Hi. My name is Jen, and I am a pack rat. I fully admit my pack rat status. I want to change, but it’s not easy. (Admitting I have a problem is the first step, right?) My current hurdle — the ugly shirt.
It was a Monday, which in my house is laundry day. I knew we wouldn’t be going anywhere that day, so as I reached into my closet for the daily what-should-I-wear-today debate I grabbed a ratty old shirt. I threw on the shirt thinking to myself, “I’ll wear this ugly shirt today (like I often do) so I can save my nice shirts for when I might leave the house and see someone.”
Then I stopped in my tracks — I was seeing someone. I would be spending the whole day with my daughters. Wait just a second. Was I really wearing an ugly shirt that I would be embarrassed to be seen in while hanging out with my girls? What kind of message did that send about how I think of myself and them? Not a good message.
Staring at a closet FULL of clothes I realized that my closet has a problem. Not just the silly I-have-nothing-to-wear problem, but a real problem. My closet is filled with clothes that are “too nice” to wear as a stay-at-home mom and clothes that have been worn so much that they are pitiful. I need organization, I need closet organizers. But mostly, I need to purge my closet — bad.
It’s hard, I hate being wasteful so I hate getting rid of things I could wear – hence wearing ugly shirts. And in the shirts’ defense, they didn’t start off being ugly. And ugly might be extreme. They are just old – pilled, shrunken or stretched out (mostly from wearing during pregnancy). Once upon a time they were cute, but now just old.
In my efforts to be less of a pack rat, I immediately identified three shirts that had to go. No questions, no hesitations — out the door they went. It’s not much, but it’s a start. And more importantly, next time I put on an “ugly” shirt because I won’t be seeing anyone that day, I vow to take it back off and get rid of it.
So what I am I wearing today, a pretty grey shirt that I really like and khaki shorts (that actually fit). I have a long way to go, but changing my mindset is a start.
Wish me luck!
