Back on the Wardrobe Planning Wagon

(Ask me how many striped shirts were part of the recent purchasing binge talked about below.  Too many, but this one was a good one, so I bought two)

Probably no one still reads this, but I had some thoughts to share, and figured I would put them up here!  I'm no stranger to the capsule/small wardrobe/slow sewing/you name it movement, as that's essentially what this blog started out as all those years ago.  I never quite seemed to come to a conclusion though or a stopping point, and instead it's turned into more of a time suck over the years, and I go back and forth on how much time and energy I put into it.  Especially now that sewing is a major hobby of mine, there is a tension with how much I make versus how much I wear and how much time I devote to it all.  All that said, I don't have any big conclusions yet around it, but recently I've gone down the road of getting diagnosed with ADHD and trying to deal a bit more with some focus and procrastination issues, which is helping in a lot of areas in my life, including some surprising ones like being more intentional about my hobbies and thinking through long-term projects, so I'm thinking I may try to apply some of that to the big wardrobe/sewing question marks floating in my head.

One of the common ideas in the capsule/small wardrobe genre is limited shopping, in particular, coming up with a list of things you need seasonally, purchasing them all at once and then putting shopping out of your mind until the next season/year/whatever time period you choose.  Obviously if there is a specific need for something that comes up, you can buy it, but otherwise you don't think about it.  I recently listed to an old podcast episode from Live Free Creative Co, and thought I should try that whole shopping thing myself.  Taking a step back, my shopping habits aren't great.  I've gotten a lot better over the years about my impulse purchases, but I do a lot of online shopping, and even though I send a lot back, that's not great either, the more I learn about what happens to that stuff.  Unfortunately, I'm also a sucker for targeted ads, and Instagram has my number (literally - it's a little sickening to think of all the data out there).  My strategy for handling that lately has been to keep a running list of things I'm interested in, and every now and then I go look at it and if stuff is still available and I'm still interested in it, sure, I can buy it.  

This worked fairly well, until last month.  I hadn't bought anything in a while, so my list was getting kinda long, and then I realized that everywhere was having memorial day sales, so I decided to just go through my whole list at once.  Let's just say I went a little overboard.  I'm sure my UPS guy and mail person aren't happy with my daily package deliveries, and I've just started the return process, with many more boxes to go back.  In some ways it was good to get it out of my system, but I'm not super happy with myself and more than a little overwhelmed.  

So here is my challenge to myself for the summer (we'll say a deadline of Aug 31):

• Finish dealing with the mess I've made by evaluating what I haven't even looked at yet, and sending back what needs to be sent back
• Evaluate my growing pile of repairs/alterations up in the sewing room and actually take care of them
• Figure out what a reasonable small seasonable wardrobe would look like (I go back and forth on whether to start with this, or evaluating my actual clothes, but I think I get too distracted with the actual clothes)
• Fill in the seasonal wardrobe with what I have and adjust to fit what I have
• Come up with a sustainable sewing plan (that has space for spontaneity and special things)
• Plan for fall (at least a few weeks before it actually starts)

A few issues that I know I've faced with all of this before is that I tend to not plan far enough in advance, and I end up giving up, and one of the things that gives me the greatest joy in sewing is making special unique garments, which don't always fit well in a small wardrobe plan.  I want to be mindful of both of these going forward, and leave space.  I also don't want this to be a chore and another checklist item.  Not a ton of specifics yet around anything, but I think getting some thoughts on paper (or the internet) is a good first step!  One of the productivity techniques I've been employing lately is the salami method - cut your tasks into very small slices, like salami.  For whatever reason, that name brings me great joy, and enables me to actually do so.  Getting to a small, sustainable wardrobe is my full salami, and I just sliced off a bit of planning and brainstorming!  Next up, finish evaluating my purchases and send stuff back.  Any advice?   Have you done anything similar, or struggled with this like me?