GIRLS' ROOM!!! What clothing do you own?

[DrJean]

Mindfulness, or whatever you wish to call it. Focus upon what we are doing at the time---only. We have 4-7 thoughts running around in our head at any one time but while we think we are "multi-tasking" the mind can really only entertain one thought at a time.

I need to THINK about what I am doing, right now, only right now. I'm typing in a What clothing Do you Own? thread.

If I choose a piece of clothing that requires attention while I put it on or wear it...(or if I am going to use an apron to protect my clothes) then I need to think about that when I'm getting dressed (preparing to eat, gathering "tools").


I have downsized my future travelling wardrobe by 4 cubic feet! YAY! Mostly clothes that no longer fit (too big) and a few worn out. I know there will be at least 2 more CF going as I will no longer need my "yard work" clothes or the old jeans I still keep around.

Sooooooo I have gone from planning for 20 cf of clothing to 16 cf. Good news.

 

[Gypsy Jane]

My van life is complicated by needing clothing for history events too. That takes up a lot of space. I would love to wear the eighteenth century stuff more but it doesn't pay nicely with modern vehicles. (Long cloak, full long skirts, stays) I do wear skirts when vandwelling in the modern world, and in the woods, but prefer pants for visiting house dwellers. I prefer natural fabrics for many reasons. A big one is, synthetics melt. I like campfires. Try linen instead of cotton for that summer wear! It's awesome. Loved the post above about merino wool. I have some, want more. I recently found online nylon hanging shelves with compression straps (available separately) so folded clothing can be composed tightly and take less room. Still trying to figure out how to carry less.

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[Gypsy Jane]

Play, not pay. Compressed, not composed.

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[DrJean]

I wonder if "minders" would help some people in forming new habits? I put a minder on my gear shift to remind me to set and release the van's emergency brake, for instance.

 

[TrainChaser]

DrJean, there's probably an app for that! ((grin))

I need something like 20,000 reminders a day. If I had a sticky note for each one, I would be spending all of my time reading sticky notes.

 

[DuneElliot]

I am a prepper and so I have lots of clothes in storage. It's a struggle to want to live with less but also having the mindset of needing to be prepared. I store clothes and boots under the bed and in a couple of the bedside closets. The main closet is full too. I wouldn't have so much stuff if, like Gypsy Jane, I didn't have my re-enactment/ren faire clothing to include as well as all the weapons to go with it. I've made it fit but I'll never have room to have someone move in with me! At least I won't have to invest the money I do make on the road in new clothes any time soon.

 

[Gigi]

Since I plan to live out of a minivan...minimalism is going to be my way of life. Deciding my wardrobe will be a challenge and a relief!

 

[DrJean]

IMO --both professional and personal--- if you think of things that you carry with you in life in any negative way, things that you enjoy, then you need to change your thinking!

I regretted the very idea of eliminating my books. I gave nearly 1/3 away, and I can live with that... and probably several more to go. What really opened my eyes was seeing a video of Bob's of a guy who was feeling badly about having to get rid of his books.... for what ever reason...it made him sad!

No, not me! I ENJOY reading and "my books" and so other things will be minimal so I can have more of what I enjoy: books!

For some of you here it appears those ren faire clothes are part of your LIFE and enjoyment... so don't lament having to give them space... minimalize on other stuff, even if you have "only" one good winter coat or boots... if you really find you need more later, you'll find a way to get it. Find space some place else: do you really need more than one pot or that many towels for example????

Rethink what makes you happy... it's your life you're recreating.

 

[DuneElliot]

I certainly don't lament giving them space. I love them. They give me joy. They will always have a place in whatever dwelling I live.

 

[TrainChaser]

LIVE WITHOUT BOOKS?????????

 

[TrainChaser]

LIVE WITHOUT BOOKS????????

Huh-uh!  Nope!  No way!  Forget that!

The people who don't read, anyway, tell you that you can buy new ones if you change your mind.  Yeah, sure.  I found a book on the top of my neighbor's trash when I was a teen.  The Revolt of Sarah Perkins (1965).  I looked it up on Amazon a year or so ago, when the cover fell off..... There was one available, for $80.  Just looked it up again:  for the few that are available, the price runs from $200 to $2,797.  $2,797???  That would pay for TWO YEARS of a storage unit at $100/mo.

When people say all of us should dump anything that won't fit in the van, I am beginning to think they are mostly the people who didn't have much to begin with.

 

[Gypsy Jane]

I bought a couple of hanging shelves that have compression straps like stuff sacks have. I folded clothes to fit on the shelves and they take up only 2/3 the space they would uncompressed.

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[Gypsy Jane]

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[gcal]

LIVE WITHOUT BOOKS????????

Huh-uh!  Nope!  No way!  Forget that!

How many times are you going to read that book? Get the rest on Nook or Kindle. You can drag around as many books as you want on your phone or tablet.

 

[gcal]

I am a prepper and so I have lots of clothes in storage. It's a struggle to want to live with less but also having the mindset of needing to be prepared. I store clothes and boots under the bed and in a couple of the bedside closets. The main closet is full too. I wouldn't have so much stuff if, like Gypsy Jane, I didn't have my re-enactment/ren faire clothing to include as well as all the weapons to go with it. I've made it fit but I'll never have room to have someone move in with me! At least I won't have to invest the money I do make on the road in new clothes any time soon.

If you have so many clothes that you have to store them and can't take them with you easily while bugging out, you are not doing prepping. You are doing hoarding.

 

[DuneElliot]

If you have so many clothes that you have to store them and can't take them with you easily while bugging out, you are not doing prepping. You are doing hoarding.

Hoarding is psychological/mental illness that involves an exaggerated emotional attachment to stuff; I'm glad you diagnosed me so well over the internet!!! Thank you doctor. Is storing a year's worth of food also hoarding? Ten years???

I never said I couldn't take them with me easily while bugging out; they are all under the bed or in the extra closets ie already in the camper. And prepping isn't always about bugging out, in fact it's mostly about staying put in your house/home/trailer. Until I move into my 5W the only reason for me to leave my property would be for wildfires.

 

[DrJean]

Yes there are big differences between those philosophies.

A prepper is hoarding but might not be a pathological hoarder.

Being prepared, saving for another time, etc are not bad in and of themselves.

The reasons behind the "keeping" are what make it healthy or not...

I was keeping so many of my mother's things because they had memories attached to them, and because they were very valuable. I took pictures of most of the ones with memories, and gave them away. Once I put my trust in God to replace anything I would need, that I was giving away, it was easier to give them to an organization that helps the homeless survive day to day. Ironic but kewl too.

Hoarding also implies secrecy. A prepper needs to keep secret that they have all that food stored, etc. or they'll need to battle the hungry and scared should that armageddon occur.... but that secrecy isn't pathological in and of itself. If fear is driving a prepper... hmmm

Clothing is necessary usually. And for hobbies and volunteer work (like my scouting) it isn't always required to be "handy" and at the ready... but is expensive to replace and sometimes impossible to replace some older uniform items. Not having it all, dragging it around day to day is probably a smart thing, right?

Yeah trainchaser... for me, gadgets are for fun, a hobby, but I'm glad I'm not addicted to them and can actually live without them.

 

[PathofAsha]

Well ladies, after downsizing a bit, I can safely say my entire wardrobe fits in a 28" backpack. (I used to have a 200 sqft closet)
I now only wear clothing from the FLAX company 
10 pants 
12 shirts
6 pair of socks (2 wool, 4 cotton) 
1 pair flip flops 
2 pair boots, 1 pair shoes 
Goretex jacket
scarves
flannel shirt
undies
I try not wear anything that isn't cotton, wool or linen. It's hard to do that with shoes. Washing is easier, my skin feels better and I find it's just overall a better thing for the planet. I gave up on jeans as they take too long to dry and I can never find any that fit right. The flax clothing takes only 10 minutes of no heat drying. I don't iron anything. Au natural looks better anyway.

 

[TrainChaser]

Actually, you only need a few pairs of pants. They differ from shirts and undies because of the body odor: you wear a t-shirt (etc) in warm weather and sweat and it stinks after a day or two. Pants, OTOH, you can wear for a week, because you have the 'odor-collector' between them and you.

 

[DrJean]

I like the idea of flax...

I just ordered new lingerie because the usual I wear took just too long to dry at the RTR... (of course if I could have hung them out in that wind! )

I need natural fibers... can wear very little petroleum based material and for very little time...

I appreciated my cotton bdu pants...and all cotton jeans... the one pair that had a blend was worthless in the cold weather, of course.

Have to be careful to not wipe your hands on your clothing hahahah

So glad to have had the heavy coat with hoodie for the RTR... I think I'll roll it up and make it a pillow the other times of the year?