Every year around this time I think to myself, “Man, I have a lot of summer clothes and now that summer is half over, I need to make sure I’m wearing them ALL.” Because clothes that don’t get worn have to go to the donate pile at the end of the season. I know Marie Kondo wouldn’t approve of doing it that way, but I think she’d be mostly pleased that I’m passing on things that clearly didn’t spark enough joy to be worn. 

Enter the #sixweeksummerremix. This is to ensure I’m wearing all of my summer wardrobe that I L-O-V-E without spending a single cent. 

1. NO MORE SHOPPING UNTIL THE LABOR DAY SALES HIT. That’s right. No shopping. No new tank tops or swing dresses or sandals or t-shirts or swimsuits or cover-ups or thin sweaters or maxi skirts or… oh my, I love clothes. But in all seriousness, I know I don’t NEED anything. I can certainly go the next six weeks without a new item of clothing. Who am I kidding? I could probably do 4 summers of no shopping on what I own and never repeat an outfit. Therefore, no more shopping. 
2. I will remix my wardrobe to create outfit combos I haven’t worn before. This is for sure a personal goal (and wouldn’t necessarily need to be your goal) because I can certainly repeat outfits from last year, but for an extra 3 minutes a day, I can come up with something new. I find it’s always worth the time and creative brain power to remix my wardrobe because my creativity + my clothes = cute outfit + personal satisfaction. That’s a math equation I can get behind! 
3. I post my outfits on Instagram and in my Facebook group specifically for remix challenges. It’s great for me to do these two steps because A. Instagram gives me a visual diary of what I wore. It’s fabulous. If I need a little inspiration from my own closet, I can scroll through my feed to see what I have and what I’ve already done. And I can, of course, find other people doing the same thing and get inspiration from them. B. The Facebook group is awesome because you can post your outfit or a specific piece of clothing and ask for style suggestions from the group, and there’s no pressure to have a perfect, pretty picture to post. 
4. This may be the most important part of the success of a closet remix: PLAN YOUR OUTFIT THE NIGHT BEFORE YOU WILL WEAR IT. Sorry for yelling, but I find that women that skip this step experience 78% more frustration and 82% more anxiety than women who do plan what they will wear the night before. Ok, those numbers are totally made up, but I promise you will feel less stress over getting dressed in the morning if you PLAN AHEAD.

Now, before you go thinking this is all work and no play, there are many benefits to remixing your closet. If you choose to join in the remix fun (please come play with us!!), you can expect these benefits when you join the challenge:

1. Maybe the most obvious is the monetary benefit – You won’t be spending money on clothes. Therefore, the money you would have spent can be spent on other things (hello, summer fun and back to school purchases!) or saved for those Labor Day sales and the purchase of your fall wardrobe completers (there are definitely some cognac colored booties in my future). I think Dave Ramsey would approve. There have been times in the past when I just needed some room in the budget. This is a great way to not feel bad about not spending. You can always say, “I’m using what I have right now,” and feel good about it because it’s a challenge that you CHOSE instead of feeling like it’s a restriction imposed upon you.
2. Your brain will be creatively challenged. Exercising your creativity is good for your mind, and if you’re like me, you need a creative outlet anyway. Creating a different outfit every day serves to meet that creative need, and let’s face it, you have to get dressed anyway. 
3. Joining the F-R-E-E Facebook group will give you access to a community of women just like you, doing the same thing, who will encourage you in your remixing journey. They’ll tell you they love what you’re wearing and, if you ask them for help styling an item, they will give their ideas, which is fabulous because it takes the guesswork out of styling the piece and you’ll probably get 3-5 different ideas for the one item! 
4. Probably the best benefit of doing this six week remix is you’ll know what’s in your closet, you’ll have a better sense of your style and what you really love, and you’ll be more inclined to purchase and wear items you LOVE rather than things you think will work. You’ll also identify what no longer works for you and can send it on to the thrift store guilt free!

You may have noticed that there are now only 5 weeks until Labor Day. That’s because I started this blog post early this week and I’m finishing it now. But that just means you if you join you have only 5 weeks to remix! 

Here are my looks from this past week…

Ok, who’s in?! Tell me in the comments if you’ll be doing the challenge. Please join the Facebook group (invite friends to join, too!) and use the tag #sixweeksummerremix on Instagram to make the most of it! 

I’m posting my outfit each day in both the Facebook group and on Instagram with an explanation of what I’m wearing, and two other styling options for my outfit using my style mantra “dress it up, dress it down, wear it straightforward.” Follow me to watch me maximize my wardrobe and get some style inspiration for your own!