November Project 333 review

Hi there!

Another month has passed and we’re rapidly approaching the end of the year. I got a new planner which has a great space for me to note what I’m wearing each day, but I’m not sure if I should keep doing my spreadsheets and reviews next year or not. We’ll see what other plans I come up with.

In November I fell into my typical routine of wearing the same things over and over. To be honest, I do this year round – wearing something because it’s already out, or because it’s at the top of my mind because I just wore it. But in winter I tend to wear things because they’re easy to grab when I get out of bed and then it’s too cold so I don’t want to get changed. Since most of my days are spent at home with the dog I can get away with wearing the same tshirt for a couple of days, however gross some people might find that. (Hubby is the same way – he doesn’t give a shit). I have been trying to put things away promptly, but at bedtime everything ends up on the floor next to the bed 80% of the time.

This month I wore a lot of sweatpants (I don’t count them any more but assume I wear them at least part of most days), jeans, and leggings. I wore my maxi skirt and denim skirt, but barely wore my dresses. Long sleeve tshirts were necessary for part of the month – it got cold. Funnily enough, I wore my least favorite one the most. That might have been because I was saving the good colors for days when it mattered (when I was dressing for public consumption). I was able to layer a short sleeved tee with warmer pieces for part of the month.

A couple of pieces that I was uncertain of proved to be very useful. I wore my chambray shirt 6 times, layering it for warmth with a long sleeve top on cold days. The hot pink cardigan got a lot of wears too. I enjoy the bright color, even if it is a slightly weird shape. It’s a piece I can wear at home for just the right amount of warmth. I’m wearing it with pj pants right now!

We got down below freezing this month and I’ve had to break out the really warm stuff. Plush lined tights/leggings are a god-send. I wore them twice with skirts and stayed toasty warm even with wind chill (it was very cold for the PNW – but not Minnesota cold). I wore my wooly gloves, hat, and a couple of scarves to keep warm, and my boiled wool teal coat got so much use I ran out of space for check marks on my tally sheet. That’s my go to coat this year. If I was braver I would pass on all the rest of the coats, but I tend to go in cycles and I know some of those other coats will be just perfect for specific outfit needs.

The weather got in the way of wearing some pieces more often. The long teal cardigan is ideal at home, if I remember to choose it occasionally instead of the pink or grey cardigans, but it doesn’t work well for outdoor days because it’s longer than most of my coats and jackets. It’s one of those pieces that doesn’t get a lot of wear, but which can be very useful in those shoulder seasons – like for going out to eat in spring, when it’s too cold for short sleeves, but warm enough for open knits.

(Actually everything I was wearing when I started writing this needed to go into the wash, so I just got changed into something fresh, and now I’m wearing the teal cardigan. Highlighting the things I’m neglecting is a big benefit of doing this review.)

There were a few other pieces that just didn’t get noticed this month, or which didn’t fit my activities and needs. If I don’t start wearing the H&M black cardigan soon I will re-donate it. It’s not a go-to piece. I put my navy and pink short sleeve cardigans away in a tote in the closet (along with some special occasion dresses) so I can get to them if they’re needed, but not taking up space in my closet. The pink cardigan was the best option with my new fit and flare dress which I wore for the first time on Thanksgiving. Nothing else would have worked.

I’m still not excited about any of my pullover sweaters. My kermit green sweater gets a lot of use because it’s so warm, but pretty soon it just gets to feeling tired and stretched out, and the green is so green… it kind of gets on my nerves if I’m having a bad day. My 2 cashmere sweaters are wonderful – trim fitting (more and more so each year, and not because they’re shrinking) and simple, but I have had them for many years. I just threw out at the little piece of repair yarn that came with the blue one and it was marked with a Bon Marche sticker – which is what they used to call our Macy’s how many years ago? Probably a decade ago. There’s nothing wrong with keeping classics for a long time, but I do get a little bored with them. And the black one doesn’t work well with my ever-shedding pale fawn dog… that’s why it doesn’t get much wear. If only I liked dog-colored sweaters. (I don’t. Trust me. I tried! Ivory makes me hate myself.)

Last month I added 2 extras into my wardrobe – my black travel pants, which I’m (still) on the fence about keeping, and a homemade Day of the Dead skirt (middle top photo) that I wear once each year.  In December I’m adding an ugly sweater themed Christmas tshirt and a red white and gold tutu I’m making myself for the Jingle Bell 5k Run and Walk this weekend. That kind of thing lives in the appropriate holiday bin rather than in my regular closet.

My closet is comfortably full right now. Everything has a place and there’s a little bit of room to move. Not as much as I would like, but that’s because I need to store my quilts hanging in the closet. I don’t have a better solution. I was able to make space to put my laundry basket on the shelf of my closet so now my floor is completely clear. That makes me so much happier.

I’m re-donating my cobalt blouse this month. It didn’t pass the test I gave it (more about that later – I just finished a new decluttering book) and so it goes. Someone else can iron it.

Oh, and I just bought myself 2 pairs of boots to try on. The joys of online shopping… who knows if either pair will work, but I finally made a start on choosing some tall winter boots. I will be trying them with all of my outfits when they arrive. Fingers crossed that one pair works. I can’t really afford both. Btw, I love my long-term-borrowed rain boots as seen in the snow picture above, but they are not warm!

You’ll also see from my photos that I’m wearing my new glasses more often. OK, no, they’re not new. I’ve had them a couple of years, but my old glasses were lighter and more invisible to me, so I wore them more often. I’ve decided that it’s time to just wear the new glasses and get used to them. And so I have. It’s a different look :)

Thanks for visiting with me as I think aloud.

I have a bunch of posts I need to share with you soon.

Later,
Jo:)

PS the spreadsheet is in the usual place if you’d like more detail.

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