April appears to be a spendy month for me. It's the month that makes me think of lighter, sunnier outfits. I start mentally preparing for sunshine, and then I start buying for it. And I also tend to meet up with Sophie in April and shopping ensues. I'd already purchased seven items before we met up and then bought four items in the first shop we set foot in, and that was just the beginning.

New Look black tunic dress  |  £5.00
I took one look at this, imagined it with tan sandals and a bag and took it to the till.

Red Herring star jumper  |  £5.50
This looks brand new, but it's not staying in my wardrobe. It's listed on ebay, I really like it, I just don't think it's going to get worn.

F&F red floral top  |  £3.25
This is in my May capsule, it's an item that I just knew would slot into my wardrobe and work really well.

Jigsaw scarf  |  £1.50
How could I resist those tassels?

M&Co navy jumper  |  £5.00
Technically I didn't need another navy jumper...

H&M black tee (not pictured)  |  £2.00
I love a tee with a curved hem, this will be a wardrobe staple.

Black and tan shorts  |  £4.00
I think these are cute, but I don't really know why I bought these.


M&S cream top  |  £3.75
Love this but the fit isn't quite right, it's another thing I've listed on ebay.

Zara white tee  |  £1.50
Curved hem tee. Enough said.

Dorothy Perkins jumper  |  £2.25
Love this, the sleeves are really long, covering the backs of my hands, unlike so many of my other jumpers.

Scarf  |  £1.50
I was under dressed for the temperature, I needed warmth. I bought it, I wore it.

F&F jacket  |  £4.50
This had only just been brought into the shop, I saw it on the counter and asked about it. They didn't even get a chance to put a tag on it before I was paying and putting it in my bag.

PJ bottoms  |  £2.99
I had my eye on a similar (new) pair on ASOS, these PJ bottoms from Tu need to be altered so they fit (they're two sizes too big) but I'd rather do that and buy pre-loved than buy new.


Fatface shorts  |  £5.49
These are in really good condition, I doubt they've been worn much.

V-neck tee  |  £1.29
I have one of these already but I wore it a lot last year, and I like the idea of having a back-up, especially at that price.

Next pink jumper  |  £1.00
A cheerful light weight knit, good for slightly chilly summer days, and only £1.00.

Floral midi skirt  |  £4.00
Love it, don't think I'm going to wear it. It'll be listed on ebay soon, maybe, I'm undecided.

All of the items above are pre-loved.


ASOS jumpsuit  |  £32.00
This is my second new purchase of the year and is already in my next capsule wardrobe selection. I'd seen it weeks ago on ASOS and kept going back to look at it. I loved it's simplicity, I knew it would be easy and comfortable to wear. I waited for ages before ordering it to make sure I still liked it as much as the first time I saw it.

I was fully prepared to hate it when I tried it on, which happens so often when some longed for item finally arrives. But this was everything I hoped it would be, sure it's not the most interesting or flattering item in my wardrobe but I really, really like it. If I am going to buy something new then it needs to be something I'm going to wear repeatedly and enjoy, and I think this fits the bill nicely.


LAST YEAR


Floral maxi dress  |  £13.00
I love this, it's only been worn once but it will be coming out of the wardrobe again this year.

Black / navy flip flops  |  90p each
Both of these were worn until they fell apart in early autumn. I'd say they were worn daily from April through to October.

Pre-loved Chatham pink brogues  |  £9.75
I still adore these, they're not something I wear often, but they put a spring in my step when I do.

Pre-loved H&M grey jumper  |  £4.75
This has been worn a lot, it's easy to chuck on over anything when the chill sets in in the evenings, and is a good autumn/winter jumper as it can be layered over other items.


ASOS green dress  |  £15.00
I shortened the sleeves on this and much prefer my version, it feels more summery. I wore this six times last summer.

Pre-loved Phase Eight cardigan  |  £2.49
Only worn once so far.

Pre-loved Monsoon dress  |  £8.00
Worn twice. I thought I'd wear this more, now I'm wondering if it's time it went on ebay. It's very nice but I have other dresses I like a lot more.


Total for April: £54.52

Total so far for 2019: £122.25

Total at this time last year: £147.02

Left of £500.00 budget: £377.75

Items purchased: 26 (pre-loved: 24) (new: 2)


One of my new years resolutions was to spend less, and buy fewer new items. Until this month I'd been quite restrained. This haul prompted a massive wardrobe clear out. I find it very tempting to buy what ever I like in charity shops because everything is so cheap, but what's the point if I don't get to wear the items I buy?


For the fourth year running I'm keeping track of my spending on clothes and accessories with A Buyer's Archive.

In previous spring seasons I've found it hard to put a capsule together because the weather can be so unpredictable. This spring I decided to tweak it every month, hoping that I'd be adding more summery clothes each time.
I have 24 items in this capsule, six fewer than in April, which is more than enough to see me through the month. Twelve items remain from the April capsule, with twelve added, and only seven items are brand new, 76% is pre-loved - a statistic that brings a smile to my face.

April was a mix of cold days and delightfully warm days, my capsule served me well, but I did wish I'd added more lighter tops and fewer jumpers (why did I think I'd need ten jumpers?!). I've redressed the balance for May, and dared to hope that I'll be in need of a pair of shorts.

I wanted to add some rarely worn items to my May capsule. I do have a habit of reaching for my favourite items which leaves things languishing in my wardrobe, forgotten and unappreciated. I've sidelined my trusty navy jumpers for now. I feel little bereft at not having either of them in this capsule, they're usually to hand, season after season. But not having them will make me wear other things, and it's likely I'll find other outfit options that I like because of it.

In addition to trying to wear my less worn items I've also had a really thorough wardrobe clear out and listed a lot of items on ebay. I feel there's little point in having a capsule wardrobe if I'm constantly adding more and hardly wearing the vast majority of it. Better to sell it and hope someone else will make good use of it.

The point of having a capsule was to limit my spending and to make the most of the items I already own. I enjoy having the capsules, and I do feel like I wear more of my wardrobe because of them but it's failed in curbing my spending, I'm still adding too many items.
I now have, what I hope will proved to be, a wardrobe of clothes that work well together and are a joy to wear, making putting together capsules much easier, and easing my guilt at having clothes I simply do not wear.

I have that wonderfully refreshed feeling you get after decluttering. I don't intend to buy any clothes in May, possibly even June too. The shopper in me is going to have to take a little holiday.

Come on May, let's see what you've got.

Last year I wrote a post about the small changes I'd made to be a little more eco-friendly. Lots of small changes add up and since then I've continued to seek out more alternative ways of doing everyday things.

My most recent change came after reading a post Vix wrote about mindful laundering, with a link to an article about fabric conditioner that had me ordering several bottles of white vinegar.

Long story short - fabric conditioner is not good for your clothes, use white vinegar instead.

Simply mix 500ml white vinegar (it has to be white, no alternatives) with 30 drops of an essential oil of your choice. To use, shake well and fill up to the line on your fabric conditioner drawer.

I used Star Anise essential oil as I love the scent, and had been given a bottle (thank you Sophie) a few days before reading the article, so it seemed to me that it was meant to be. As the (glass) bottles of white vinegar I ordered were just over 500ml, I simply added the oil to the bottle.

The outcome? I love the scent, although I know liquorice won't be to everyone's taste, my laundry feels great, just as good as with a regular fabric conditioner. In the long run using this will help my fabrics last longer, and save on plastic packaging.

Other changes I've made are;

Soap instead of shower gel.
A while ago I switched my regular shower gel for soap to cut out the plastic packaging. My memories of using soap as a child included a horrid tight, itchy feeling to the skin after using it and so I'd avoided it for years. I picked up a Dove beauty bar with it's 1/4 moisturising cream, and so far so good, not a dry itchy patch of skin in sight. I don't use it on my face but for the body it's really nice. It's 80p bar lasts a lot longer than any bottle of shower gel I've ever used, and it comes packaged in a cardboard box.

Bamboo toothbrushes
I've switched to a bamboo toothbrush, and it's just as good as any plastic toothbrush I've used. A recent scroll through my Pinterest feed threw up this article on how to dispose of them properly.

Carry a drink
I asked for a Chilly's water bottle for my birthday last year and received a gorgeous flamingo design that now goes everywhere with me full of tea. Who says a water bottle has to be used for water? I haven't purchased a bottle or carton of drink for months.

Bake instead of buy.
We don't often have sweet treats. We have no self control and eat them at an alarming rate. It's best that I just don't to buy them in the first place. But sometimes a cake or some cookies are called for so I pop on my apron and get baking. It avoids plastic packaging often used for biscuits and cakes, and I can avoid additives and preservatives added to shop bought baked goods.

Going off topic for a moment, I found a lovely recipe for Banana and Oatmeal Cookies. They're perfect for using up aging bananas (which I buy intending to eat as healthy snacks and then don't), it avoids the waste and they're delicious! These Healthier Banana Honey Muffins also look good, and contain less sugar. I'll give these a try next time I buy bananas with good intentions.

Secret Santa
At Christmas we had a Secret Santa with my side of the family, which cut down on packaging (we're a family that shops online), cut down on the use of wrapping paper as we had far fewer gifts each, and cut down on clutter - none of us need more stuff.

I'm planning on making reusable fabric gift bags in cute festive material this year, if I can spread them around my family they'll reuse them in the coming years. There's a Japanese fabric wrapping technique called Furoshiki that I'll be referring to, here's a guide.

Recently Kezzie wrote a post on all the ways she succeeds and fails in this area. I love posts such as this as they are a great source of inspiration, and got me thinking once again about what else I could be doing.

A breadmaker.
We eat a lot of bread and I've been pondering this for a while. Everyone who has one says they'd never go back. I don't know what I'm waiting for really.

Reuseable cotton rounds.
Thanks to my awkward skin I've gone back to using a liquid toner but didn't want to use cotton pads. I'm using up the cotton pads that I had in my drawer but want to switch to reuseable cotton rounds when they're used up. I like the look of these from Peace with the Wild, a company I found through Instagram. Or I could make my own.

Period Pants.
I've been hearing a lot about period pants, and have read some good reviews. I'm definitely intrigued. They are expensive, £20 - £27 approx for a pair of pants depending on the brand, and obviously more than one pair is needed. The cost caused my eyebrows to raise, but if they last you can make your money back ... eventually, and no more sanitary waste. Brands are Thinx or Modibodi. Wuka or Flux. I'll keep you posted, unless that would be too much information?

Just as an aside, all these websites use diverse images of women, different sizes, with stretchmarks, cellulite and lumps and bumps. It's so refreshing, we need to see more of this.

Friendly washing
Using a Guppy Friend Washing Bag to catch synthetic fibres and prevent them from being released into seas and oceans during a washing cycle. Do you use one of these? What do you do with the fibres that are caught?

Hoping and waiting
I'm hoping for a bulk buy shop to open up locally so I can take my own containers to buy store cupboard staples. I've been finding paper or cardboard packaged alternatives for food and household items as much as possible but there is still room for improvement.

Do you have any other tips you can share?

Having just 30 items in my winter capsule was more than enough to see me through the season. In fact I had two items that didn't get worn - red shirt, khaki mini skirt. I am a creature of habit though and I tend to reach for my favourite items over and over again. You can probably guess... red floral skirt, mustard jumper, blue skinny jeans, long winter coat (which wasn't actually in the capsule to begin with, but I swapped it with my short grey winter coat - it was a bargain charity shop find and I wanted to wear it!).

Roughly 43% of my capsule was pre-loved this time around, with the new stuff being staple items - jeans, navy / black jumpers, stripe tees - that will be worn time and time again. I did donate three items to charity as I'm trying to whittle down my wardrobe to pieces I adore. Reasons for donating can be filed under 'it doesn't sit quite right', and 'it left fluff on everything'. Despite liking these items these reasons are enough for me to pick something else to wear instead, I figured they're not worth keeping and someone else might get more wear out of them, that's the hope anyway.


What are the reasons that make you part with clothing? What's the weirdest reason you've parted with an item?

I've now got less than a year to go on my Day Zero Project, it ends on January 14th 2020.

I have 25 completed, here are the ones I've completed since my last update:
005. Decorate the entrance hall
After lots of sanding, the removal of a door, turning brown walls green, and lots and lots of gloss work, the hall has been transformed. Just need a coat rack and new doormats and I can call it finished.

006. Decorate our bedroom in a gorgeous deep bluey green
I deliberated over the exact shade of bluey green for ages, and then when I revealed the final choice to Andy he was less than enthusiastic. So we went for pink. It took me a while but the decorating part of the process is done.


013. Sand and repaint the side entrance door
It looked lovely for a few weeks until it got scratched again, so when the weather improves I'll be sanding and painting it again...


027. Visit the Forbidden Forest at Warner Brothers studios
October 2018 saw me step foot into the Forbidden Forest for the first time. It was dark, misty and I swear the floor was moving beneath my feet. Thunder and lightening accompanied us as we met Buckbeak and Aragog. To see it all close up was fascinating.


034. Go on a boat
A day on the Norfolk broads on one of the hottest days of 2018.


038. Read a book every month with that month in the title
I really enjoyed this challenge. My favourite book was Sunflowers in February but I enjoyed most of these books. I wouldn't recommend March, or July's People, I found both really hard going, but the rest are definitely worth a read.


042. Make elderflower cordial and gin
I made gin one year and cordial the following year. Both were delicious. Neither lasted very long.

052. Get a tattoo
I got three, all on the same day. It's not as drastic as it sounds, they're all tiny.


059. Go camping
In July 2018 I camped at Cliff House in Dunwich with a group of friends. It's a superb campsite right on the cliffs with easy access to the beach. The weather was perfect for camping, allowing us to sit on the beach until the early hours, before being lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves.

060. Photograph the same landscape across 12 months (and make it into a calendar for the next year)
You can see all the photos here. I didn't make a calendar as I received two for Christmas, but I can always create one for 2020.


081. Watch 26 movies I've never seen starting with each letter of the alphabet
I wouldn't recommend Certain Women or Queen of the Desert, and it was hard to watch Jake being such a weirdo in Nightcrawler. I loved Fantastic Beasts, La La Land and Mr Right, Passengers and Sully. In fact I think Sully was the best of them all.


086. Read a book set in my hometown
A friend of mine used to live on Britannia Road, so I know the area well. It was really enjoyable to be able to picture the house and garden, and the town being described in the book.

With less than a year to go I know there will be things that I won't tick off, but that's fine. I'll have fun trying.

These skinny jeans, purchased in September last year, didn't taken long to earn their #30Wears Badge of Honour. It's not surprising as I stick to uniform of jeans and woollens in the colder months. I have to be honest though this post is well overdue, these jeans have been worn 71 times so far (and counting).

Any pair of jeans that enter my wardrobe last a long time. I dye and re-dye black jeans to extent their life, and patch jeans when they develop holes, but every once in a while a new pair is required. I always look out for jeans in charity shops but rarely find any that I like. I live in hope, I know the perfect pair will turn up on the charity shop rails one day.

I paid £66.15 in the sale for this pair and would happily wear them everyday. They haven't featured much on the blog as autumn and winter tend not to lend themselves to outfit shots in the same way that the warmer, brighter months do. But here are a few outfits that I did manage to photograph, they're a good representation of how I wear them:

I've always been a jeans kinda girl. I spent my teens longing for a pair of Levi 501s, sadly my Mum never obliged and I had to wait until I started work before buying a pair myself. Those jeans were worn until they fell apart, and I was genuinely saddened when I had to admit to myself that I couldn't wear them anymore.

I just don't think you can beat a good jeans and top combination. A pretty floaty top in the summer or a classic plain tee is outfit perfection to my mind. In the winter add a big jumper and I'm happy as Larry. I'm certain that I'll be donning jeans well into my dotage.

I've rambled on about the #30Wears campaign in other posts, so you can read more here if you fancy.

It seems strange to be taking about winter when it already feels like a dim and distant memory. When I think of winter I think of Christmas and freezing cold temperatures, both of which feel like they happened months ago.

Anyway, here's how I got on with my winter to-do list.

Sort the bedroom after redecorating
Aim: Declutter

I'm ready to go on record and say that moving everything out of this room was an excellent idea! I've been taking my time putting everything back - furniture, clothes, ornaments, you name it. It means that everything that has been put back into the room is there because it either needs to be or because I want it. Everything else has either been donated to charity, been given a home in another room, or has been boxed up awaiting a carboot sale / ebay sale.

I still want to paint my shoe shelf white to match the interior of my wardrobe, stain the mirror frame, and to finally paint my chest of drawers after spilling nail polish remover down the front about six years ago. I've decided that these are jobs for warmer weather as I'll be doing them in the shed (yes, I could've taken advantage of the unseasonably warm spell we had in February but by the time the thought had occurred to me the temperature had dropped and it had started raining again).

So, whilst I haven't finished the bedroom transformation completely I am pleased with progress, it's been worth taking my time over.


When, and only when, the bedroom is finished, complete little DIY tasks in the downstairs toilet
Aim: Focus on one thing at a time

I might not be actively doing anything to tick off these tasks (because the bedroom isn't finished), but I am making mental plans. I've chosen a frame for a print I want to hang, and picked out a towel rail and toilet roll holder, and lined up a handyman (aka my Dad) to fit them. I've also come up with a plan for window dressing. Living in the country means curtains aren't a necessity but I think it'll finish the room nicely, but it's a hand sewing project that might take a little while.


Get listing on ebay, at least 3 items a week
Aim: Declutter

Not a single thing was listed. I've put it on my spring to-do list and decided to spend a morning next week listing as much as possible.


Start and finish the embroidery kit I purchased months ago
Aim: Focus on one thing at a time

I didn't even look at it. I was focusing on knitting for the craft sale we've got coming up this month. Perhaps once that is out of the way I can take a break from knitting and turn my attention to embroidery instead?


Do a 30 day yoga challenge
Aim: Take better care of myself

I started and got to day 3 before I got frustrated. The yoga instructor spent a lot of time talking and I wanted a little more action. Instead I've been dipping in and out of a few of my favourite YouTube sequences when the mood strikes. The photo is Tink helping me with Viparita Karani (legs up the wall). I'd like to make it a daily occurrence but maybe I need to work up to it, finding ways to fit it into daily life, around schedules, until it becomes habit.


Mend my green skirt so I can add it to my spring capsule
Aim: Reduce the mend pile

Done! It's lovely to have it back in working order again.


Design a new logo and website for work in time for the new financial year
Aim: Stop faffing

The logo is designed and was revealed to my clients and work related social media followers this week. A new website is in the planning stages.


Now spring has my full attention. What are your plans for the season?

It's our fourth wedding anniversary today and I thought I'd share the reading we chose, which was read by my sister-in-law, before we said our vows. Having that time to focus on something else allowed us to take a moment, compose ourselves, and calm our nerves.

The same emotions I felt that day come rushing back every time I read it, it ignites the memories so clearly.

Union by Robert Fulghum

You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes, to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making commitments in an informal way. All of those conversations that were held in a car, or over a meal, or during long walks - all those conversations that began with, 'When we're married", and continued with "I will", and "you will", and "we will" - all those late night talks that included "someday", and "somehow" and "maybe" - and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding.

The symbolic vows you are about to make are a way of saying to one and other, "You know all those things that we've promised, and hoped, and dreamed - well, I meant it all, every word."

Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another - acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, even teacher, for you have learned so much from one another these past few years. Shortly you shall say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things between you will never quite be the same.

For after today you shall say to the world -
This is my husband. This is my wife.