“Buy less, choose well, and mix it all.”~ Vivienne Westwood

8:04am: Yawn, stretch, coffee…I really need espresso. No, better yet a smoothie. No, a smoothie with espresso in it.

9:36am: Alright, time to get dressed (enters wardrobe room…yes, I have a wardrobe room). Oooooh, I want to wear these boots today. Wait, where’s the other one? There is so much stuff in here. I can’t find anything. Where the heck did this scarf come from? I don’t even wear this belt. Where is my other boot? I need to buy more hangers. I thought I just bought hangers. How can I not find my other boot?Man, I need to go through these clothes.

11:08am: Will I wear this again? I haven’t worn this in years. That goes in the get rid of pile. No, I might wear that someday, keep it pile. I’m never going to wear that again, but it was my favorite shirt in 1998…get rid of it already! (Multiple piles all over the hallway, ready to be bagged.)

12:41pm: Consignment store numero uno. Top of the consignment store food chain, most particular, which is why it’s the first stop. (Hey, I have a system here!)  Why is the street blocked off? Seriously. Three blocks isn’t that far. I can totally walk that with three bags of clothes. Vintage stiletto boot heel pokes through bag, bag splits, clothes all over the sidewalk. Stumbles into store, armful of clothes, hefty cinch sack strap in teeth.

1:33pm: I can’t believe they didn’t take that jacket! They gave me a $70 store credit. Not too shabby. I had to kill time while they were sifting through items, soooooooooooo…I shopped. Found $90 worth of stuff, only spent $20 of my own money. Got rid of 12 items and accumulated four. Winning, still counts as downsizing. Pack up unsold items and onto the next one.

2:17pm: I hate this place. Oh my goodness, it’s packed. This is going to take forever. They give me the “We only take items in good condition , certain brands, blah blah blah…” My espresso is wearing off. There is nothing good here today, this is crap. Why are they taking so long? Did they forget about me? I can see my bag right there. Where did they go? I’m done shopping. What are they doing? Continuously circling the store peeking at the counter like a creeper, waiting for my name to be called while shooting employees irritated and impatient looks.

2:55pm: I think they just called my name! One scarf, they took one scarf? I don’t even think that was supposed to be in that pile, that was meant to go in the keep pile. I’m never coming back here again. I’ll be back next week and they know it.

4:04pm: That clothing swap is tonight. Gotta jump in the shower. I need to be there early to get the good stuff and I don’t want to be there all night.

6:57pm: Nice, I’m the first one here! Sets out the leftover rejected clothing from the day. I definitely need a glass of this boxed wine. Are more people coming? Who cares, I don’t necessarily need more clothes as much as I need to get rid of mine.

7:43pm:  Scored a few items, but am leaving behind a ton. Totally acceptable swap. Should probably get going, I don’t wanna be here all night.

8:06pm: Four glasses of wine later; all of a sudden more of these items seem like must-haves. This would look sooooooooooo cute on me. I know I could definitely do something with this! Yes, yes I need these. Ok, I’m really leaving now I swear.

8:57pm: Starting to sober up. Yeah, I don’t need this shirt. No, I would never wear this. I’m supposed to be downsizing, not accumulating more things I am never going to wear! My boyfriend is going to kill me if I come home with more stuff. I’m putting things back.

9:12pm: I need to leave. I’ll bring the rest to Goodwill next week for donation and they will find a new happy home. Leaving with one bag, redistributed three bags to better homes.

10:42pm: The lighting at that clothing swap was horrible! I could have sworn this sweater was black. This is navy blue—this is definitely navy blue. This hat is green. It looked gray. This shirt is gigantic on me, I look ridiculous. I’m putting this stuff in the wardrobe room; I’ll go through it in the morning I’m exhausted.

8:27am: Time to get dressed. Did I ever find that boot yesterday? Why did I bring all of these clothes home from that swap. I need to buy more hangers. I’m running out of room. I could have sworn I just bought more hangers last week. Man, I need to go through these clothes.

Angela Melissa Diaz is a self-proclaimed ecofashionista and thrift store/vintage clothing junkie. She’s writing for the ecofashion and wellness sections of elephant as well as bringing her social butterfly skills to the social media team. If you cannot get in touch with her via any forms of technology, she’s on her yoga mat flowing through vinyasas at 90 plus degrees or studying for her certification in health and wellness counseling. She hopes to save the world from bad food choices and stagnant lifestyles while reminding everyone to breathe and laugh as much as possible. You can reach her at [email protected] or find her on Facebook.

 

 

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Ed: Bryonie Wise

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