A Privilege

The third week of the ODP is, in my opinion, the hardest. The first week, it's all shiny and fun. The second week, you're settling in, enjoying complaining to each other, and figuring out the foibles of the dress. The fourth week is the home stretch; you're starting to feel excited about getting your closet back, and maybe even having a pang or two of nostalgia.

But the third week.

It's the doldrums. The Facebook chatter always dies down somewhat in the third week. You're bored of your dress (or I am, anyways).

People come away with lots of different lessons from the ODP each year. This year, I was discussing with another old hand how we feel like we've "learned our lesson" after four years of ODP-ing. But I've been thinking about that since, and ironically, I think that's turning out to be my lesson-- that I haven't learned my lesson, because it's not just a lesson.

Yes, in the first years I learned lessons about how little people notice what I wear, how little I can actually do with, and the benefits that simplicity brings into my life, among other things. But this year, the lesson is this: I'm in this for the long haul. I'm not going to "learn my lesson" and stop practicing this yearly discipline (not to say that everyone else needs to commit to lifelong October-dressing), because the exercise teaches, but it also reminds. It reminds me to stop and rethink the way I live, a sort of 'Reset' button for my life. It reminds me that for most of history and for most of the present-day world, mass-produced, ready-to-wear clothing is not available. It reminds me that living sustainably, frugally, and simply is not always fun, but it's always rewarding. It reminds me that I need less than I think. And it reminds me that saying, "I'm sick of this dress now, after 31 days," is a tremendous privilege, because I do have a closet full of lovely clothes to come back to at the end, unlike so many people.

It reminds me that I am blessed.

Pro-Creativity Win

Are you being creative with your dress? Are you really?
 One of our participants, Monica, just used her dress as a scarf. I'm so impressed.

Diabolically clever!

Pockets: A Rant

When you spend the whole month in one dress, you learn things. One of the things I am learning is that not having pockets is bogus.

Can we all just stop for a minute and assess what century we are in? Oh, hey, that's right, it's the 21st century! We have all kinds of technology and the Internet and stuff-- we have phones!

Okay, enough sarcasm, but seriously, in this modern age, what is a lady to do with her phone if she doesn't have pockets? (I keep mine tucked into my bra strap, but it's awkward pulling that out around, say, your grandfather. Plus, my baby notices it's there and goes digging for it.)

I think I'm going to make a pledge at the end of this year's ODP to only buy dresses with pockets in 'em. I should add it to the FAQs:

Q. Should I get a dress with pockets?
A. Without a doubt.

And We're Off!

I'm so excited for the Project this year! We have 140 people in the Facebook group; I can hardly keep up with all the photo posts. I'm truly honoured that my little idea has taken off like this, and the many ways people are making it their own. Here are some of the ways other women have added their own twist to the Project:
-Doing it with their daughter
-Doing it in honour of their grandmother
-Incorporating it into a year-long project
-Giving a daily assignment to help focus the Project
-Giving up sugar along with wearing the dress
-Using it to raise money for cancer
-Instead of wearing the dress, using the month of October to put everything in the closet into rotation, and donating anything that doesn't get worn.

Anyone else doing a twist?

Day One!

Yay, we're off! You can share your photos in the Flickr group if you're so inclined. Or the Facebook group. Or Instagram or tweet your pictures with the hashtag #ODP12. If you want to be added to the Roster, you can still message me as per the instructions on The Roster page.