This month's fast was in partial preparation for the "possessions" fast, when I will be trying to give away 7 items every day. Wearing two outfits for a month really does open your eyes to see how unnecessary the closet & dresser full of clothing are, especially when you remember that you have additional bins of seasonal clothes as well. I really didn't miss my other clothes. Sure, there were the "ugggh, I need to wash this AGAIN and I really just want to go to bed" nights-- seven clothes get filthy quickly when you have a nursing baby, a preschooler and make most of your food from scratch. The low point was the morning I had to unexpectedly take Liam to the doctor early in the morning-- the morning I was planning to wash my clothes-- and all I had clean was the black sleeveless top, paired with jeans. Did I mention it was February? I cheated and threw on a wool coat... and then realized (after I'd already spoken with the receptionist & nurse) that my shirt was on backwards AND inside out. Classy.
Getting dressed was super easy. No stress. I really did like that.
I understand why women wore aprons before. When laundry was a once-a-week chore, and you owned one or two everyday dresses and one or two fancy "church" dresses, you would want to keep as many stains from happening as you could. But I would want an apron with at least some shoulder covering as they are always filthy by day's end from dirty little faces all snuggling up against me. :)
Need is such a relative term. How many times have I said "I really need a new dress for ___." Actually, no I don't. Not only will I not die of exposure without it-- I have plenty of warm clothes-- but I also have an abundance of outfits to choose from. I am not a huge clothing-buyer, but even I can get emotional attachments to clothing. This month helped those "bonds" wither. If I can live for a month on 2 outfits, I can definitely give away half of my clothes.
I learned to mend and make do. Wearing the same clothes meant they got WORN. One day my shirt snagged and tore across the back. Instead of throwing it in my mending pile for the next 4 months (by which time it will likely be too hot to wear it anyway), I sat down and sewed it up that day. I did get a little tired of my pants by the end of the 4 weeks. When the jeans ripped in one knee I actually got a bit excited at the idea of patching them-- just so I could get some variety! Patching jeans is actually pretty tricky with my machine... but I do like the final version and it saved a pair of pants from languishing in my craft room!
I feel so blessed. What a privilege to have so many shoes that fit, that feel nice, that keep me warm-- enough that I could pick TWO pair, and have many left over! What a privilege to have multiple PJs, underwear, socks even as I wore the same 2 outfits during the day! And how amazing is it to have so many warm, fitting and cute options to wear every day!
If you only had 7 items of clothes to wear, what would you pick? Have you ever done a clothing fast? What did you learn?
