The Great American Apparel Diet

Several bloggers have announced the start of their version of The Great American Apparel Diet. For some, it's a year without shopping. For others, it's no shoes, fabric or some other commodity, a shorter shopping-less time frame, or a slightly more generous but still buy less guideline. It's all rather interesting. My mind has been pondering the concept all week.

I don't believe in excessive materialism. That sounds so strange. Don't. Believe. As if with religious fervor. What I mean is that I personally cannot handle an excess of stuff. Because of that, I lean toward minimalism. I've always been that way. There are spaces in my pantry, on my closet shelves, and scattered throughout our home.

It's not a hundred percent but I tend to buy only what I use because stuff for stuff's sake has never appealed to me. It makes me itchy, anxious, cranky which is why I deep clean my house at least twice a year giving whatever I don't need to charity. That makes it all the more interesting that I react to the thought of The Great American Apparel Diet with strong resistance. Why?




I bought this computer case yesterday after a three year search. During that time frame, I looked for an attractive bag with many compartments and not much hardware in an acceptable color with an excellent price tag. I wanted nice but not outrageous. I'll only use it three or four times a year. I found cases I liked at prices I didn't and cases I didn't like at prices I did. For $23.99 less 20%, this one was purple and PERFECT.

That's MY version of The Great American Apparel Diet. Waiting for exactly the right item at exactly the right price. Not settling. Not making do. Not buying a whole bunch of things I don't like on the journey to finding the one I do like. The way I see it, it's not so much that I need to begin as much as I need to continue dieting.

If there's an excess of anything in my life, it is coffee, books, and material. Coffee is socialization. It's how I get out with friends. It's important especially as I'm home alone so much. Even before my dairy allergy, I had made the decision to buy plain coffee not a latte.

Reading is both entertainment and learning. Romances are my sitcom. They keep me from being too deep too often. I can't imagine sewing without Fit For Real People while Pattern Making For Fashion Design is both inspirational and informational. Books like The Thoughtful Dresser are just that - thoughtful. I buy books used if possible, romances locally, and more expensive non-fiction books online at 30% off with free shipping. It's unfortunate that I'm not fond of libraries.

While I have a lot of fabric, it didn't cost a lot. For me to buy fabric, it has to be at least 50 preferably 60-70% off. I know my taste. It doesn't change all that much so if a fabric works this year, it'll work next year, which means I can wait for the sale.

Buying on sale means that I can buy more for the same amount or less for less. That's good. I have a limited budget. I also have an active mind. I love to explore curious questions. I might want to make twenty t-shirts from the same fabric to test various alterations without worrying about the fabric factor. Since my focus would be on the learning not the price, on sale makes that possible. Sewing is both my post graduate education and my main form of entertainment. It is my equivalent of movies, concerts, and cable TV. It's what I do.

Warren Buffett was once asked why he didn't sell everything and give the money to charity. His answer had to do with the number of people that he employs who would then be out of work and the ripple affect that would have on the economy. On a much Much MUCH smaller scale, I think about my ripples. If I stop buying coffee, books, or fabric, I will be a contributing factor to the possibility of putting my favourite cafe, bookstore, and fabric outlet out of business. That's not something I want to happen BUT... I also don't want to bankrupt myself which is why...

... I try never to pay full price. I used to worry about that, that stores wouldn't have enough of a profit margin to stay in business however, since most of the mall seems to be on sale most of the time, apparently that's now part of the process. I also try not to buy more than I need, to recycle what I don't use, to refashion garments and fabric, and to buy first from a local store and then a provincial and then a national and then an international in order to support the businesses that support me. I try. Nothing is ever 100% one hundred percent of the time.

For all that I have a policy, I also have a weakness - fabric. Faced with a ME fabric on sale, I am virtually helpless. My kids joke that I say I'm going to the fabric store just to look and come home with the car heavily laden. They don't see the incredibly good deal. They see more fabric and don't I have enough already? Well... hmm... apparently NOT! Well... hmm... actually YES!

SO... in thinking about The Great American Apparel Diet and the spirit in which it is intended - which as near as I understand it is to neither over extend our budgets nor needlessly accumulate stuff - I am going to make every attempt to sew from my stash and buy only what is needed immediately or an incredibly good deal. I'll focus on "the diet" one pay day at a time. Can I make it from payday to payday without ______? I hope so. It's a promise I've made before. It's a promise I've broken before. And yet, it's as good a promise as I can make. I am weak when faced with fabric.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - thought provoking conversations

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Personal Growth - One of our local churches has a sign outside. It says follow God, he knows the way. So true.