First, thanks, All, for your thoughts. Today's my last day at work 'til the new year, and this is going to be my project. I was reading online what some people say they own /think is appropriate. One woman said she owns something like 250 hanging shirts PLUS an overflowing drawer of tees. Okay, I feel a little better about myself ... at a guess, I suspect I have 75-ish hanging items in my closet plus a shelf of sweaters above. Yet this morning I went to the dryer and pulled out a shirt to wear. Hey, I have two pairs of jeans, slacks in black, navy, gray and Khaki, lots of plain t-shirt-style tops, sweatshirts for cold weather, several pairs of shorts for hot weather. I survive. I'm pretty much with you ... in terms of what I actually wear. What I have that I actually wear is one pair of jeans, one pair of black jeans (which I sneaky-sneaky wear to work all the time), and two pairs of work-appropriate slacks -- one gray, one light brown with a herringbone pattern. I have a couple other pairs of work slacks that, um, won't zip anymore -- can't understand why! :( My plan for them is to pack them in a box and label them with a date one year from today. In one year, if I can wear them, they can stay -- if not, they're going to Goodwill without the box being opened. I think it depends on a lot of factors. Do you work outside the house? Do you exercise, play tennis, etc...? Do you live in a climate w/ four distinct seasons? How frequently do you do laundry? I do work, but I'm retiring in roughly two years. I just last night thought to myself, "I will not buy work clothes any more" -- or, I will buy sparingly, replacing only as actually needed. I actually do need a new pair of black flats. We Carolinians do have seasons, but winter is mild (40s being our typical lows). Thing is, these are also my church clothes and my going-out-somewhere-casual clothes, so I can't out-and-out STOP owning these things. But once I retire, I will not need the quantity I have now. Yes to exercising, but I feel comfortable with that arena of my wardrobe. I have "just enough" without excess. Similarly, my coats and shoes seem to be "just enough" -- that is, I have what I need, and nothing sits un-used. Must analyze: how is it that I've chosen better in these arenas? Shoes are kind of easy to analyze: A couple years ago I developed Plantar Fasciitis, so many of my shoes had to be replaced. Fortunately, my two daughters wear the same shoe size and were quite willing to take all those nice strappy sandals and heels that I could no longer wear. I can wear a couple brands of sandals -- and they're not all old-lady looking, but I have to be so very PICKY -- and I can wear any shoe into which I can slip my small orthopedic insert. Surprisingly, I have not missed one single item and it's refreshing to not have the closet overflowing. Yeah, I want to be able to say that. Do a goggle search on "personal uniforms" I didn't know that term, but I think I'm already doing that. My go-to work outfit is a Lands End knit dress ... worn on its own in fall/spring, worn with a cardigan in winter. I have probably a dozen of their dresses in a variety of colors. I don't wear this exclusively, but I probably wear this type of thing three days out of five ... especially in warmer weather. Also, search on" LBD project". "LBD" stands for "little black dress". Oh, no. I know you mean well, but I hate little black dresses. With all the colors in the world, why do women flock to no color? Go to a party, and all the women are wearing the same color? I own exactly one black dress -- one of my Lands End knit dresses -- and I always wear it with a colorful cardigan or jewelry. I want a closet that looks like one of those photo shoots in an Ikea advertisement where there are just two pairs of shoes, a couple of folded pants and a half dozen tunics. I'm not sure I want anything quite that minimal, but I understand your point. I am glad that I can sew, when I can find a suitable fabric to sew with. I can sew, and about a hundred years ago (when I was in college) I worked in the sewing section of Belk's department store -- they no longer have that department. I don't particularly enjoy sewing, but I'm compotent. Being 4'11", I do excel at hemming. I love loose linen pants and the concept of dressing that is referred to as "langenlook". It is a loose style of dressing. Reminds me: I recently saw a picture on a travel site of a woman wearing a pair of loose linen pants and a white peasant blouse. I have several blouses (in several colors) similar to the one she was wearing. She was saying it was a perfect, comfortable travel outfit, and it would work with casual sandals or Toms-type slip-ons. I liked it enough to look it up online -- I liked the pants in a tan linen and a pink linen -- and I thought I'd ask my husband to get them for me for my birthday, which is in spring. As I said, I'm not far from retirement, and I thought that'd be a nice type of thing to have as I transition out of my school-marm things. I have always been good at work clothes and ultra-casual clothes, but I have never felt quite comfortable with the "in between outfits"; that is, I'm not good at pulling together an outfit that says "full-fledged adult meeting girlfriends for lunch and shopping" -- and I'd like to be better at that. I can look like I just stepped out of my classroom, or I can look like I'm about to go cut firewood, and I do "fancy" well -- but I would like to feel more "put together" for casual events like a baby shower or going out to a museum. Hey, hey, hey -- STOP IT! I'm trying to get rid of things, and here you are encouraging me in a different direction! (Pouting.) Most women buy so many things in an effort to piece it all together. When I was younger (and used shopping as a hobby without fully realizing it), I was very guilty of buying pieces and pieces, especially sale items ... then never wearing them because I didn't have anything to match. I have become better about that over the years. I don’t think it’s outfits per se, it’s pieces that can make up a ton of different outfits. I think that 's a fair statement -- as long as they do add up to outfits. I've learned to be more intentional with my purchases. At this point I do have pants that I can't wear any more because the shirt that matched them was stained /thrown away, etc. my only exception is cocktail dresses, since they don't get worn as often. That brings up another issue ... fancy dresses are taking up more than their fair share of my closet. I'm at the age at which my daughters /my friends' daughters are getting married, so I need to keep these dresses. Obviously, I don't want to downsize my dresses, then find myself forced to buy something new for an event. Only one of my daughters is married, but I have two mother-of-the-bride dresses. A funny story -- funny now: I bought a great dress and was very happy ... until my mother-in-law texted me picture of the very same dress, saying she'd just bought it! She was iffy on whether she'd wear it or not, and I just couldn't trust her not to do it ... so I had to go buy a second dress, which I liked less. Both are in my closet. And in the end, she didn't wear the dress! I could've worn it to the wedding. Back to the point: How /where do y'all store such items? I was thinking of taking them off the hangers, gently folding them, and storing them in a basket on the difficult-to-reach top shelf. If I'm going to wear one of these dresses (I live in a world of casual dresses and jeans), I'll have weeks of notice, and I can take it out, hang it, even have it cleaned. Good idea or bad idea? Thanks, All, for your ideas.

Annie, you are right... and that was my thinking in ordering it even after I discovered that the daisy dress now fits. However, where it is a little too big now is in the bodice.. for a surplice dress that means some gaping. At my current weight, i can tack it or pin it... but as I lose more weight (knock on wood), i imagine I will lose more through the bust and back which could make the gapping more than a pin can manage. IDK. I do have wide shoulders and a large rib cage -- meaning the bones, not the fat on top lol.. so it may not be too bad. I think the waist/hips etc will be fine and very adaptable-- though the waist and tie are sewn in vs an elastic band. This is part of what makes it attractive IMO.. it looks more presentable AND it cinches in more than an expandable elastic band. I tried it on yesterday "as I was".. hair in a ponytail, slippers and (ahem) no bra. I thought it looked flattering and nice even then. I will try it on this weekend with proper undergarments and shoes and see what I think. It isn't terribly expensive so if it looks great when done up, I will likely keep it. I think it could work for a lot of occasions ... and since my weight loss is slow/steady, I would imagine it would work for awhile without alterations-- but weight loss is a funny thing. You can't always predict what will change. (Also, I will continue to watch to see if the smaller size comes back in stock) Thanks all for your thoughts, encouragement and recommendations!

I have not seen a lot of dogs chewing on cords either, (and we have bought some nice chew toys for the puppy too), but I had a friend who had a cat that she could not break of the habit. It ended up electrocuting itself. It was very weird. I know that was an unusual situation but I can't help but think of it sometimes. I am not too concerned about it, but just trying to do an "ounce of prevention" for the simple, low lying fruit. The cord mess looks carpy anyway . . . We have a large walk in shower which we are turning into a puppy playpen for when we have to be gone. We don't plan on leaving the puppy alone for any length of time, (hubs is retired and I'm on sabbatical) but we have it set up just in case. We never use the shower, it's huge but in the back of the house so the water pressure is low and it take forever for the water to get hot. The previous owner of our house was wheelchair bound, so that's why it's there. We have another regular shower tub that we use in the other bathroom. In the winter we turn it into a mini greenhouse and start all our tomatoes in there. We don't have to worry about water spilling on the floor . . . .

SeattleMCM, i also love EF clothes-- well, i love the pieces I love. Not all styles work well for me. I know the prices can be high but I have had good luck with sales. No restore here-- and honestly the prices on her recycled merino and cashmere sweaters are out of bounds for me-- but I love the concept. My shoes are about 5-7 yr old and are still in great shape-- and i am hard on shoes! I definitely think if you can find a pair you like at a decent price, it's worth it. Too many shoes look ratty after a season or two. What I love about my shoes is that they look elegant but are as comfortable as a slipper. I can't wear heels so these have been my go-to for dressier fall/winter events-- and they also worked for more casual events and the office (when i went to the office!) Check out ebay and poshmark-- both have numerous styles, many NIB. Here's the pair i have on Poshmark for $25 (I paid $198 for mine). They are used but look pristine-- not pushing my style on you-- i know it's not the maryjane style you are looking for-- but using it as an example of the kind of deals/prices you could find in a style you like. ETA: EF shoes have a reputation for running narrow. I have a slightly wide foot and had no issues with fit in this shoe or her boots.