Your Life - @Home - Tammy Smith

Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009

A day off spent shopping in the closet

I had a plan for my weekday off. I was going to be one of the folks who just happened to be walking the Ocean Springs-Biloxi bridge while first lady Marsha Barbour encouraged us to “Let’s Go Walkin’, Mississippi.”

The weather changed all that. A friend and I did do the bridge later that afternoon, but the soggy forecast caused filming for the public service announcement to be put off for another, sunnier day.

Hmpf. There I was at home, a fine mist in the air outside and gray, gloomy light inside. Sadie, my cat, had lost interest in the novelty of my being home on a Tuesday at least an hour earlier and was softly snoring on the sofa.

An earlier cold spell had caught me off guard, wardrobe wise, so I decided it was time to swap out the clothes. For those of you blessed with walk-in closets about the size of an average college dorm room, this is not an ordeal. For those like me who use their Room Of Shame as the off-season storage closet, the adjustment can take most of a day.

I took most of the warm-weather duds (gotta leave some in for those occapsional surprise heat waves, though) out of my tiny closet, then started loading up the winter stuff from the other room.

Isn’t it amazing what you can find when you do that? Just the week before, I thought I had some wardrobe gaps that needed filling, but I found that I did have a black A-line skirt after all. Same for more lightweight, long-sleeved sweaters. I even found a pair of pants, tags still on, that I had found on sale back in the spring. Bonanza!

These discoveries did put a damper on a planned shopping trip, but that’s just as well. I could use that money for more pressing needs. I was almost excited as I started imagining this top with those pants, that sweater with this skirt, a dress with a pair of boots.

If you’re like me, revisiting what you already have is essential now. Some people call it shopping in your closet, and that’s a good description. However you refer to it, it’s the smart thing to do.

Happy hunting.