“So, how did that pod dressing thing go?”

So, this summer was my first attempt at pod dressing. Pod dressing is paring down your clothing to 38 (or so) pieces. This includes pairs of shoes, tops and bottoms but not scarves, jewelry or bags. I did this for 4 months with the same pieces (more or less, see below).

Here is what I loved:

Each morning was so much easier. I had pulled my pod clothing together in one area of my closet and so finding it and seeing what was there was so much easier. Looking through only 30 pieces of clothing led to a less stressful morning.

I learned to mix and match better. I tend to match things – (you know, the blue skirt with a blue top) – but pod dressing showed me that the grey top (or the black top) worked just as well. And while not everything could be interchanged, more could be interchanged than I would have ever paired on my own.

I learned to love white. I tend to wear darker colors but a white peasant top and a white jean jacket were part of the pod. Wearing white made me feel more upbeat, look more upbeat and people responded positivity to my wearing white by asking if I was just back from vacation!  White worked with my coloring and never knew that.

What was a challenge:

In the first month I put a hole in my beloved black skirt. I have had this skirt since 2013 and it was a regular staple of my week. Sadly, when I was traveling I tried to iron it and put a whole in it the size of my fist! I did replace it so I wasn’t down a piece but ended up purchasing a skirt that was blue and white instead. I found I could make due with the other black skirts I had.

Not shopping: I became aware of how often I shop for clothing. With the pod my commitment was not to buy clothing until I was working on the fall pod and that was hard. It was especially hard with vacation in August and my usual pattern of picking up a couple new things for travel.

Shoes: I still have no idea what I am doing with shoes. Two of the pairs I picked (red heels, black flats) basically wore out over the four months. They were old when I began the summer pod and became more shabby during the summer. I never wore the polka dot shoes and the new black flats I bought never did become comfortable. I will need to work on shoe choices for next pod.

Did I cheat on my pod? Yes, a bit. For example:

I did buy a new outfit but did not put it in my summer pod. The plan was it would be great on vacation.  But once I tried it on at home, it looked terrible it. It was also pink (skirt and top) and so it really didn’t go with anything else in the pod. That added to my ease in not adding it to the pod.

My last cheat related to my laziness – a couple times I was behind on laundry and pulled a shirt from another part of the closet.

Overall, I realize this is a powerful strategy in my lightweight and low maintenance lifestyle.

What’s next? I am working on my fall pod and will post on that shortly.