My good value shopping mojo is working

Just a note to say that we continue to be busy between furnishing the house, visiting family, getting out and about even if only for errands and general daily life.

I am thrilled that we have moved on to starting to fill in the furnishing gaps in our home. We even hung a picture to fill in a big gap over the kitchen sink. My Dad created this landscape drawing with pastels and it makes me happy to have it where I can enjoy it many times a day.

So that shopping mojo:

Today we went to an organic mattress store and found a very viable option and one I really love that is not viable unless you think about it being $1/day over 10 years LOL. Learned a lot about current mattress construction. Then we swung by Kohl's with a coupon and the Memorial Day sales in full swing and picked up much needed new bath towels and optimistically bought a mattress pad for the yet to be purchased king sized bed. We had been to lunch with my FIL and great aunt and didn't have the energy to decide on sheets, comforter, etc. Perhaps next week.

Yesterday I returned an online order that was too large and found at great sale prices 3 items on my clothing purchase list: lightweight pajamas, sunglasses and a purse.

Hope this streak continues!

Do you have any luck shopping sales? Do you work from a list and stick to it?

PS. Got my letter from Social Security saying what my monthly payments will be when I start collecting in September when I turn 68. Glad I am not having to live on that amount and realize it is higher than many people receive so I am very fortunate indeed.

Too busy to shop for clothes

No new additions to my wardrobe this month as I have been so busy with babysitting/visiting family and selling/buying/moving house. I was going to run to the mall today but then a freeway overpass near it collapsed yesterday and the resulting gridlock is a good reason to stay home!

So as the first quarter of the year comes to an end and I am again downsizing my wardrobe while packing, I noticed that there are some clear all stars in terms of number of wears. I didn't look at items where there is only one option like my purse and I was living out of a carry on suitcase for 3 weeks.

I think these items say a lot about what my real life wardrobe needs to be and possible that I need more pairs of shoes LOL.

I found it interesting that no tops or toppers made the cut. That is where I add variety and color and I have more of those than the other categories yet often still feel like I don't have enough. Have to think about that.

Winners with 20 or more wears

- Grey zip hooded sweatshirt: this is quite old and I need to start looking for a replacement

- Navy knit gloves: bought this fall and I love them - In fact when I thought I had lost them at the dog park after a trip there with my son and granddaughter, I was ridiculously happy to find them in his car! They are long enough for my long fingers and just the right warmth for most days.

- Bronze ECCO flats: Great for warmer days & no socks

- Walking shoes: When I want my feet to be really happy more than I want to wear the my best colors these are the thing.

- 2 pairs of jeans: medium and dark wash

- Navy belt: of course; see jeans - leather from LLBean

In second place with 15 - 19 wears:

- Navy packable down jacket: It wasn't too cold this winter so this wasn't worn daily like last year. Still love it!

- Navy Clarks Nubuck loafers: Great with socks & jeans!

- Charcoal jeans: Just about ready to let these go but not quite yet.

And the runners up with 10 - 14 wears:

- More shoes: Clarks navy flats and Clarks grey flats

- More jeans: Army green this time.

- Green long sleeve top: Hey, it was in my suitcase!

- Black belt: See Charcoal jeans LOL

There you are - the hardest working clothing in my wardrobe so far this year with navy and clearly the leading color. I do need to lighten up.

Building my Retirement Wardrobe - January 2017 update

I really have been limiting my shopping to my list because I don't need to add extra stuff in my life right before a move!

Any clothing purchases in the first 3 months of this year will be focused on making sure I had the right clothing for winter in Atlanta and to travel to S CA for a week and then babysit in N CA for 2 weeks at the beginning of March. Also on the look out for items for Spring and our move.

I bought a pink knit top and camisole when I stopped at my favorite charity thrift store to drop off some items. It was 50% off day - $4.82 spent and a different color top for me. I have enjoyed wearing it already.

My watch broke so I bought similar Timex at Target since this is a functional item for me not fashion. It sits next to my Medic Alert bracelet so they have similar bands. $24.83 spent.

I was such a big spender this past month.

Well actually I have spent a lot, but it has been on bathroom remodeling, materials to "stage" our large yard, Pilates sessions, and plane tickets to CA for our February-March trip. Fortunately Southwest airlines was having a sale so the flights for both of us cost less than boarding our dog for 10 days will cost!

What I donated were some more old black items and a scarf that I have struggled with as it has too many colors and the print is too large and angular for me

Building my Retirement Wardrobe - December 2016 update

I added quite a few items to my wardrobe in December due to gifts and to hitting the consignment store bonanza on Boxing Day.

First the gifts. A friend gave me quite a number of pairs of vintage clip on earrings that had been her Mom's. Nicely adds to my collection.

My younger son and DIL gave me a "Generations" necklace to commemorate becoming a Grandma. Lovely.

So then there are the items I bought. 

Jeans and light weight pants.

 

A cashmere sweater and linen top.

 A purse to replace a worn out one and a scarf to help my black wool coat work better for me.

 I'm quite happy and all were on my list. Bought for only $90.

A number of worn out items went into the trash, some others into the donation bag. Progress.

Building my Retirement Wardrobe - November 2016 update

I am ready to stop experimenting with purchases and buy carefully to have a wardrobe that works for all my lifestyle situations. I am carefully examining what I own and doing a ruthless wardrobe purge too. Out with anything that doesn't fit my current body or my Colorful Casual Chic style.

Mid November I made this shift and am swearing off random shopping. I took Mette's 5 Year Shopping Calendar  and am modifying it as I go with what I am actually buying.

The additions since this change in my approach are knit gloves, a knit hat, a "coatagin" in hunter green, navy nubuck everyday shoes (Clarks). Total spent: $142. I'm happy with these purchases and have already been wearing all but the hat as it isn't yet hat weather here.

I've come up with 2 outfits with the cozy cardigan so far in this betwixt and between fall weather. As the weather cools I'll have to take some time to play with finding more outfits and more variation in necklaces.

Before I adopted the shopping calendar approach I bought 4 items in November 3 of which were thrifted and the other a vintage bracelet from Etsy. Two thrifted items have already left my wardrobe and one hasn't been used yet and may not be. Bad choices or impulse purchases? Both I'd say, but $29 definitely wasted and possibly $6 more.

What stayed for sure is this gray vest which was $14 at a consignment store. Although a lighter color would be better, I like the shape and it replaces an old black vest that saw lots of wear but is now just used for yard work.

What else left my closet? Gray jeans that no longer fit. Gray corduroy pants that never fit well, an old black cardigan and last year's navy loafers that were replaced this month.

What is on the potential purchase list for December? An everyday purse (replacement), camisole/underlayer for warmth, and a bra. In reality with workers in the house for the next 3 to 4 weeks I may not get to go shopping at all but that is what I would like to find.

I did decide to start with Mette's own shopping calendar and modify it as I gained information about my own clothing needs and the longevity of items. So far from three years of November purchases I have concluded that light weight gloves last 2 years, everyday navy loafers only 1 year, jeans are good for 2 or 3 years, some sweaters for 3 years, knit tops for 2 or 3 years, and hats last a long time. Generally I don't plan to shop often enough for shoes and, since my feet are hard to fit and hurt easily, I really need to plan these purchases regularly.

In looking at last year's November purchases, the navy loafers were worn out after one year since I wear them with jeans most days. The other 2 pairs of shoes I bought are worn less and have 1 or 2 more years to go. The gray headband and blue print leggings for Pilates are going strong and working well. A long sleeve t-shirt that was thrifted has developed a hole and is not going to last past this year.

In November 2014 I bought 3 sweaters that are still worn, a cardigan and 3 knit tops that are still worn.  This is the last year for about half of them. The gray knit gloves purchased are worn out. I also bought 3 pairs of jeans and all are doing fine.

How do you manage your clothing shopping to avoid churn and waste?

Rebuilding my Wardrobe: What do I really need for Fall/Winter?

I am ready to stop experimenting with purchases and buy carefully to have a wardrobe that works for all my lifestyle situations. I am carefully examining what I own and doing a ruthless wardrobe purge too. Out with anything that doesn't fit my current body or my Colorful Casual Chic style.

Mid November I made this shift and am swearing off random shopping. I took Mette's 5 Year Shopping Calendar  and am modifying it as I go with what I am actually buying. So the first step is to see what I am actually missing from my current wardrobe and/or what needs replacing. Then I can add in what I would like to add or replace.

Do any of you read The Vivienne Files? Janice has been doing a multi-part post on how to build a capsule wardrobe. I thought I'd give it a try with my current lifestyle in mind and with my planned 3 week trip to CA in late February & early March to celebrate my FIL's 90th, buy a house and take care of our new granddaughter for 2 weeks. Whew.

First step was to take what I have and follow Steps 1-5 of Janice's plan. Jewelry is not shown but I have been stocking up on it these last few months so have lots of choices and no needs. I'm not including sleepwear.

My closet is in much better shape for cool weather than for hot or transitional. Perhaps that reflects that summer clothing has to be washed more often so it wears out faster or that we have many more months hot/warm weather where I live now than we do of cool/cold weather.

I'm happy with the colors I have now although all the items don't fit as well as I would like and/or aren't the style I am aiming for, but mostly I have enough clothing. Just a few shopping priorities and a list of wants to replace some things. The photo colors aren't exact of course due to the vagaries of lighting and my phone camera.

To start, here is what I cobbled together for today. I am using my summer tanks as under layers until I can buy some.

Pants: Olive and greige slacks along with 4 pairs of jeans; charcoal, dark wash and 2 pairs mid wash. Boring but useful. I would like a pair of warm dressy slacks.

 

Note: I have 2 pairs of mid wash jeans but one photo.

Toppers: Some color here! 4 cardigans and a light jacket. I need warmer cardigans and/or jackets for everyday and for dressier occasions. I would like to get a warmer, stretch jacket to substitute for the light weight one.

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Tops: 13 of various weights and styles. I would like there to be more color. I have ordered 3 long sleeve t shirts (begonia, bright blue and hunter green - hoping they fit) and have a heavy burgundy tweed pullover an older medium weight pullover sweater which may be added/substituted. I need some camis/tanks to wear as an under layer to stay warm. A warm dressy top would be nice to have.

 

Scarves: 4 existing ones that will work. I've been buying accessories lately!

   
Shoes: 4 pairs of flats. I definitely need some warmer shoes that can be worn with socks. I have been ordering and sending shoes back with no luck so far.

Leisure Mini-Capsule: Sweatpants, yoga pants, walking shoes, fleece pullover, sweatshirt, vest, t-shirt. I may substitute/add a pair of hiking shoes, warm leggings and another long sleeve t shirt that I own and use mostly for Pilates.

   

 

Outerwear Mini-Capsule: Trench coat, fleece jacket, down jacket, gloves and hat. As the weather changes I will add a heavier coat from the 2 that I own. I'm going to wait on buying a new winter coat unless I just happen upon a perfect one this year.

Also Rans: I have 3 older 3/4 sleeve tops and a skirt for funerals or other sober occasions along with a pair of taupe wedges that could be used as well.

SHOPPING CALENDAR: This has been helpful in creating my shopping list.

Priorities: Warmer shoes that can be worn with socks and go with jeans; camis/tanks for under layers, gloves, knit hat, and winter pajamas.

Wants: Dress slacks & a warm dress top OR a warm dress & tights, dressy blazer/jacket, replace purse, replace winter robe, one warm everyday neutral cardigan, an everyday stretch jacket to substitute for lightweight one, wool coat to replace 2 winter coats.