If there’s one thing that gets me motivated, it’s random challenges.  Some previous challenges I’ve completed were No new clothes in 2011, Whole30, Home Baked Only October (HoBOO), No supermarkets for a month, No Facebook for a month, Screen free week etc.  Most of them were a little bit difficult, but I don’t think I’ve given up on one yet.

These kind of challenges work for me because they force my creativity.  I can’t go back to my default; I can’t get caught in bad habits; I can’t just move mindlessly through life.  I have to think about things, even ordinary things, and find new ways to get things done.

At the end of last year, I started to get fed up with my ‘uniforms’ – I was wearing the same things over and over, wearing my (super rad) black jeans way too often, and leaving half my wardrobe unworn.  About the same time, I heard about Dressember (dresses only for all of December).  Ever a sucker for a catchy name, I decided to give it a go.

I started off great guns – wearing the dresses that sit at the back of the wardrobe, never worn; designing creative outfits; making sure I didn’t repeat items.  But as the month went on, it got harder.  I started to add skirts in, and there were a few repetitions.  And then on the 20th of Dressember, I went in for a minor surgical procedure (hospital gown counts as a dress right)?  During the recovery, I really struggled.  I ended up alternating between two maxi dresses for most of the rest of the month.  But still I stuck to it.

And at the end of the month, I was really happy that I did.  I even learned a few things:

1. A dress always feels a little dressy.  And feeling a little dressy can really cheer you up.
2. I have a LOT of clothes.  And I really need to get culling before we move overseas.
3. The engineer is super patient, and a pretty good photographer.
4. I like photo editing, and like to make the pictures from my $1000 camera look like they were taken by a toy camera.  I also realise that this is a little bit ridiculous.
5. Being sick makes it really difficult to be creative.  Challenges help.

I can hardly call it life-changing, but Dressember was a lot of fun.  And I’m definitely keen to give it another go in 2013.  Hopefully without the surgery!