Refashion Your Life: 7 Step Process

I have a lot of clothes I don't wear anymore. So when I found Jillian's blog, Refashionista, I thought of all the things I could refashion that currently aren't as fabulous as I would like them to be. There is plenty of inspiration to be found on the sites listed on my Favorite Sites list. It really hit me that I spent a lot of money on things I could probably repurpose myself, clothes in particular. If I had only known, if I had only paid more attention! I could have stopped this tragedy from happening! I could have done more with my life than this. 

There are 7 stages in the process of grief. Grieving over money poorly spent.
The first stage is always shock and denial. A griever usually experiences emotions of shock as in "sticker shock" and denial as in not-the-river-in-Egypt kind. For me they usually occur at the same time: "I couldn't honestly have paid that much for that when I could have done it myself or found it cheaper on the internet"

Once the denial has worn off, Stage 2 customarily sets in. It is the stage known as pain and guilt. Its trademark symptoms are heartburn and nausea, dizziness and sweaty palms. One reputable site recommended that "it is important that you experience the pain fully, and not hide it, avoid it or escape from it with alcohol or drugs."

.....Well, that sucks. Pretty sure all "not hiding" my "grief" is going to do is make me crazy. Bring on the kittehs! And tacky sweaters. I am officially dying alone.

The griever usually deals with their pain and guilt by anger and bargaining. Which sucks because anger was what got the shopper, Um....I mean griever, in the dilemma in the first place. They got angry (or a piece of bad news, or had a bad day) and needed retail therapy. So, we agree that anger is a bad thing for a recovering shopaholic? Agreed? K. 

And as for that other thing? Bargaining is also bad. It is a thief with the face of a friend. It makes you think "BOGO! YOLO!" and you feel like a winner; only you're wallet feels the burn and then you're screwed. Bargaining is not your friend. It is best to work with bargains, like coupons and clearance madness sale time, but not to get too carried away. Too much bargains will make you a poor man...I mean girl. It will turn you from a poor college kid to a broke college kid. 

Don't be poor! And broke. The next stage, Depression, Reflection, and Loneliness will set in. You will be lonely because you have no moneys to go out with your friends because of the bargains (who you thought were your friends! Oh, the irony! The misery!) You will also experience "buyers remorse". You will have feelings of "if I didn't own so many pairs of shoes, I could buy a puppy!" and "if I hadn't bought those Nike Shorts I could afford a gym membership". Oh, the irony of ironies. Remorse and Reflection also set in until you develop depression and wham!

You're reading classic Dickens on a Friday night because you can't afford to do anything fun because you have no dollars.

Behold! The Upward Turn! Things are starting to look up! This thing called Pinterest shows you how to repurpose all your junk instead of buying new junk. You get cute junk that you are happy about without your wallet feeling the burn and getting skinny again. 

After the Upward Turn has had time to sink in and marinade, Reconstruction and Working Through happens. You work through your budget problems, all your other emotional instabilities, your lost friendships, your wardrobe, and your closet. This is definitely something to rejoice about! 

Lastly, you have graduated. Your grief and its respective stages have significantly abated. Professionals have warned that although your problems have subsided, you are functioning in the normal human world, you are not of the clear just yet. Stay away from retail centers, like the mall, and use caution when bargaining. Acceptance & Hope have entered into your life and you may move on a confident and grown-up woman who has her $#*@ together.