Summer of Renewal: Jackets, sweaters, and cardigans, oh my!

 

Living in Florida, it is so unnecessary to have a bunch of jackets, sweatshirts, cardigans, and sweaters, but for some reason, I do: fifty-seven to be exact. That's 57. Wow! Some of these jackets date back to 1986, like my jean jacket from junior high school and 1988 for the jacket when I lettered in Chorus in high school. Some jackets my grandmother bought me from the Blair catalog and some my father gave me for Christmas in the early 90's. Some were more recently purchased by me for various reasons and from different stores ranging from the mall to the sports store to the thrift store. Included in this pile are blazers for my business power dress-suits and even a Snuggie for the cold night air (a total Christmas gift). Whatever the reason I have them, and no matter how long I have had them, it is now time to deal with it all.

One by one, I went through the jackets and looked at myself in the mirror. I was absolutely ruthless. I was totally brutal. If I didn't love the way it looked or felt or didn't fit the image that I want to project through my clothing, it was relegated to the donation pile!

In the mix, I found my old Missionettes Honor Sponsor jacket. This jacket meant big stuff if you were able to wear it to camp and retreats. It meant that you had completed all of the requirements to be a Honor Sponsor of this church version of girl scouts. Believe me, it was a lot of work and commitment. I taught two classes. Each class was basically a four year commitment. So in total, eight years of Wednesday night club meetings and tons of fun. Great memories!

 I sent messages to my Missionette ladies that I used to teach with and discovered that the jacket is "so yesterday." Now the club is different and so are the uniforms. I wanted to keep the memories and the proof of my hard work, but I didn't want to keep that horrible blazer. I decided to remove my pins and patches and donate the jacket. It's going to be so much easier to store these pins that a huge, ugly jacket.

I am not using sentiment or fond memories as my guide as I edit my outerwear collection, but the one thing in this pile of jackets that I will keep is my letter jacket from high school. I wore that jacket with pride and I can still rock it today. 
 

 After deleting coats, I ended up with what you see in the picture above. Basically, I have several black jackets of various thickness, one white one, and a red raincoat.

In the sweatshirt department, I kept only 3: navy blue, salmon, and a gray Old Navy.

 

 For cardigans, I deleted some from my collection, but these are an item I wear often to work and around the town. I kept 14 of these bad boys neatly rolled and standing at attention in the drawer, waiting to be called to duty.

 

Simplifying is not always simple when you are going through years of accumulated possessions. I am finding that the less I keep, the easier it is. When I've found that even after editing I'm still frustrated by the amount I see, I go through the category again and put more in the donate pile. I don't want to store extra stuff because it sorta looks good on me. I am keeping only what I really love and what makes me feel great. If I don't feel great here at my house in front of the mirror, I will never wear it out of the house. Clothes are meant to be worn, not to decorate the closet with memories. Editing and simplifying: these are the goals.

Health, joy, and peace. Let them be yours.
Much Love!