]

I'm trying to console myself with the thought that some woman who had to leave her home in the middle of the night with just the clothes on her back will enjoy them more than I would just having them hanging in my van closet taking up space. I AM doing the right thing, I know it!

Great way to look at it.  You are doing the right thing!!!  You got this. 

 

[Cheli]

I can't wait until I get to filter down my clothes, I want simple and stress free wardrobe when I hit the van. But since I'm still working, the clothes (for the most part) needs to wait until I'm closer to being on the road. At that point I'll keep one "nice outfit" and everything else will be minimal between jeans, yoga pants, shorts and tshirts. And shoes, oh boy I have a lot to get rid of there. But again simple with a pair of sneakers, hiking boots and flip flops will be perfect.

 

[Queen]

Ok, this was a helpful insight.  No need for jeans. They are so heavy anyway and since I have to mail everything to myself on the other side of the ocean, that will save on postage $. I have 3-4 pair of yoga pants, easy, comfy and look "nice enough" LOL.  I will keep my cotton pants for now too as they are lightweight and roll nicely, taking up little space.

It's weird, I keep thinking I "need" a pair, so I have one laying in the closet just in case... and they just stay there, occupying space that could be better used for something else.  Really need to donate them.

 

[Hippiechk]

I am forever downsizing clothes as I am a thrift store & freestore shopper & while I am absolutely not a clothes horse I am seeking that ultimate comfy wardrobe *smile*!

I don't do jeans unless they have a good amount of stretch. I am normally in a skirt or sundress. I will put on pants when I need to & have slowly put together a few pair I actually like & find comfy.

I think I have hit on a great amount at this point for nice weather clothes but eegads this winter stuff sucks to have to pack around & pack away!! I donated the majority of basic I can get more stuff but still, coats & boots, warm robe, PJs...heavy blankets!!

The worst of it right now is moving in blues...the last person who owned this RV took off the exterior spare tire mount & put it under the couch!! I could put all of this stuff and my hoarde of rice & dried foods in there...boom! 

This RV is a beauty having been very lightly used by just vacationers but they do do things differently than us full timers...honestly, 9 cubic feet of interior prime reachable storage for the tire!!

Okay, I am off to toss at least one clothing item...there has got to be something that can go...

 

[ggwoman]

Eek! First thing to go is get that tire mounted outside where it belongs! Dirty, smelly and like you say a prime space waster.

I like wearing sundresses and skirts too, especially when it's hot ~ natural air conditioning LOL . I don't think I own any winter wear. Hopefully I'll find something still wearable in my storage unit. I hope my boots still fit. I think I have luau feet now from wearing flip flops and going barefoot for so long. Boots. Just the word sounds heavy, clunky and uncomfortable. Oh, I do have a flannel shirt and a fleece overshirt.

 

[Hippiechk]

Hey, I did a good thing!! I got all the wearable in one of 3 cupboards. I need the shelf boards, but the stacks fit nicely. All the winter clothes & sheets in a second cupboards and leaving a free cupboard for laundry!!

When I am camped & its nice out I keep a bucket of water & when its full of clothes I do wash but there are times it builds up & it needs a place to live.

 

[Queen]

Hey ggwoman, not sure what your style of dress is OR what it's costs to ship clothes, but I buy fruit of the loom v-neck tshirts ($4-$5 each) at Walmart and have gotten over five years of wear out of them (still going strong). Same with some wrangler shorts I bought. Just wanted to pass that along if shipping was cost prohibitive on some of your clothes.

 

[JLynne]

The worst of it right now is moving in blues...the last person who owned this RV took off the exterior spare tire mount & put it under the couch!! I could put all of this stuff and my hoarde of rice & dried foods in there...boom! 

This RV is a beauty having been very lightly used by just vacationers but they do do things differently than us full timers...honestly, 9 cubic feet of interior prime reachable storage for the tire!!

Okay, I am off to toss at least one clothing item...there has got to be something that can go...

      I have the exact same issue with my spare! I'm kinda obsessed about it. They did the build-out just for road trips with more bed than I need but it's mighty comfortable.  
     They removed the mounting assembly from under the Van so she could change the tire more easily. Ford wants $200.00 for the part because it's been discontinued.
     I'm not planning to full time just yet but really want to re-claim that space. It's not top priority right now but gonna have to find the correct part eventually.
      Oh well, back to downsizing the wardrobe!

 

[Queen]

JLynne, hope you can find a spare tire mount at a junk yard, that's much too precious of space to lose to a tire.

 

[ggwoman]

Hey ggwoman, not sure what your style of dress is OR what it's costs to ship clothes, but I buy fruit of the loom v-neck tshirts ($4-$5 each) at Walmart and have gotten over five years of wear out of them (still going strong).  Same with some wrangler shorts I bought.  Just wanted to pass that along if shipping was cost prohibitive on some of your clothes.

My dress style is super casual and comfy.  And yes I'm totally with you on the $5 t-shirts from Wally World! I have had those for about the same length of time and wear them hard and they are still good.  Those I'll bring.  I will check into the wrangler shorts when I get to the other side.  If we are following the warm weather, I am hoping to skimp by this year on the clothes buying.  Next year finances will be all right. IT's just this year is short money wise and I will have to really watch the budget for several months, plus moving is so expensive.  I cost $310 to fly, the truck 1100, the animals cost 1600, just flights, not including their new ipata approved carriers.  I have a "giant" dog, who will need to wait until Sept. to fly as they don't have planes with cargo doors big enough to move his crate through. Unreal. Poor Thor. He's going to think I abandoned him or something when we all leave.
But back to clothes, just trying to figure out what I will really and truly need  ie warm clothes. Socks. I don't have socks.  :s

I'll just get there first and then try then to go with the flow.    I've lost enough weight through all this the past two months, that when I stood up the other day, my shorts fell down to my knees. That reminds me, get a belt.  :huh:   Right now I'm rolling the waistband to keep them up.  Works pretty good except when I reach for anything. LOLOL  :blush:

 

[ggwoman]

      I have the exact same issue with my spare! I'm kinda obsessed about it. They did the build-out just for road trips with more bed than I need but it's mighty comfortable.  
     They removed the mounting assembly from under the Van so she could change the tire more easily. Ford wants $200.00 for the part because it's been discontinued.
     I'm not planning to full time just yet but really want to re-claim that space. It's not top priority right now but gonna have to find the correct part eventually.
      Oh well, back to downsizing the wardrobe!

That is one really pretty van inside and out!

I was able to find a tirechange/jack kit for my truck (tire is mounted underneath and no doubt will be a bitch to get down the first time due to rust or something from living here in rain forest world) for $35 bucks on eBay. The dealership wanted $411! Definitely go to the junkyard or look at eBay, even Amazon as many sellers are going that route now.