Jamiedodgers 4 month simple life challenge

OberonSH

I'm like you - worrying about teh cold weather and the lack of drying. Can't put stuff on the radiators where we are, as the house has a terrible damp problem as it is. Hopefully the new house will be better, as it has a sunroom type thing - stash the clothes in there to dry.

Decluttering is great, isn;t it? More room, less dusting plus more cash - fab! Glad it's going so well for you. If you're going shopping again - somerfield magazine has 10% off with purchases over £30, so that might help.

EagerLearner

JD - I want some advice off you re: clothing/capsule idea! Thing is I am petite size 10 and always end up giving up in the stores, everything seems to need adjusting and I have to factor £8ish onto trousers for adjustments. Then I get grumpy after say 1 hours shopping attempts... = failed mission!

Moving To Portugal - where are you moving to? I'm half English / half Portuguese - you'll def enjoy more sun over there & cheaper costs x

JAMIEDODGER

EagerLearner wrote: »

JD - I want some advice off you re: clothing/capsule idea! Thing is I am petite size 10 and always end up giving up in the stores, everything seems to need adjusting and I have to factor £8ish onto trousers for adjustments. Then I get grumpy after say 1 hours shopping attempts... = failed mission!

Hi EL,

i am also a petite size (10/12) and a 12 on the top half. i used to find it realy hard to find clothes to fit properly and end up not wearing loads that i had bought.

i started off by going shopping with one item on my list to get.....

a pair of brown trousers, that i could dress up or dress down etc, actually found them in new look, organic cotton range £20, i then took them to johnsons cleaners and had them adjusted to a length that i could wear either with heels or without, i have an inside leg of 25"!!!:eek:

these were perfect for me so i bought another pair and had them adjusted too. to me £32 for a pair of trousers sounded a lot but i actually wear them about twice a week each so cost per wear is very cheap!

i wear these trousers with:

smart shirts on their own
smart shirts with v neck sweaters over
smart shirts with tank tops

vest tops and hoodies
jumpers on their own
vest top and shrug


these trousers have a lot of possiblities and i may consider buying another pair to put away in case mine wear out lol

bottoms i have in my wardrobe:

the said brown trousers x 2
brown ankle length skirt
posher brown trousers with stripes through
posher plain black trousers
a pair of jeans


and thats it. i can make at least 100 different outfits out of these bottoms with the shirts, tops and scarves i have in my wardrobe:)

tops i dont buy petite just the normal sizes.

hope this helps

also........

cost per wear, i strongly advise using this method in clothes buying....

a £10 top which gets worn once is expensive
a £80 coat which gets worn pretty much everyday through three seasons for at least 3 years even factoring in a dry clean once a year is very very cheap!!!

jamie xx

JAMIEDODGER

just packed 17 items in a bag for charity:) and 3 for the textiles recycling bin at tesco!

there is def a less clutter feel about my bedroom now and it really is starting to show!

yesterday i acheived a NSD and today will be the same as i am still in my pj's!!!

more things to list on ebay tonight!!!

Pooky

Jacks_xxx wrote: »

:wave: Oooh... That sounds nice too.

Our house is blimmin freezing in the winter and I get very excited about anything that willl keep me warm.:o

I keep looking at ads for that shawl with the pockets in the back of magazines and coveting one. (maybe I'll put it on my Christmas List.)

I probably won't look particularly sexy wearing it, but I'm not very attractive when I'm grumpy cos I'm cold either so I don't mind. (and neither will Hubby if he knows what's good for him!)

Love Jacks xxx

A tip I saw on another thread was to buy a cheap fleece blanket - cut a hole in the middle for your head and wear like a poncho - should keep you a lot warmer than a shawl - you can always sew some pockets on if you feel the need

JAMIEDODGER

have managed to get nothing done today. woke up with a temp of 102 last night, have a kidney infection again. been to the doctors this morning for antibiotics. have ended up in hospital twice before for this so wanted to get meds as quick as possible.

boys were excellent this morning. they made the lunchboxes and dressed their little brother and sister, while i lay on the sofa with a cold flannel on my head, couldnt even stand up. fever seems to be easing a bit this afternoon.

wont be doing much until this has cleared up as i am in constant agony.:(

sophiesmum_2

Hope you are feeling better soon jamie, kidney infections can be really excruciating:o .
Sounds like you have the kids well trained though:D hope you managed to get a rest before everyone came home from school etc.
Read your thread lots but don'e usually post much, just wanted to say you are doing really well with your savings and budgets etc, can't be easy with 4 little ones. I have 4 but my baby is almost 16 so not quite the same. Wish MSE had been around when mine were little though - could have learnt a lot.:rolleyes:

Take care
sophiesmum

EagerLearner

Hi JD - thanks for the clothes info & sorry you're not well! What temp are you now? You will need to sleep as much as poss I guess (I know it's hard with a fever) plus fluids and the normal stuff. You know as you've been there before.... I had a week long fever around 3 weeks ago, shivvering cold then boiling hot - was a viral infection due to travel probably but more likely low immune system as my mum had just been diagnosed with breast cancer and I had just been to see her in Portugal after the 1st mastectomy. She just had her second two days ago, still hard to believe. Spoke to her this evening and she's down but trying to think about positive things, I'm trying to do the same so I am strong for her.

Anyway if you have any other ideas could you PM me or pop them on here as I plan to attack the stores next weekend now (a movie sucked me in this afternoon, Angelina Jolies new one Mighty Heart). I am size 10 on top and 8/10 bottom although this varies and sometimes 10 bottom and almost 12 ontop, annoying... I wear brown alot too - my last pair of Primark trousers were £5, plus £8 adjustment cost, then realised they were done *slightly* too short - doh.... another pair needed!

JAMIEDODGER

morning all....

feeling much better today, this infection really knocked it out of me!

had a charity bag come through the door this morning so am going to be filling that up for collection next friday!

ebay stuff sold ok this week, another £20 in the pocket and house a little lighter for it too.

will be tackling the bookcase in my room again this week, which doesnt just hold books lol (make up, hairstuff, cds, dvds, medicine, general crap etc)

hoping to get rid of a lot more clutter from that....

will update again soon

oops_a_daisy

Glad to hear you are feeling a bit better today JamieD. I have just caught up with your challenge and just wanted to say well done :T now I need to get motivated to have a good clear out........:o