Tips to Help You Organize Your Clothes

Hello my lovelies,

Last month I realized something: I own way too many clothes.

80% of my clothing shopping is done at thrift stores so I don't feel that I have spent a fortune on my wardrobe. BUT. When a person has more clothes than they can possibly wear in a year, something must be done about it. I have also been hanging on to some clothes for nostalgic reasons and I tend to avoid wearing them to preserve them. (Ridiculous, I know, but there it is.) Others are just plain worn out from favoritism. I think some letting go has to happen, don't you?

So I've decided to purge! I have three clothing closets in this house. Now, now, hear me out! They are small closets and one of them isn't even filled all the way :P I also hang up most of my clothing. People don't normally hang up t-shirts, but I do 'cause it keeps them from getting wrinkled like they would be if I kept them in a dresser. I am not a fan of ironing so this is essential.
I was also very nice to Robert and let him have the biggest closet in our bedroom (and house), which fits most of his clothing. Someday I want to design my own walk-in closet, but today is not that day.
 

This is my entire t-shirt, flannel shirt, and cami collection; minus a few that were in the laundry pile.

 Today I'm going to start with my t-shirt, cami (camisole), and flannel shirt closet. I keep these out year round because I can layer long sleeved shirts with t-shirts or flannels with t-shirts, etc. Camisoles are a very important part of my wardrobe because of how thin and low they make t-shirts these days. 

I was losing my hold on the stack in this pic. My arms were sore the next day after this photshoot :D

Things to keep in mind while going through your clothes:

1. Inspect every. single. piece. Look for signs of wear such as: holes, rips, loose threads, stains, fading, and pilling (fuzzies). I may end up mending some of the above that I find, but if it's too far gone it's going!

2. Try on everything. And I mean everything. Does it fit right? Is it too tight? Too short? Fabric uncomfortable? Is the fabric stretched out? When you lift your arms or bend over, does skin show that you would rather keep covered? Is the fabric design or color going to match something you already own? Numerous times I have bought something just because I liked the style or fabric and stubbornly refused to think practically. Most of those purchases ended up being forgotten in the closet because I didn't ask myself these questions. Ask yourself questions like these, especially when you are shopping and take a friend with you for another opinion. Or simply because it's fun shopping with friends!

3. Do you need it? If you're anything like me, I tend to keep things because they have good memories attached to them. As I mentioned above, there are clothes in my closet that I no longer wear because I don't want to ruin them and am trying to make them last longer. What's the point of keeping clothing if you're not going to wear it? I don't need the shirt I was wearing when I experienced my first kiss, I have a picture of myself on that day. Bonus: I married my first kisser! I get reminders every day :)

4. Are you tired of your clothing? Do you own things that you loved at the time, but don't love now? I still have shirts that I had when I was 10! I'm 21 now, and my style has and is changing. Trends come and go, and sometimes I don't always like what is 'in style'. I do want to update my closet with some of the trends I do like and I think it's high time to part with some teen style t-shirts.When people see me, I want them to see an adult, not a teenager. (Which I often get mistaken for.) I'm keeping some of my nerd/geek t-shirts though. They is important!

5. You may be able to sell your clothing!!!! If something you don't want anymore is lightly used, you may very well be able to get money for it on places like Ebay or Poshmark. I know I've mentioned thredUP before and I've sent clothing to them in order to get credit several times. Unfortunately they are very picky about what they will take. They only accept certain brands and conditions of clothing, and last year I sent them some items that were only worn once that they didn't accept :P If you want to get the clothing back from them you have to pay $12.99 return assurance prior to sending the bag. I like buying from thredUP but I don't think the selling option is worth your while. I'm sure there are tons of other clothing buying and selling websites and options out there for you to choose from, these are just the ones I have personally used or know of.

 I'm sure there is more that I could think up, but it's time to begin the purge! I'm going to take this colossal pile of t-shirts and begin my investigation.

 Tools you will need: 

1. Needles - For mending anything you want to spend the time to mend.

2. A razor - This helps remove difficult pilling/fuzzies. Be very careful while your using this, I almost slit my fingers a few times. I also managed to make holes in a few shirts. Don't go too crazy with it or you'll end up causing more damage to the shirt than there already was!

3. Thread - Coordinating with whatever needs mending.

4. Lint Shaver - This works for removing some pilling, but it doesn't always work remove it all. Be careful with this too because if the material bunches up while using this, it will cause it to make little holes. Try to avoid going over the thread lines on your shirts because it can mess those up too. I speak from experience :P

5. Scissors - For snipping off those annoying loose threads.

6. A movie or music - To keep yourself from dying of boredom while doing this!

It's best to do this on a flat surface so that the material won't bunch up. I used our coffee table. Just lay out your choice of clothing and get to it! This does take a while. I definitely didn't do this in one sitting.

 Here is my end result! The pile on the left is to keep and the pile on the right is going away. I parted with almost half of what I started with, guys!!!! Pretty good, if I do say so myself.

I hope this helps you the next time you decide to organize your clothing! From now on I will be keeping a practical mindset whenever I go clothing shopping so I won't bring anything home that I will regret later!

Catch ya later,

Mary

The Week Before St. Paddy's Day - Day 7 - Plaid and Watercolors

Here is yesterday :

March 16th, 2015

Blue Plaid Shirt - Abbey Dawn - ThredUp
Green Celtic T-shirt - Thrifted
Jeans - Wal-mart
Celtic Necklace - Gift
Matching Earrings - Irish Fest.
Flip flops - K-mart
Sheep Bag - Blarney Castle Gift Shop - Cork, Ireland
 

!

I'm loving this outfit! Blue and green together are just awesome.

It was really bright outside yesterday. I had to darken the pics because it was so blinding.



Yup. Celtic flip flops.



My Wacky Woolies bag from Ireland :D

The Food:

The top of the Cottage Pie Robert and I made.

The innards.

The Craft:

A watercolor/acrylic splattering of Ireland. This was one of the pictures I painted for Shaylynn's 30 Day Drawing Contest. I'll be sharing the rest of them sometime...soon.

Feel free to join in The Week Before St. Paddy's Day Party! Share your Irish outfit, food, and craft the week leading up to St. Patrick's Day. Link up by sharing your link in a comment on one of these posts :) If you can only do one day, that's great too!

Cheers!

~Mary

Did That Just Happen? REALLY?!

SoOooOooo, guess what peoples!

I PASSED MY DRIVING TEST ON TUESDAY!!!!!!!! IT'S FINALLY OVER!!!!!!!!!!

It's surreal. I don't feel different at all. All I have is a piece of paper and a little card to prove it..... I think I'm in shock. I'm keeping my cool about the whole thing, which is very odd for me. It's like I'm being an adult about the whole thing. Yick :P Usually I'd be ecstatic about it, jumping up and down, screaming, telling everyone, etc. SO WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? I'm turning into a boring adult!*squeeks with fear*

I think the test went well. My driver instructor was nice enough, but very serious. She didn't crack a smile at all, but I guess if I had her job I wouldn't either :D That job would suck.
We got started right away, which I liked because then I didn't have time to freak. I hate waiting for things like that :P The first things she had me do was get in the car, buckle up, start the engine, test out my turn signals, brake, and sound the horn. This may sound dumb, but I had never used the horn before in Robert's car and for some reason we passed over that part when he was teaching me all the controls the day before :P So, I hesitated and frantically looked around for the horn. I've used one before (when I was little), but that was in a different car. It didn't take me long to find it and she didn't mark me for any hesitation on the report *phew*

After that we took off for the driving part. We basically just drove around the block :P I didn't have to change lanes, go on a one way, or anything really complicated. Just basic turns and stops. I think it lasted maybe 10 minutes? I didn't time it, but it didn't seem very long.

Then we headed to the maneuverability test area, and she instructed me to go the right of the point cone and guess what?  I DIDN'T HIT ANY FREAKIN CONES!!!!! Robert and I practiced and practiced and practiced some more until I finally was able to do it 4 times in a row both ways the night before the test!!!!! Btw, I'm sorry I left you guys hanging with my last driving-related post! The past few days I was just trying to stay focused and not think about the test too much.

After maneuverability, she had me park the car. (I did a really crappy parking job, guys. I thought I was done for.) Then she immediately started in on all the things I did wrong. My mind was going "ohcrapohcrapohcrap" I figured I had failed. Then I heard her saying that I had passed and it was rather unbelievable. I totally expected to have to take it twice.

I actually passed.

My end results were 85 points on driving and 95 on maneuverability :) UNBELIEVABLE.

So I did a little photo shoot when I got home from work.

I DID IT!

I wore one of my favorite outfits :)

I'M FREE!!!!!!!! Sorry this is blurry :P

*big sigh of relief* It really is over. Now I can enjoy my life :D

To celebrate, I bought myself a thredUP dress that I had been eying for a few weeks now. I'll show it to you when it arrives :) 
Mom also surprised me with earrings and a Sacred Heart of Jesus driving pin to put in the car (It actually belonged to my Maw-maw that passed away in 2012, so it's all the more special now.)

GAH I'm so happy :)

Thanks for all the prayers, support, and encouragement you guys have given me! I know all of it helped me get through it.

And to my hubby: Thanks for being there, giving me your shoulder during my not so fine moments (there were a lot of them :P), and for making me get back in the car and drive. I know I couldn't have done any of it without you :)


Have a goodnight, guys!

Cheerio :)

There is something about ThredUP....

Well, hallo :)

This is a post I've been meaning to do for several weeks and I'm just now getting around to it. But it kind of worked out because now I have more pictures to share with you!

I've noticed that several other bloggers have recently discovered ThredUP, a website that is sort of like an online thrift store. I'm mainly a thrift shopper when it comes to clothes, and finding this site was a huge highlight of this year. You don't even have to leave the house to shop! I'll just start with saying that it is really super cool and amazingly awesome.

I discovered ThredUP on Pinterest (Thanks to AmandaBeth for posting the link btw!) and I've been hooked ever since. The best part is that when you are new to ThredUp and you click on a link that somebody has posted or emailed, you automatically get $10 to spend and so does the person that posted the link, no strings attached. You can literally buy $10 worth of clothing and not have to pay anything except shipping OR if you've added shipping into the $10 limit, then nothing at all! 

You can also share your own link, which ThredUp will give you once you have your own account. There is also the option of sharing via email or facebook, and whenever someone clicks on your link, you'll get money to spend!

How awesome is that?!

Here is my ThredUP haul:

My ThredUP Haul! So far....:D

Pretty Polka Dot Packaging.

The hoodie and the two shirts next to it are by Abbey Dawn, one of my favorite brands that is no longer in stores. I just typed  the brand in the search bar and it gave me all the results for that specific brand!  The sleeveless jean shirt used to have sleeves, but I'd been longing for one of those cute jean vests lately so off they came! Getting one for free beats paying $50 in-store!

The red dress and black dress I actually got for free because they both had small tears that they didn't notice when they were inspected the first time. So I was refunded for both! Since sewing is another one of my hobbies, this wasn't a problem for me. Both are easily fixable. I was actually pretty pumped about the defects! :D If this isn't something that floats your boat, ThredUp does have a return policy if you aren't pleased with your item. I haven't had to use it, but I haven't heard any complaints about their return service as of yet.

 

I love their tags!

Here is the hole in the black dress.....

.....and one of the holes on the red dress. It's no wonder they didn't notice them on this one, they are very hard to see.

 Now, you are probably thinking: So what happens when I run out of people to share the link with? Is that the end of free credit? Nope! There is another way to earn credit to either spend or cash out on ThredUP. They have something called clean-out bags, which they send to you for free so that you can send nearly new clothing to them in the brands they accept. Pricing varies depending on the condition and brand of the item you send. All the info on what they accept is on their website so check it out if you are interested! Also, they cover the shipping as well, so this doesn't cost you anything!

My first clean-out bag! I haven't shipped it out yet, but I managed to fill it to the brim :)

Guidelines to follow. They'll send you this card in your clean out bag envelope.

On the other side....Note: the brands the state here are not the ONLY brands they accept. Again, check out their website for more details.

More instructions.

All ready to get shipped out! I'm pretty proud of this bag. I kept saying to Robert: "Just look at it!" :D

Well, that has been my experience so far! I'm thrilled with this site and I'm sure you will be too. Let me know if you love ThredUP! I love seeing other people's hauls :)

Here is $10 for both of us to spend! Have fun shopping!