100 day stretch: the inception

The Facts:

I have a lot of clothes.  I don't have a lot of money. I have some debt.  I would probably have a lot of money and zero debt  if I didn't spend it on clothes.  Or dining out (but we'll save that for another detox).

I would love to move out of my house and into a more ideal home for my family.  Ideal does not necessarily mean bigger and tons more money.  For me, it means off of a busy street and a better parking situation.  And a separate dining room for our wonderful family dinners.  The house I have now has been wonderful and really has met all of my needs, but I am ready to fulfill some of my wants.  Enter in - a lousy housing market.  You want me to sell my house for what???  I think I'll wait on that.  I want to go about this intelligently.  So, while it pains me to have to wait until our economy recovers a bit more, I am also looking at this time as an opportunity to better prepare myself and my family for when the time is right for us to move.  The best way I can make those preparations is by stopping my wasteful spending.  And my wasteful spending most happens in clothing departments.  So, I'm going on a saving spree, admitting myself into a Retail Detox.  *applause

My initial idea was "a year without clothes shopping," but that seemed a bit extreme for a weakling like me.  Then I thought 100 days would be less like torture and more like a spending vacation (vacation, really?).  And then I decided to call it a "stretch" because it literally would be stretching my clothing while I stretched my spending.  Oh, and my daughter said the word "challenge" is too overly-used already.  So, the 100 Day Stretch was born and for the next 100 days I will be in retail detox mode.

The Rules:

1.  No clothes shopping for 100 days.  Period.

That's it.  One rule.  I like to keep things simple.  And in the style of quitting cold-turkey.

For me, this retail detox isn't so much about remixing or being creative with my clothing (although that's one of the perks).  This is about saving money - bottom line.  This is also about being happy with what I have.  Because I have enough.  In truth, I have more than enough.  Why blog about it?  Because it will keep me in line and honest and I'm going to need an outlet for which to vent.  This is not going to be an easy detox.  I believe in retail therapy and use it often.  I shop when I'm bored, it serves as an entertainment for me, and I'll just run out to a store to pick up a fabulous clothing item I saw on another blog.  This is going to be crazy.  But in the end, I hope I realize that it's not happiness that I am buying, when I purchase that glorious chevron-striped blouse.  That my happiness actually comes from the other things I fill my time with, like people and places.  Not material things.  You'd think at 37, I'd have learned that lesson by now.  Alas, no.  But, I like to consider myself a life-long learner.

I am starting this thing ASAP and here's why... first, so I won't have time to go on a shopping spree before I even start.  Second, so I can be done right before Christmas and then go shopping the day after!  Duh.  :)

My 100 Day Stretch starts Thursday, September 15th and will end on Friday, December 23rd!

And you can bet I'll be blogging about it!