Too Much Stuff

Every year for the past several years I've told myself that I'll buy less stuff, have less stuff, use less stuff.  I want to buy less cheap crap from Walmart.  At my age I don't need anything.  Every year, at some point I declutter my closet and haul several trash bags full to the local Salvation Army.

And in 2018 I find myself once again, looking at my closet trying to figure out why I have so many shoes.  It's like a sickness.  I can't stop buying shoes or t-shirts.

So once again I am resolving to buy less, have less and use less in 2018.  Once again, I'm on my knees clearing out my shoes.

Here's what I started with:

 And here's the new shoes I've bought this year already:

Yes, I know. I made a resolution and I broke it like in the next breath. 
BUT, I am determined not to buy any more shoes for the rest of the year.

Now to make room for the new shoes, these are the ones I'm getting rid of:

And this is the decluttered, organized shoe collection:

I know it still looks like a bit of a mess but there is a strategy.  I like to keep the shoes that I wear every day on the floor, right inside of the closet; easy access and easy to return them there.  I keep the shoes I wear on the weekends on the racks.  The new sneakers are sitting out side the closet because they don't stay in my bedroom.  I keep them in the dining room where I get dressed in my running gear at 5 am in the mornings.

Now on to the t-shirts.  I have two drawers packed full of t-shirts and I've recently bought half a dozen yoga type tops.

What you see there is at least 30 tops that I wear when I'm not at work and working out. 

I weeded out the ones I don't wear and don't need.  I'm get rid of 13.  That's still too many to keep, but it's the best I could do. 

Keepers on the right and donation stack on the left.

That's a good start.  I feel like I did something good this weekend.  I'm really going to try not to buy any more t-shirts or shoes this year.  I do need to buy some shorts for the summer because I've lost so much weight, what I've got is way too big.  I'll try to keep it to a minimum and once that's done I don't need any more clothing this year.  If I stick to that it will be a major accomplishment.

It's Time to Weigh In

It's been a month since I weighed.  I struggled so much during December that I was afraid to weigh.  I know I gained several pounds because I could tell the difference in how my clothing was fitting.

So this last week I was back on plan, eating right and exercising every day.  I did everything right, kept to the plan and when I weighed on Saturday the scale said 137.  That exactly what I weighed at the end of November.  So the plan works.  I  It got me down almost 5o pounds and it will take me down into the 120's, where I'll start maintenance.

This morning I told my husband that I want to get down one more size and then I'm done trying to loose weight.  He said, "you know that means nothing will change".  He's right.  In order to maintain I'll have to go on working the plan, eating how I'm eating now and exercising every day, twice a day.  It won't get easier.

If anything, it's getting harder.  I understand why the vast majority of those who loose weight gain it all back within a year.  The end of a successful weight loss journey is the beginning of the struggle to keep it off.  For me it's quite easy to stay on task during my work week.  It the weekends where I struggle.  And vacations are a nightmare.

As long as I'm working full time I'll be safe.  I don't think I can ever retire.