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And now, Normcore.

I started this blog in 2012. Now, six years later, I can’t even fathom wanting to spend even an hour shopping for clothing. I’m getting an uncomfortable lump in my throat thinking about it! I can’t think of many things more unpleasant than shopping. I don’t think I’ve stepped in a mall in over a year. Nordstrom has given up on me.

Whaaaat?

Guys, I have no idea how this happened, to this level of extreme.

This is why I call it extreme: I wear sweatpants in public now. It is so bizarre to even write that.

Usually I keep the sweatpants at home, but if I don’t feel like changing into something else… I don’t. I’m not a slob, but I’m 100% for comfort and convenience now. I want to wear what I have available. I want it to be comfortable. I want to look decent.

I’m having way too much fun with the Normcore concept, though! I am actively pairing too-short jeans with big-ole all-weather Merrell sneakers. Sweatshirts and jeans, just like when I was a kid. I’m also jumping ahead a few years, wearing leggings with drapey layers. I LOVE IT.

I do miss makeup, though. I’m just too lazy most days to bother. I still think it’s fun!

Sometimes I look around me and see someone dressed in a way I might have criticized at one point, and I wonder why I used to care so much. These days, I’m wearing the same few things over and over again. I really need to clear out 75% of my closet. This is a freedom I never imagined I would experience. People who have not struggled with a shopping and clothing addiction will never understand it. But when I get ready in the morning, I feel so light and unburdened.

I feel extremely lucky that this complete overhaul happened to me. I never expected or imagined it.

I’m pretty busy these days with my part-time day job, and an at-home business that I started in November. My boys are now 11 and 8, and totally manageable (…most days). I’m not under the same level of stress that I was when I started this blog. Life is so much better now. I probably won’t be posting here with any regularity, but I want to keep this blog available for sharing.

I also want to print it out as a journal to keep for myself. I don’t want to forget.

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Finally, an Update!

Wow, this update is LONG overdue! In a nutshell: I’m still not shopping! At least not for clothing and shoes.

Why haven’t I been writing? I moved just over a year ago, and the new house needs some work. We had our kitchen remodeled and now we’re painting almost every room. I decided to try to make window treatments despite only using my sewing machine for hemming once every three or four years.

Back to shopping. I can’t think of the last time I stepped into Nordstrom. I sometimes want to go to TJ Maxx, but then when I have time to go, I don’t feel like going. When I do go shopping, I shop with a purpose. I recently needed a few long-sleeved shirts that I could wear to the office, and some pajama pants, and I didn’t even browse the sections that didn’t have those items. When I do shop, I quickly get to the point where I really want to get out of there. Now I know how my husband felt whenever I took him shopping!

I need new black boots, because the two-year-old pair I have are incredibly uncomfortable now. Yet I don’t want to take the time to go find a new pair! I have another pair that I haven’t worn in years because they’re not my style anymore… yet they are comfy and they fit, so I might just start wearing those instead of going shopping.

I can’t imagine spending hours at the mall. Yet, I know that was all I wanted to do just a few years ago. I’m constantly amazed that this change happened, and I wish it was just a formula that I could share.

My whole view of what I wear and look like has changed. I like to look put together, but I don’t try to look polished. My shoes are good enough and comfortable, so I’ll keep wearing them. I’m most comfortable in a t-shirt, cardigan, and jeans, so that’s what I wear most days. I also developed a love for sweatshirts, so I wear those as “normal” clothing now instead of just on sick or snow days. My seventh-grade self is coming through!

But… I still have a compulsive streak. I was obsessed with tile and granite during our kitchen renovation, and spent entire days browsing online. I spent at least a month choosing paint for the kitchen, going to the paint store a few times a week. Then I needed a new car, and was completely addicted for over a month, test driving several cars at least 4-5 times. Now, it’s the window treatments. I’m obsessively looking at fabrics, both online and in-store.

This is the next vice I need to work on.

When I decide to take on a project, I become completely absorbed in it to the detriment of everything else. “Everything else” being daily life.

Though I don’t view this fault to be as bad as my shopping addiction, it almost is. I traded money for time. Instead of spending many dollars, I waste many hours. Many, many hours.

This blog is always on my mind, so I will try to start using it to break my compulsive research addiction.