It’s almost 6 p.m. and I still haven’t made it to the gym. But for good reason!
Our apartment is clean.
Floors are vacuumed (and scrubbed!). Counters are wiped down. Towels and floor mats are washed. My suitcase from last weekend’s trip to Chicago is finally unpacked.
But, perhaps the most freeing thing I did today was pack up three bags full of clothes, accessories and shoes I no longer want or need.
I tend to hold on to clothes for a very long time. In fact, the majority of the clothing and accessories you see pop up on the fashion page are items I purchased years ago. This isn’t a bad thing, but it’s not a particularly good thing when it comes to closet space.
When I went through my clothes this afternoon, I got rid of the clothes that fell into the following categories:
- Winter apparel that I didn’t wear once last season. If I didn’t like it enough this year, chances are I won’t like it next year either.
- Unflattering clothes I wish looked good on me. Sometimes I buy trendy items hoping that maybe they’ll look good on me. In the end they always make me feel awkward and self conscious. Gotta go!
- “I don’t care if these get ruined” clothes. I save some older clothes to have on hand just in case I need to wear something I can get ruined. I’m pretty sure three pairs of “I don’t care if these get ruined” jeans are two pairs too many.
- Duplicate items. For example: Button down/professional shirts. Now that I’m working from home, a small handful of professional shirts is plenty.
- “Bypass” clothes. You know the clothes you think are okay, but always bypass in favor of something you actually like? I got rid of a ton of those.
And then, since I was feeling oh-so-domestic, I decided to try my hand at making a whole roast chicken for dinner!
Ryan is still en route to Orlando (he should be here in an hour!) and I wanted to surprise him with a clean apartment and a filling dinner. Since chicken is to Ryan as whipped cream is to me, I think he’ll be excited! (And you thought you’d never see SAT/ACT-esque sentences again after high school! Psh.)
I didn’t really know what to do with the chicken, so I followed the directions on the packaging, and rubbed the flesh (underneath the skin) with some Woody’s Gourmet black truffle and fresh thyme herb sea salt and olive oil before rubbing the outside with more olive oil and a tiny bit of salt.
I then chopped up some carrots and onions to stuff inside the chicken and set it in the oven at 350 degrees to cook for a while (an hour and a half?). Cross your fingers that this bad boy turns out okay! We’ve got 45 minutes left on the timer.
And if it tastes terrible, there’s always fro yo…
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I love surprising my husband with those little things in life that I know he will enjoy! It usually involves some yummy food!
I’ve never roasted a whole chicken, but Ryan is going to be super impressed, and happy, I am sure! ha.
I LOVE cleaning out my closets!!!
I love your method for getting rid of things!! I feel like when I actually take the time to clean out my closet it is such a mishmash – such a good idea to pick a reason(s) to systematically go through things!
Hope the chicken turned out delish! They are great to use through out the week on salads, sandwiches, etc!!
froyo is always a life saver 😉
Can’t wait to hear how the chicken turned out. I’ve NEVER tried to roast a whole one (and I’m a mom and feel like I should’ve by now). ha! Oh man, and I sooo need to go through my closets and get rid of clothes. I like your catergories of give aways- I may have to copy you. I have to confess I still have some maternity clothes in my closet and my boys are 1 1/2 years old (I’m NOT wearing them anymore thank goodness). Yikes! 🙂
I spy some KD letters! I was a Kappa Delta at SDSU! AOT!
dang girl, you were PRODUCTIVE!! i’m so bad at holding onto things, and probably a borderline hoarder. not in the freaky sense of people on tv (i don’t hold onto full on trash) but clothes and just stuff way too long so way to go on cleaning out that closet!! 🙂
Hope the chicken went well! When I moved into my new place in August, I got rid of 3 trash bags full of clothes! And I still have too much to fit in my closet and dresser!
It feels SO GOOD to clear out your closet… and you don’t feel bad buying new things! 😉
I’m the same way with clothes – I hold on to things forever! Every time I sort through them, I end up giving away bags and bags of clothes.
I definitely need to clean out my closet. I haven’t done so in such a long time!
I love making a whole roasted chicken! The last time I did that was when I made the engagement chicken. Yes, it does work! 😉
Best trick I have for roasting a chicken is to cut a lemon in half and stick it in the inside. and then cook it long and slow. comes out amazing everytime!
I never roasted a chicken before, and a turkey once- mine was upside down, too!! Yours looks yummy.
This inspired me to do a major clean-out of my closet! And I’m a Kappa Delta, too- nice hat 😉
I did a massive overhaul of my closet last year and was SHOCKED to realize how many KD letters I had just taking up space in my workout drawer…there had to have been at least $300 worth of recruitment, Panhel, intramural, Greek Week and homecoming stuff in there! I kept my absolute favorites then bagged the rest and brought them back to my chapter to give to one of my Littles — everyone loves old-school letters! (And I’m really happy to see that we weren’t the only ones with KD baseball hats!!) 🙂 AOT!
That is so nice of you to make his favorite meal and have cleaned the house. I need to do this for my husband more often 🙂
If you still have that purse I will so buy it from you. I love it!
I did the closet cleanout as well!
My sister and I are mailing each other “the good stuff” the rest goes to friends/consignment/goodwill!
I am in a clothes hell right now. I put on some weight a while ago and well my lack of motivation has kept me from doing anything about it. I have only one pair of jeans that fit right and it only took me 5 years to find a pair. My work clothes are even worse. I actually hired someone to go shopping with me. She was awesome and found me some good deals. Well 6 years later I’m tired of these clothes. Everything looks funny on me. I’m having weight/clothes issues at the moment, can you tell? : )
My biggest thing is I hate getting rid of clothes cause ‘maybe someday I can wear them again when I’m skinny again’. Maybe I need to tackle the closet again. I just hate not feeling like I have my own style yet. So I am constantly trying different things that rarely get worn in the end. Aah, I am such a clothes waster.
Okay that was probably more then needed to be said on a comment. LOL Congratulations on the clean up and hope the chicken turned out well.
I love how you cleaned out your closet! I am currently reading The Happiness Project (highly recommended!) and she is doing the same thing. It is really motivating me to do so before my big move in a week!