Your BloomingtonGirl Goes on a Diet

Loyal Readers, it isn't what you think. Your BloomingtonGirl has not gone on a reducing diet, though it might be a good idea if she did right about now given that she is in danger of developing a middle-aged middle if she is not careful. No. She has joined a group of dieters who are abstaining from the purchase of apparel for a year. The project is called The Great American Apparel Diet. I read about it in a recent NYT Article and thought I should give it a try. I'll be blogging about my experience on their website and I'll post links here to my posts there.

I joined the party quite late - there is only about a month to go - so it didn't seem too daunting. But! I just saw that the woman who conceived this project is going to run it for another year. Is your BloomingtonGirl brave enough to take that challenge? Will there be a day off between "sessions" during which I can purchase a new rain jacket or trench coat?

The fact is that I do not need another item of clothing (with the possible exception of road bike gloves - do they count?) so it isn't as if I would go without should I take the pledge for a year. Indeed, I have items in my overcrowded closet that still have the tags on them after months or even a year. I'm going to give some serious thought about extending my participation for the year.

You are probably asking yourself why your sometimes fashionable BloomingtonGirl would do such a thing as deny herself new fashionable items. I asked myself that question as well. And, the not so satisfying answer is that is just feels like the right thing to do. I might even tally up all of the money I would have spent and put it aside and take a trip with the first of my daughters who is lucky enough to read this. My motivation is not entirely financial here, though I do like the idea of smaller monthly bills and less excess in my closet. There is something else that makes this compelling for me. I'm not exactly sure what that is, but I think I'll be able to put my finger on it over time.

I saw a few bike jerseys I might have ordered today were I not on this diet. I'm going to share them with you in the event that you have an extra sized M one in your closet that you aren't using and want to send it to me. Aren't they rather fetching?

Stay tuned for more from your Great American Apparel Dieter.