The Peg Is In

Update: View the slideshow of this closet purge on Flickr! http://bit.ly/8XD93h

My friends Sophia Daly and Shanna Trenholm threw down a challenge I couldn’t resist: Purge your wardrobe of the things you don’t love and don’t wear, and then spend only $100 on clothes, shoes and accessories for the rest of the year. They call this the $100 Wardrobe Challenge.

(Sound intriguing? Go to the their website and read more).

Money’s tight these days – hi there, I’m unemployed, how are you? – so I’ll take any incentive to spend less. I also liked the idea of shedding the psychic weight of “stuff.” I set to work purging and sorting through the contents of my closets and dressers, and jotted down some tips for those who want to do the same. Mind you, these tips don’t make the process painless, but they just might save you enough sweat to get you through it, and have a laugh while you’re at it.

PRO TIP #1:
Do the purge on laundry day.

Clothes you need to wash are ones you actually wear, so they automatically count as keepers. While those are sorted elsewhere into piles of darks, whites, and delicates, you can concentrate on applying your keen and ruthless eye to the rest.

PRO TIP #2:
Deduct as you donate.

Before the first blouse goes into the Goodwill bag, crack open your laptop and go to itsdeductible.com. Then as you give each item the boot, note what it is in your record of donations for 2010. It’s Deductible will automatically record the item, calculate its value, and (if you use TurboTax) deduct it properly from your taxes when you do them. If you don’t use TurboTax, just return to It’s Deductible at tax time and enter the amounts. Easy-peasy, and it’s free.

PRO TIP #3:
Take pictures of your most ridiculous items.

Because you have to laugh! Here are mine – a green feather boa and a nun’s habit. Believe it or not, I used to store these right near the closet door in case I needed them quickly!

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRO TIP #4:
Don’t use your husband/boyfriend/significant other as your “objective friend.”

They’ll make you keep all the lingerie, even if you hate it.

Bleccchh.

I looked like crap in this.

 

 

 

 

PRO TIP #5:
Take “before” and “after” pictures of your closet.

There’s nothing better to convince you that the challenge was worth it! Here are mine.

BEFORE:


 

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER:


 

 

 

 

 

 

For me, the result of all this purging was:

• 14 trash bags of donated clothes sent to the Goodwill.
• Estimated savings of $697 on my 2010 taxes.
• A walk-in closet I can actually walk in.

Now, are you ready to lighten your load and give your most-loved clothes a little breathing room? Excellent! Visit the $100 Wardrobe Challenge website, follow @100DLRwardrobe on Twitter, and let style trump consumption!

One day I was at the vet with my two cats. I’d signed them in on the sheet at the front with their names, my name, and our arrival time. The vet tech read the sheet, then said, “Who brought the rabbit?”

I answered, “I did. And Rabbit is a cat.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a news story I was in about location sharing (Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt, etc.) for NBC 7/39 in San Diego. The story aired 5/22/10. Thanks to Jenn Van Grove for recommending me as a “typical Foursquare user.”

The only downside to the story was that after it aired, several folks I didn’t know wanted to connect with me on Foursquare. Not sure why they’d care to know if I was at Viva Pops. They probably just wanted an “expert” to consult about the service.

No offense, but I think I’ll restrict my “I don’t know you but let’s connect” relationships to Twitter.

When I was 3 years old, my parents took me to a dinner party. It was the kind of party common in the suburbs of Washington D.C., where everyone brought their young kids, fed them, put them to bed, then moved on to martinis and highballs – a late 1960′s phenomenon.

This particular party was memorable, because it was the day my Dad discovered I could read. He discovered this when I was looking at the word “Fuck.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Recently I took what some might think is a crazy leap, professionally: I left my comfortable position as a learning technology specialist at Qualcomm without a “next job” to go to. Qualcomm offered me a generous transition package (thanks, QC!) and I decided that a transition was just what I needed.

Read the rest of this entry »

Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds

State of the Oscar Run (updated 3/8/10): Saw all but 2 films. Which Way Home eluded me completely. Ajami I couldn’t find with English subtitles, and I don’t speak Hebrew. Squeezed in Un Prophete and El Secreto de Sus Ojos before the Oscars. All told, I saw 32 full-length films and 10 short films in 34 days.

We’re nearly there, folks. The 2009 Academy Awards will be given out tonight starting at 5:00 PM Pacific time. The world holds its breath: Will Peggy see the last two movies on her Oscar Run list?

Okay, no one cares about that. They really just want to know, after seeing all these movies, who I’d predict to win and who really deserves it. That’s why I watch all these movies, really – so you won’t have to. You’re welcome.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish pine for each other in Bright Star

I’ve noticed I’m writing fewer reviews of individual movies this year, and by fewer, I mean “not a single one yet.” Sorry, movie fans. Here’s some (I hope) useful info that I can jot down quickly.

We’ve seen 26 of the 34 Oscar movies we intended to, so I can now recommend which you should see and which you should shun.

Read the rest of this entry »

State of the Oscar Run: 21 more movies to see in 14 days.

Podcast alert: If you prefer your movie talk in a visual format, go check out my husband Ken’s new video podcast That Movie Was…, where he and his friend James give their opinions on current movies.

Ken and I have reached a point in our Oscar Run where we’ve knocked out all movies in a few categories, so I can make some picks with confidence. These are not predictions, just who or what would get the Oscar if I were giving them out.

Read the rest of this entry »

Do you know where I could see these movies? They are Oscar-nominated, but eluding me. Help a movie-lover out!

• Ajami (from Israel)
• Burma VJ
• El Secreto De Sus Ojos (from Argentina)
• The Messenger
• The Milk of Sorrow (from Peru)
• The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
• The Secret of Kells
• Un Prophete (from France)
• Which Way Home

Current state of the Oscar Run: 28 more movies to see in 25 days.

As Ken and I have discovered over many years of trying to see Oscar-nominated movies, a nomination doesn’t guarantee that a movie will stay in theaters long enough for you to see it. It helps that there are more movies on DVD and available via cable On Demand services every year, but there are always those that fall in the cracks.

Here are the movies that we advise you see ASAP, as they may be nearing the end of their theater run, and they don’t have a DVD release date yet.

Fantastic Mr. Fox – Most theaters that are still showing this are doing so at “kid times” – just a few showings early in the day. That’s a sign that theater managers think it’s got a limited audience, which means it’s doomed. We’re going to try to see it today. Never miss a Wes Anderson flick!

Read the rest of this entry »