If you were watching Today this morning, you know that today marks the end of my sixperiment (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, click that link for a briefer). I’ve officially made it through 30 days of wearing only six items of clothing, often updating Facebook, Twitter and this blog with my progress. It was fun, monotonous, frustrating, a little boring, and very often a bit of a relief. My morning routine was, to say the least, streamlined.
I also learned a lot about how to edit my closet – what I need, what I don’t need – and I have a few bags ready to be donated. To that end, I thought I’d share some tips with you. Even if you’re not ready or willing to limit yourself to six items of clothing – trust me, I understand – it can be really freeing to clean out your closet and live a little more simply, whatever that means to you. The extra money in your pocket is just icing on the cake. More…
Could you wear only 6 items for 30 days? This morning on Today we reviewed my Sixperiment. What can you live with? What can’t you live without? How would you accessorize? Would anyone notice? Watch the video clip below to see what I discovered.
Black skirt (4), Black cardigan (3), White tank (2).
I didn’t post yesterday because I was running around like a crazy person. But I finally wore item 6, a plain light blue shift dress. For anyone considering doing this experiment, here’s my advice: Wait to pick an item until you really need it. I didn’t need the blue dress so much yesterday, but my husband and I were invited to an event by his new boss later this month and all of a sudden I needed something summery and appropriate. Voila. Item six. If I had gone with what I originally thought would be six – a purple cardigan that could have gone over any of my other pieces, I would have been stuck.
People – ahemm Meredith Vieira – are starting to kid me: “Didn’t you wear that yesterday?” In fact, the answer is more often no than yes, unless it’s a weekend, when the answer is always yes. By day 20 I am sure I’ll feel differently.
I am starting to see my interest in shopping for clothes fall off. Confession: At 11 a.m. most days, I visit Ruelala.com to see what’s on the sample sale. More…
The Sixperiment (Day 8: Khaki shorts, white tank, black cardigan, which is getting to feel like a uniform) is going well. I don’t feel compelled to talk about what I am wearing today, let alone really think about it. That may be because my house was hit by lightning over the weekend and after dealing with a stream of very nice repair folk and contractors – electrician, cable/internet/phone, appliance installer (the washer and microwave got fried), alarm system (ditto the smoke alarms, though we didn’t have a fire), etc. – I am exhausted. But it also may be because I am not a fashion expert. More…
We all know that shopping makes us feel good. It’s a scientific fact – when we see something we want, it triggers the release of feel-good endorphins and hormones that inspire us to make a purchase – something I talk about in my book, The Difference. But I know from reading many of your e-mails that, in some cases, this kind of feel-good shopping can become a real issue. When you shop compulsively – buying things you don’t need, and racking up debt – it can take a real toll on your life.
My good friend April Lane Benson, PhD, is an expert in overshopping – and how to stop. She authored a book – To Buy or Not to Buy: Why We Overshop and How to Stop – to help compulsive shoppers curb their behavior and live a financially responsible lifestyle. Recently, April let me know about a new study she’s working on to test her treatment for compulsive buyers. The treatment has been a success for more than 100 shopaholics – and it incorporates a series of steps that help to re-shape buying behavior, and keep you from falling back into a bad habit once you’ve fixed it. More…
Khaki shorts (5) white tank (2) black sweater (3). Fun scarf to pull it together.
I didn’t post yesterday because I ran off to give a speech to a group of financial planners in Boston (you didn’t miss much clothing wise, I wore the same thing I wore on Day 1). What was interesting to me, though, was that getting dressed didn’t make me as crazy as it had the couple of days before. I knew it would take me less time to choose so I gave myself 15 more minutes on the treadmill – and felt better as a result throughout the day.
On my ride home, I caught up with Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less and asked him to weigh in on my Sixperiment. He explained that because I had decided to understake this challenge, I’d be less likely to feel it as an imposition than someone who was forced to do it. More…
Black skirt (4) White tank (3) Black cardigan (2) — if I need it. (it’s going to be HOT)
For the second morning in a row, I was up at 4 a.m. And again, I was focused on what I was going to wear. This is totally not the point.
I’m an avid fan of the research of Swarthmore College Professor Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice. He divides the world into maximizers and satisficers. Maximizers are people who want more, more, more of everything. They couldn’t have a closet big enough with enough choices. There is rarely enough. Satisficers are the opposite. They search through options until they find one that is good enough, then they call it a day.
Schwartz says that being a satisficer is better. It makes you happier over time and actually enables you to get going rather than getting stuck. I believed, in thinking about the concept of six-items-or-less, that it would move me in the right direction More…
Last week’s NY Times story on the six-items-or-less phenomenon, where you choose six items of clothing, then commit to wearing them (and only them) for a month caught my eye. Could I do this, I wondered? Would I like it? Hate it? Somewhere in between? I weighed the pros and cons.
Pro: I am one of those people who have trouble getting dressed in the morning. I encourage my daughter to pick hers out the night before and I should really do the same. Sometimes it takes a few tries, which is especially difficult when you’re trying to get from the suburbs to the city for an early segment. This could be a time saver.
Con: It’s summer. And although I work professionally, I also work from home. That meant picking items that could go both casual and to an office. That would be tough. More…
They don’t call it smart shopping for nothing but these days it’s not the money we spend that’s making us feel brainy – it’s the money we save. That’s what the researchers from Deloitte and The Harrison group learned. They surveyed 2,000-plus consumers and learned that four out of five say they find saving money using techniques like coupons and loyalty programs “fun.” So fun, in fact, that 93 percent don’t plan to return to their frivolous spending habits when the economy improves.
The research – which is called The New American Pantry Study (PDF) – pointed to five different, new consumer behaviors. Take a look. Join in. You may be more satisfied with how you’re using your money if you do. More…
New research shows that in our tighter economy, people are starting to feel better about saving than spending! How can you get that feel-good boost in your day to day life? Waiting for sales, cooking from scratch, and learning how to (conveniently) use coupons are just a few of the ways I highlighted this morning on the Today Show. Watch the clip below!
If you were watching Today this morning, you know that today marks the end of my sixperiment (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, click that link for a briefer). I’ve officially made it through 30 days of wearing only six items of clothing, often updating Facebook, Twitter and this blog with my progress. It was fun, monotonous, frustrating, a little boring, and very often a bit of a relief. My morning routine was, to say the least, streamlined.
Black skirt (4), Black cardigan (3), White tank (2).
The Sixperiment (Day 8: Khaki shorts, white tank, black cardigan, which is getting to feel like a uniform) is going well. I don’t feel compelled to talk about what I am wearing today, let alone really think about it. That may be because my house was hit by lightning over the weekend and after dealing with a stream of very nice repair folk and contractors – electrician, cable/internet/phone, appliance installer (the washer and microwave got fried), alarm system (ditto the smoke alarms, though we didn’t have a fire), etc. – I am exhausted. But it also may be because I am not a fashion expert. 
We all know that shopping makes us feel good. It’s a scientific fact – when we see something we want, it triggers the release of feel-good endorphins and hormones that inspire us to make a purchase – something I talk about in my book, 
Khaki shorts (5) white tank (2) black sweater (3). Fun scarf to pull it together.
Black skirt (4) White tank (3) Black cardigan (2) — if I need it. (it’s going to be HOT)
They don’t call it smart shopping for nothing but these days it’s not the money we spend that’s making us feel brainy – it’s the money we save. That’s what the researchers from Deloitte and The Harrison group learned. They surveyed 2,000-plus consumers and learned that four out of five say they find saving money using techniques like coupons and loyalty programs “fun.” So fun, in fact, that 93 percent don’t plan to return to their frivolous spending habits when the economy improves.