I Lost 100 Pounds Yesterday!

For real.

One hundred pounds of my own CLOTHES.  Stuff I have been hanging on to for decades (don't worry, I still have the oversized, 1981 Indiana Hoosiers championship t-shirt that will forever be my favorite sleepwear, much to Allen's chagrin).

This shirt was made when I was two.  I bought it for $10 from
my cousin Jared, because I loved it so much.  The t-shirt
brand is "Long Gone." Just like t-shirts that wear this well.

Not only did I get rid of half of my clothes from my closet and dresser--I also altered/fixed/sewed a sizeable portion of clothing that I have been meaning to alter/fix/sew some day.  

Some day is in the past!  That feels good.  And it also feels like I have two new pairs of jeans (I altered the flared legs and brought them up to current trends), two new sweaters (some quick hole repair), and a new button-down shirt (I took the extra buttons off the cuffs and sewed them where buttons were missing).

My closet: BEFORE

One hundred pounds (it was probably more) of clothes

I decided, at the beginning of the year, that I am tired of feeling guilty about jeans that no longer fit or shirts that are tight in the wrong places.  I have always loved a new year and a fresh start, but this year I want my goals to be a little more . . . mature.  I don't want to exercise so I can fit into those favorite jeans  again "some day."  I want to feel good about the stage I am in right now, even as I work to make changes or improvements.  

AFTER

Now, I open my closet and see fewer clothes, but know that all of them fit and feel good and bring me joy.  When I slim down, I can search for new favorite clothes--another activity that brings joy.

When I dropped a hundred pounds of clothes at the thrift store yesterday, I immediately packed on fifty pounds of books.  My sweet friend, Melanie, gave me the perfect gift for Christmas: a book by Anne Bogel entitled I'd Rather Be Reading (2020 Books, review #60).  Whew!  This collection of essays about books, reading, and readers made me fall in love with my favorite hobby all over again (I also subscribed to her podcast by the same title, and checked out her website, Modern Mrs. Darcy).  Then I passed that lovely book on to a new book-loving friend!  Can't wait to give some of these a try:

I had three of these books in my amazon wishlist already,
so it was awesome to find them on the cheap!

Books for Mollie (and myself, I admit)

Books for Calvin and for our children's home library in general

De-junking and organizing my laundry room cupboards is something that has been on my to-do list since the kids went back to school last Fall, and The Great Clothing Purge has given me the motivation I need to tackle that next.

Maybe. 

After all, there are a lot of books to read, blog posts to write, new recipes to try, board games to play, and garden vegetables and flowers to plan for 2021 . . . plus backpacking.  No more guilting myself about all the things I'm not doing--I want to enjoy what I am doing.

When I took the above picture of Calvin's books, I realized again how
much I love my book nook at the top of the stairs.  I feel happy every
time I walk upstairs and see my beautiful, colorful, young adult shelves.