How to Part With an 'Overwhelming' Wardrobe...

-Love that part in the movie. Chick-Flicks

For people such as myself that find it very difficult to part with an article of clothing, it can be challenging to finally give in and do so. Since I have been the same size since I was 15 (I count moving from a 5 juniors to a 2 in ladies as the same size) my clothes kept piling up more and more throughout the years. Finally I had enough sense knocked into my thick skull to part somewhat with my overwhelming wardrobe and for some time I would at least once a year scavenge through my closet and make a large pile to give away to the local Blind Thrift Store. 

But then a huge moment in my life came, a turning point really. In the spring of 2013, Hubby and I were finished with his seminary classes and it was time to get rid of as much of our stuff as possible so we could fit whatever else into our little Geo Tracker and move back to our home state before coming overseas. I went through my clothes over and over and over again. I had only 2 extra large totes to fill with my clothes plus my last minute suitcase. I went from a wardrobe of over 5 extra large totes to only 2 in a month's time. Week by week I dwindled it down more and more until finally it reached our limit. 

So, how in the world did I do it? What are the suggested guidelines useful for such a job?....

Give Away Pile:
1. If I only wore it once or twice a year.
2. If it was too out-dated to work with for a few more years to come.
3. If it was too young for my age group.
4. If it didn't fit right or suit my body type.
5. If I always hung onto it for a "just in-case" time that I could use in the future, but never actually wore it.
6. If I had too many items in that color or style. (I had over 50 skirts all only 2 different styles).
7. If I did not start to cringe and sweat when the thought of giving it away came to mind.
8. If it was too ugly, worn, or just plain ridiculous.
9. If it was itchy or just had a weird fabric feeling to it.
10. If it had absolutely no practicality whatsoever.
11. If it needed any mending or sewing of any kind to suit style or modesty necessities. -That's a rule only for emergency situations like the one I was in.

Keep:
1. It was easy to wear with lots of different outfits.
2. It fit well.
3. Was in great condition.
4. I loved it beyond reason.
5. Was versatile, practical, and cute.
6. My husband LOVED it.
7. Was very stylish and would be for years to come.
8. Easy to care for.
9. Was a color or style that was needed among my wardrobe.
10. If it made me look better. (Suited my body type/shape).

Throw Into the Trash:
1. If it had holes, stains, or was too worn.
2. Under garments.
3. Would be a horrible act upon another human being to allow them to wear the evil garment.

What to do With The Clothes to Give Away:
1. Donate to a thrift store or goodwill.
2. Donate to a church to give to a family in need.
3. Hold a garage/yard sale.
4. Give to a homeless shelter.
5. Make sure they are folded, clean, and not overly wrinkled before placing them into someone else's hands.

Honestly, that really big move for us was a big wake up call for me. I realized how overwhelmingly materialistic I was. Sure, I didn't have anything expensive except for my pearls and my engagement ring, but I did have a lot of 'stuff' that I held onto very tightly for not a single good reason. I would find myself crying over having to make decisions to part with my stuff, stuff that didn't have any value, stuff that was just stuff that would wear out and burn up one day. That move gave me the knock on my head and on my heart that I needed to realize what was really important in life, and that no amount of clothes or furniture, or nice dishes, or cute tables or picture frames could ever be of more value than family, friends, others and serving God. 

The Ultimate Brownie...and Many More.

These brownies were my recipe cut in half baked in an 8x8 dish. I used 1 egg plus another's egg whites.

The ultimate girl dessert, brownies. I love brownies, in fact I only know of one person I have ever met that does NOT like brownies...and that person will still eat them if they are laced with chocolate icing. Below I have my own recipe for you that has put many smiles on hungry faces.

Berdy's Brownies

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter -then melt (if you melt it in the microwave then put the heat setting on low.)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
bit of vanilla extract
1-4 eggs (the less eggs you use the more fudgy they are. 4 eggs are cake-like so I prefer the 1 or 2 )
1 cup flour
few shakes of some salt

Instructions:
*Place ingredients in large bowl in exact order of the ingredients list.
*Using a fork, mix well.
*Bake at 350 degree F. for 20-30 minutes.
*Lick the bowl clean.

After mixing in rest of the ingredients.

1. Sugar then melted butter.

Then cocoa, vanilla, egg.

Snickerdoodle Brownies
-every time I made these they were a HUGE hit. The only difference is that I used real butter instead of margarine. I sold out of them in an hour at my yard-sale last year, the same people kept coming back to buy more.
Chocolate Caramel Brownies

Slutty Brownies -That's just what they're called...I didn't choose the name.

What other brownies do you love?

Modesty Part 2: Shopping Modestly in a Non-Modest World.

Another great chick-flick. 

I recently hosted a 'modesty night' to a group of young women that asked me to help them with this topic. One of them asked a question that reminded me of how I used to wonder the very same thing, "How are we supposed to find modest clothing, that we like, when out shopping? It seems that all I find is immodest apparel that I would never wear." I remember as a teen and young college girl believing this very same thing, that trendy, likable, modest clothing was incapable to be found when shopping in regular stores found at the mall and other places. Finally it hit me around age 20 or 21, it is VERY possible and quite easy and simple to shop modestly.

How? You need to gradually train your mind to know what to look for and how to put together an outfit with a little help from your imagination...

Step 1. Tunnel Vision: Have you ever noticed that when you are interested in a specific something, say a type of car, that suddenly you see that kind of car everywhere? When we focus our mind on a particular 'item' we form what I call "tunnel vision", where our eyes/mind block out everything else around the item allowing us to quickly see, find, and focus on that one thing. Like when we are driving through a tunnel, all we see is what is right in front of us, everything else is darkened and impairs our visual picture except what we are to focus on. So, when shopping put on your tunnel vision and seek out only those obvious modest pieces. Don't allow any of the other things you see to get in the way, if you notice something ridiculous, quickly bounce your eyes off of it and focus them back into what you are looking for.

Over a short amount of time it will start to come naturally to you to find these items and it won't be so tough to seek them out. Then you can move on to...

Step 2: Train your brain to visualize an outfit. Seek out an item of clothing that alone is what you would consider immodest and focus on it. Then try to imagine what can be done to make it into a modest outfit.

Examples:

This dress is cute, but immodest. All you need to do is place a camisole or snap-to-your-bra cloth of some kind (maybe a white or light brown color) underneath to bring the neck-line higher. Then visualize it with a jean jacket.

It may push the length limits on some, if that's the case then simply wear skinny jeans or leggings underneath. Personally, I think a white or cream pair of skinny jeans would be perfect.

This is extremely immodest. But, it can be used as something under a v-neck of some kind, OR you can wear it with a high wasted skirt and a belt to cover any skin that may be between the top and skirt. Then finish it off with a jacket OR put a cardigan on and then the belt over it. Can you imagine the outfit I've designed? This crop top is then turned into a kind of 'undershirt/camisole', like how we would wear a dickie.

These skirts are too short to be worn on their own. But the right color of leggings or skinny jeans can make a really cute outfit.

I love long sweaters, especially when they are worn like this. This lady did the whole thing right. She kept it simple, not too gaudy or too much going on, and the colors flow well together.

There are such things as immodest skinny jeans and leggings even when worn under something. Make sure that you can grab and pinch fabric from your legs when wearing them, if you can't then they are too tight.

I love lace. But it can definitely push the limits of modesty sometimes. This gorgeous lace tunic would look beautiful with a light brown or cream color long sleeved shirt, turtleneck, or camisole underneath it...not nude, black or white (white would take away from seeing the lace).

Lace can look very sexual, something we don't want to be unless in the bedroom with our husband, so make sure that your lace is layered over something in a very classy and soft fashion.

This woman's lace was done right and looks so classy and attraction on her. All she needs is a string of lovely pearls.







*If you need help with visualizing an outfit and having some 'imagination', then just ask another girlfriend to go and help you. 
*Try things on. There have been many of times that I looked at something and thought it was dog-ugly, but then I would give in to my curiosity and try it on and it would end up looking so dern cute and my mind about it changed. So go out of your box and try something different on.


Step 3: Combine your new shopping mind with your wisely chosen budget and you are set.

Mixing Style with Modestly/Rules of the Game.
How to Have a Guilt-Free Shopping Spree

If we allow ourselves to get overwhelmed by all the clutter when shopping and we don't give ourselves a little 'imagination' then yes, it would be difficult to find a modest and cute outfit. But with some tunnel vision, some imagination, and a good budget then it is very possible to walk into your door feeling successful after an afternoon of shopping. Go out of your box.

The Lazy Girl's Guide to 'Cleaning House'.

I hate to clean. Hate it. And well I will admit....I am a lazy bum and I KNOW I am not the only lazy bum out there. So this is for all of you that are like me.

Getting Started:

1. The moment you are in a mood to clean, do it and keep going until you can't anymore. 

-I do my best cleaning in the morning.

2. Find what keeps you energized and motivated, for me it's putting some music on really loud.

3. Have your kids help clean and call it 'character building'...Did I just say that? -Pun intended.

-(Honestly I think it's great to involve your children in helping clean the house because it makes them feel important and part of the family. Plus it preps them for when they are adults.) -No, I'm not a mom. Yes, I think it's okay to have in plan my parenting techniques...and yes, I know it's subject to change once they come.

4. The 'List'. Make a detailed list/chart of things that need to be done every day, every other day, once a week, every other week, monthly, yearly, etc. And check it every day.

5. If you are squished for time and have company coming over soon, then pick the big and important things to clean and skip the little things. Honestly, most people don't notice if your picture frames need dusted.

6. Lower the standard. Stop expecting everyone else's homes to be perfect too. 

We all do it. We all live our daily lives in a home that's not perfect, and then the moment we have guests coming we panic. Maybe if we allowed them to see a non-perfect home, then they won't have to fret so much either...They'd probably feel more comfortable to make themselves 'at home' anyways (which is always my goal).

Below are some very insightful/useful sights I've found for you.

BetterHomes&Gardens -Cleaning Cheats -This was great.

'7 Natural Cleaning Cheats that would rock your world'

The Kitchen:

1. Don't keep a LOT of dishes. Only have in your kitchen the necessary amount for you, your family, and the regular amount of guests. That way you are forced to wash them every day.

2. Lightly squirt your dish soap all over your tile floors and using the sink sprayer, spray the floor. Take a large towel (designated for cleaning) and with your feet on the towel swipe it all over the floor. Lay the towel to dry and toss in laundry. BAM! No extra clean-up necessary.  That's right, I do that.

3. Use your Vinegar Spray to clean the counter tops and cabinets every day after doing dishes.

The Bathroom:

1. I can't remember the last time I lived in a place that didn't have extremely hard water that likes to leave stains. I discovered that if I squirt my toilet cleaner or bleach around the inside of my towel bowl over night right before bed that the long hours of the night will allow the harsh chemicals to eat away anything in there. Then all I need to do in the morning is swish around the toilet brush and flush. I'm done in under one minute.

2. Squeegy your shower walls after every shower to keep the hard water and soap scum from building up.

3. After washing the kitchen floors with the towel, ring it out (if necessary) and -using your feet- wipe it over the bathroom floor.

4. Using toilet paper (or a designated microfiber towel), wipe off the mirror after a steamy shower.

The Living/Family Room:

1. Vacuum hardwood floors (you'll need to adjust the floor setting on it) and THEN swiffer. Sweeping is completely unnecessary when you own a vacuum. BUT, if you prefer to sweep instead then get rid of your pile at the end with your vacuum instead of getting annoyed with trying to sweep it into the dust pan.

2. Dust using only a lightly dampened cloth. -No need for a dusting spray full of irritating chemicals.

3. Don't have too much stuff/clutter. Keeping your 'stuff' to a minimum keeps more space in your home, gives less to clean, is inexpensive, gives a 'cleaner appearance' and less work when moving. So every time you move, or just once a year, make a list of what you are unwilling to get rid of and what you are okay parting with and then give it away or sell it.

Less stuff = less clutter.

What have you found to be helpful in your cleaning routines?

This is for you. It was too funny to pass up.

Snickerdoodle Cookies

This recipe is not my own. Sometime in October or November I realized that I needed another cookie to bake instead of only and always making my beloved No-Bake Cookies. I knew my husband was the chocolate chip cookie baker between us, so that was a no-go, and then I remembered the forever under-rated snickerdoodle cookie. Yup! That was it. So I did some research and found this amazing recipe. I've baked them about 3 times, each time the batch made A LOT of them and the natives here seemed to respond to them much better than any other things I've ever made for them... I had men and women asking me for the recipe which in my opinion is the biggest food compliment you can give someone. So now I must share it with you...

Click HERE for the Snickerdoodle recipe. I feel too guilty to just write out the recipe on here as if it were my own, I would rather take you to the person -or site- I got it from. But, the recipe is too good for me to just keep to myself, thus why I am writing about it on my blog for you.

The only thing that was different for me was that mine baked a lot longer because my oven is weird like that and even though I followed all the measurements it made more like 3 and a half dozen cookies instead of the 2 dozen the blog says (it may turn out differently for you though). I also covered my cookies with way more cinnamon and sugar as you see in my picture of them above.

Enjoy!

P.S. I plan to share my 'brownies from scratch recipe' with you soon and 'how to know when to part with your clothes' topic...what are your thoughts on that? Thanks!

The Ultimate No-Bake Cookie

Out of all the cookies in the world, no-bakes are my favorite. They are easy, inexpensive, healthier, and tastier than any other cookie I've ever tried or made.

No-Bake Cookies

Ingredients:
1 stick (half cup) Salted Butter (not margarine)
1/2 cup Milk
3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
3 cups Oats
Dash of Vanilla
2-3 Shakes of Salt
1/4 cup Cocoa
2 cups Sugar (white or brown)

Instructions:

On lowest heat for open-fire gas stove or low/medium for electric.

* Place stick of butter into medium sized sauce-pan first. Then in this order add milk, sugar, cocoa, salt.

*Stirring often, bring to a solid simmer and let it simmer for a couple minutes.

*Add PB and vanilla and stir until PB is well blended.

*Add Oats and stir.

*Take off stove and with a spoon scoop and drop onto 

wax paper/parchment paper/aluminum foil.

*Place in freezer or fridge and let harden. -Usually takes about 2 hours.

-Makes 2-3 dozen cookies.

Helpful Hints: 

                 1. Don't add any more butter than specified or they will be gooey and never harden.

                    -A common mistake of mine when I am not paying attention.

                 2. Don't skip the salt. -It's also necessary for hardening & it bring out all the flavors.

                 3. Using organic sugars, pb, etc tastes just as good if not better with certain brands.

                 4. I once accidentally used "dark chocolate cocoa" and it was AMAZING!

For the recipe for Peanut Butter No-Bakes w/out the cocoa, click here. And for a site giving you 12 completely different cookies that are also "No-Bake" click here.

Guilt-Free Shopping Sprees

-Oh how I loved that movie.

Grant it, I am young, I am only 26 years old. And yes, I haven't really earned the prize of "giving out wisdom", BUT there is one thing I do know and that is how to have a large and decent wardrobe on a very low salary...I know how to find good clothes that will make you doubt where I got them.

Every girl has her 'thing', for me it's clothes. I could really care less about how many purses, scarves, coats or shoes I have but the one thing that is guaranteed to put a smile on my face is a new outfit. My family growing up never really had money for spending sprees. So I usually got my new clothes at Christmas or my birthday and all my other clothes were hand-me-downs. I was one of the few young girls in life that LOVED getting hand-me-downs. Why? Because that was new clothes to me. So over the past decade I have learned to work with what I have and shop for, ask for, and use what I will not regret.

Since I been married the budget in my life has been some of the most strict I've encountered. But the thing is, we've never approached a single week where we broke down wondering how in the world we were going to pay our bills or survive. I never felt like having a date was out of the question or splurging on a pizza and a rental movie was impossible, we have never once been  in any kind of debt either and yet between the both of us put together we've never made a salary more than $24,000. So then, how am I able to have a decent wardrobe when I've always been under the poverty line? Because I know what to look for, I know what to do, and I know how to make what I have work...

My Rules:

1. Never pay more than $25 for a pair of jeans.

2. Do not go over $10 for a top. (I usually don't go over $7 unless I'm desperate)

3. Never pay more than $15 for a skirt or dress (unless it's mind-blowingly amazing then I may squeeze it to $25 for a dress).

4. Shoes are not to be bought for more than $15...preferably no more than $10.

5. When unable to choose between items, go with the practical one that can be used with the most outfits.

6. Coats are to be bought at the end of the winter season during sales. It needs to be lasting, practical, and considered stylish for a handful of years.

7. Be eager to buy used...I love thrift store shopping. I've found some of the most amazing things when picking through thrift stores.

8. Be stylish, modest, and you. 

9. Name Brands do not matter.

10. Only spend money on it, no matter how small the price, if you truly like it and see yourself wearing it. If you have ANY doubt whatsoever about buying the item, then don't buy it.

11. Don't pick something that will not last very long in it's "fad" state. The styles that you choose need to last a good handful of years and still keep you looking stylish. Things such as brightly colored floral pants aren't the kind of thing that lasts in style very long.

12. AND MOST OF ALL....DON'T GAIN WEIGHT! -Gaining too much weight is expensive because then you have to buy a new wardrobe that will fit you. So, staying the same dress-size is what will help keep your expenses down because you won't have to buy new clothes nearly as often. 
-Exceptions are understood.

*Please Note: This pricing budget is just my own. If you want to expand your budget then that's perfectly fine. It's more important to follow the advice without the budget prices such as numbers 5, 7, 8, 10, and 11.

Where can such cute clothes with low budgets be found? Most usual places...but instead of heading straight into the new stuff that the store very manipulatively set up for you to draw you in, walk straight past that and go to the clearance section. Stores purposely make the clearance section look messy, unorganized, and overwhelming because they want you to give up sifting through it so you will go to the new and more expensive stuff instead. So be a rebel and pick through the clearance section piece by piece...only look for what you went in for and follow the budget -just because something is on clearance doesn't mean it's a good buy, so follow the given budget.

P.S. The Kohls clearance is amazing and if you use a coupon it will make it even better, I've gotten stuff for free before because of how low the sale price was and then throwing the coupon on top of that. The Old Navy clearance is my favorite though, but only because it's more my style.

I imagine that you may very well be saying right now..."What!?! That's ridiculous. There isn't anything good to be bought with that budget." Oh contrare my friend, there is. You see 'names' do not matter. There can be just as good of quality and cuteness from something bought for 5 bucks than the same kind of thing bought for 50 bucks. Why? Because 'names' don't matter. Name brands are usually what you are paying for, not the actual item. You just need to study the item you are looking at and make sure that it won't fall apart within a few washes. Most clothes, even from dollar stores, will last a good long while if they are treated with care.

Here are some very informative sites on the psychology stores use on us:
Psychology of shopping for bargains
10 Ways your local grocery store has hijacked your brain.
5 Ways stores use science to trick you into buying 'crap'.
10 Sales tricks you keep falling for.
Sales tricks to make us spend.

Every closet needs AT LEAST these things:

-Black Skirt

-Black Dress 

-Black Dress Pants

-Sun Dress

-White/Cream Cardigan

-Blazers of all sort...unless it is boxy with shoulder pads, that's a no no.

-Long Nice Jeans

-Casual Jeans

-'Dirty' Jeans

-Turtle Neck -the ribbed ones -They look great on women of every size and shape.

-A Decorative Scarf

-Jean Skirt

-Fitted TShirts

-Belts to be worn around the wast (black, brown, white, tan, etc)

-Overload of Undershirts/Camisoles

8 Budget Shopping Tips for Plus Size Women
Stylish Solutions for Plus Size Fashionistas
The Best Fashion Advice I found for the Plus Sized -Very detailed

What have you found that you always need in your closet?

and

What have you discovered that helps you with shopping wise?

French Twist...for short hair.

I used to think that having short hair keeps a girl from doing cute up-dos...but I've learned my lesson. Meet the french twist for short hair.

You Will Need:
Lots of bobby-pins (spraying hairspray on them right before use works great for helping them stick)
Hair decorative piece (optional)
Brush/Pick


Instructions:

1. Brush your hair.
P.S. I washed my hair on Friday morning and I took these pics on Sunday night...thanks to my No-Poo I been doing for over a year now, it doesn't need washed at all and it's thick and shiny.

2. Throw your hair to the side and pin up the middle of the head...You will want to make yours a little more secure than that above.

Then...

3. Grab all of your hair and roll it slightly inward...I was doing this blindly so forgive my messy hair.

Now grab your pins...

4. Push your pins in from the side.

Next...

5. Gently grab the chunks that fall and pin them in the lower section of the hair...along the hairline.

6. Find any and all little peak-a-boos here and there and tuck and pin. Depending on your face shape you may want to pull out a skinny chunky of hair from each side in the front.

And SMILE!

You don't have to place any decorative items in your hair...and quite frankly the placement of this one needs played with....but I do think that if I had more flowers it would have looked cute if I went up along the side a little bit with them but keeping them away from the top.

Have a good day!

If you would like to see some other hair things I have done just click on these The Reverse Tiara (double-twists), Unheated Curls, and Simple, Natural Dry-Shampoo-for those with lighter hair.

Your comments are very welcomed.