Tom never wore this jacket. It’s the wrong size for any of our sons.  It will be sold at the sale.  Bye, bye jacket.

We aren’t pack rats.  We don’t have clothes hanging in our closets with price tags still attached, with the exception of this Columbia jacket I purchased for Tom last Christmas. He liked this jacket, deciding to save it to wear it this upcoming winter in order to get one more year’s wear out of an older jacket. This upcoming winter we’ll be Belize.  He won’t be wearing it.

We’re not shopaholics.  As a good laundress, as mentioned in an earlier post, our clothing usually lasts for years.  A few times a year, I’d bargain shop for clothes for both of us, usually at the Outlet Mall, printing off their online coupons before shopping and using an additional coupon booklet for deeper discounts.

I’d usually come home with three or four bags of 40 or more items spending  an average of $5.00 to $7.00 per item. The remainder of our clothing shopping occurred online.  I’d usually purchased my jeans online at Gap or Old Navy, and occasionally purchase new and unused jeans on eBay. 

Wearing an odd size, a small with an extra long inseam of 35,” it’s been necessary for me to order jeans online at these two web sites that magically can accommodate my needs.  Knowing the fit of their jeans enables me to buy online, seldom requiring a return. 

Over the past 8 years, I have accumulated 12 pairs of jeans, most of which are in near perfect condition, none of which will travel the world with us.  In 2004, I lost 50 pounds.  My friends and family complained I was too thin (ah, love those words!)  

Over the years, I purposely gained back 8 pounds in an effort to stop their whining, now holding steady for the past 3 years.  Most of those jeans are a little tight, although I’ve continued to wear them.  They won’t go with us.  Tom and I both decided that not one uncomfortable item will go into our suitcases. Not one.  The 12 pairs of jeans are going into the “to be sold” pile.

Sunday morning, before the Vikings football game (way to go Vikings!), Tom and I tackled (no pun intended) his dresser drawers and walk-in closet.  Our goal was to complete the packing of his following:

1. Clothes to wear on the four day road trip to Scottsdale
2. Clothes to wear in Scottsdale, Arizona in November and part of December, during their cool but not cold season
3. Clothes to wear for our eight day trip to Henderson, Nevada over Christmas for the very cool winter weather, as low as 35 degrees any morning.
4. Clothes to be packed, all of which is already purchased for our first three years traveling the world.

It didn’t go quite as planned. Once we started emptying the drawers and going through his closet, for a few moments I felt a pang of being overwhelmed. Having gradually worked on my clothes over several months it was relatively stress free.  Tackling this job in one day was quite the task.  Stay calm, I reminded myself.  I stayed calm.  So did Tom.