This year, I set myself 22 little goals to pursue throughout the year. I call them the 22 in 22. They may all seem a bit random, but they were important to me at the time I made my New Year’s Resolution. Each Saturday, I take a few minutes to check my progress on a few of my goals.
And oops, diggity dog, this week I made zero progress. Or at least that’s how it feels.
Am I catastrophizing? Does that mean that my New Year’s Resolutions are poof gone with the wind? Well, maybe not entirely.
I dragged myself through the motions this week…the everyday stuff seemed to zap every last bit of energy I had until Wednesday…when I got a text message that gave me back a little bit of bounce in my step. (I’ll tell you about that tomorrow!)
Because I did wear clothes this week, there are two of my 22 in 22 on which I made progress this week:
#15 1€ or less CPW for each individual item, less than 0.20€ per item globally
Obviously, according to my little Pantheon spreadsheet, every single time I wear something, it counts towards reducing the Cost Per Wear. So here, without having to make much effort at all, I was able to make the teeniest, tiniest bit of progress.
And come to think of it, I am within one wear of finally getting one of my dresses down to 1€ per wear…this is a dress I have had since 2019, and I do believe is the priciest element in my wardrobe. Seeing as how it took 3 years, count them 3 YEARS! to get this dress down to 1€ per wear, it gives me quite a bit of perspective about just how much I should be willing to spend on an item of clothing.
Asking myself the questions “Am I willing to wear this item regularly for the next three years?” and “Is this item of sufficient quality to be worn for the next three years?” or “Will these colors hold up for the next three years?” or “Do I know how to care for this item well enough for it to survive the next three years?”…those are how I will be able to make good decisions in the future.
And I am fairly certain that the answer to most of those questions are going to be “no”.
I lucked out on this particular dress: it is easy to care for, completely crazy-adorable (but flashy, so I can’t wear it every week!), and well-enough made that it has held up. But I can’t see me ever dishing out that much money on a dress again, no matter the occasion.
#14 Mise en Place and Weekly Planning
More out of a sense of duty than of true motivation, I did manage to do my mise en place this week. And because, as we have learned about mise en place over the last two years, by displacing the moment in the day when I choose what I am going to wear the next day, I can project some kind of intention for my future self.
By deciding at 7:00PM the night before that I am going to wear a bright orange lace dress the next day, I am telling myself, “Tomorrow, if nothing else, you are going to be fancy.”
Incidentally, about that orange lace dress? I sewed pockets into it. Totally worth the trouble and the trial and error. Dresses should have pockets, period.
Sing With Your Feet 