Upon a bit of reflection, many of Mum's lectures and nags about how I don't wear most of the things in my wardrobe, come to mind. PeiChi told me about her workmate who clears her wardrobe and only shops for 10 items of clothing per season, and when that season is over, she donates/throws the clothes away and starts new with 10 new ones. Pretty revolutionary when I first heard it.
However, the thread linked to a site called Six Items or Less, which is where the original, and actual project started worldwide. About 100+ people joined in the challenge of selecting and committing to wearing 6 items of clothing, and wearing it indifferent combinations; one woman claimed her husband didn't even notice, and another girl, her parents. Pretty amazing right? Day in and day out, many around the world blogged about their adventure/journey/plight/nightmare or whatever it was, and it's amazing reading about them getting to the finish line and reflecting on the change they have gone through in their lives, whether it be moving out of home and into college, or travelling on a trip overseas.
I've always had an issue with overpacking on camp; I think it's the Asian inside me... or my mum constantly reminding me that I could do no wrong by carrying extra, whether it be camp in Year 2, camp in Year 7, Duke of Ed in Year 9 and 10, travelling overseas to HK (where my parents tell me that I'm going to buy lots of clothes anyway), or even law camp last year, where the bus driver smirked/laughed at me asking, "So how many days are you going for?" as I loaded by bag on the bus. I didn't answer and just smiled embarrassedly, running away - wait, make that half running away, because of the shell on my back, which was in reality the huge Duke of Ed-style backpack my mum encouraged me to bring.
So the thought of travelling for almost two months at the end of the year scares me a bit, because I know I will be packing sooo much, despite advice to pack lightly as we'll be moving around and travelling alot. That, and because I doubt and in fact do not wish for my arms to be fully built after a semester of studying Constituitional and Contracts - after all, as Cheryl says, we're law students and not bodybuilders.
Hey, while we're talking about textbooks, really praising God for the people he's put around me and the facilities he's placed to help me not buy my textbooks this sem (because I'm cheap...) and a major shoutout to Jonolee for always being so awesome and lending me his business textbooks, even when there is such a high demand for the finance textbook :D you're the best!!! & hopefully borrowing and renewing the law textbooks at the library will get me through!
Anyway, so about packing for holidays, let me link you to a fantastic blog entry on 6 items or less by this girl who travelled a whole month overseas with 6 items of clothing, taking 5 minutes to pack (it usually takes me at least a few hours.. and perhaps a week for a 3 day hike! There's always something I manage to forget as well..).
I'll post some extracts of her entry:
My 6 included a pair of leggings, a skirt, 3 tops, and a knit jacket and let’s face it skirts aren’t really travel friendly clothing. Desperately needed another pair of leggings but was determined not to buy another one. As a result of which I think I’ve extracted as much value as I could out of that $10 I spent buying them...
..
By the way, my parents didn’t notice that I was wearing the same 6 day in and day out. A few years back I’d have gotten a good listening for not being well turned out, etc. Guess I managed decently with the 6. Also, a few of the guys I know have been swearing they live in 6 pieces (4 shirts + 2 trousers) of clothing any way. They just get a new set of the same every 6 months. Hmmm… (my note: word!)
..All in all here’s what I got from my 1 month:
– No need for spares. Be it clothing or stationery or anything else.
+ Leggings are awesomely comfortable. And they hang-dry way quicker than jeans
+ Check for longer lasting clothes. And bang for buck.
+ What doesn’t fit you anymore will surely fit someone else. Give it away
+ People aren’t always watching you and noting what you wear.
+ If you’re comfortable and okay, it’s all okay
+ it’s not difficult to stick to a routine,
especially when you’ve got a 100 other people doing the same thing :)
It brought a smile to my face the joyfulness and just enthusiasm these ladies (and gentlemen!) had on the blog, and I could tell they learnt a lot about being less.. wasteful (?) with their wardrobes... and there's ANOTHER amazing project this girl did called The Uniform Project where she (and others now!) committed to wearing this one particular black dress for 365 days a year with different accessories and items and stuff, to raise awareness for children who couldn't afford education, and she donated the money that she got donated to these children, and ended up raising $103,374 = 287 kids in school! Her outfits are quite amazing though, and you could hardly notice them at all :)
Sooooo, yes. I'm sitting at the library now waiting for Credo Public Meeting to start, and was going to do some law readings when I came across this! Hope you guys enjoyed reading and I'll keep sharing interesting things I find with you guys :D
