Well it’s day 30 of my Conscious Clothing commitment. If you didn’t catch my previous posts, I committed to only purchase second hand clothing for the rest of the year. In addition I cleaned out my closet and reorganized everything.

So far it has been going great. As the weather has started changing I am beginning to see where I may have a few gaps in my wardrobe and also noticing the items that really don’t seem to spark joy anymore. It is helping me really begin to understand what I really need when it comes to a wardrobe.

I travel a good bit for work and am often on stage speaking and therefore photographed. This means I need to have a good amount of comfortable, fashionable and professional outfits. I decided as part of this experiment that I would try a rental clothing program. I chose to try Infinitely Loft. This happens to be one of the least expensive at $65 a month and also a brand I like that fits me well.

Essentially you sign up, choose your favorite items to build a closet and then specify your favorites. From there they send you three items at a time. When you’re done wearing them you mark them returned and send them back with the bag they provide. No need to clean the clothes as they dry clean everything. If you end up wanting to buy an item you can do that at a discount.

So far I have received nine items in which I never wore one item due to fit and ended up buying two items that really enhanced my wardrobe. I’m enjoying the program and will continue the experiment for now. I plan to evaluate if I really need the program or if I feel I have what I need already.

If you’re interested in trying clothing rentals there are many options like Rent the Runway, Ann Taylor, Loft, etc.

As you can see it’s been awhile since I have posted but I am committing to blog more regularly now and to share ideas for Conscious Living.

In my last blog you learned a little about what inspired me many years ago. My name is Beth and I work for a large corporation leading environmental operations to reduce impact. I love my job but, have felt I could do more. Hence, why I’m starting this blog where I’ll share what I’ve learned. Everything shared here will be my own thoughts and opinions.

I look forward to connecting with you through this blog.

So often people ask me how I became so passionate about protecting our planet and encouraging others to do their part so I thought I would start this blog by sharing my journey. I grew up spending most of my time outdoors in nature whether it was playing with friends, riding my bike, exploring the hills nearby or camping nearly every other weekend with my family. My passion for being in nature started in my childhood but it wasn’t until my mid twenties that I made the connection about how my individual actions either help or harm that nature that I had grown to cherish.

A little over 10 years ago I decided to pursue a masters degree in Humanities. The first course I took required me to read Walden by Henry David Thoreau and shockingly this was the first time I had ever done so. This book led me to search out an environmental course the next semester and from there I ended up transferring schools to allow me to take more courses focused on the environment.

I next took a course called “Simple Living” and this is what ultimately changed the trajectory of my life. During this course I found my passion and knew that I would then do everything I could do to dedicate my career and life to protecting the environment. This wasn’t easy but I was able to take small steps toward this goal that ultimately led me to where I am today. I am fortunate to say that I have been doing environmental work full time now for a little more than eight years. My work focuses on reducing impact for a large corporation and educating the employees about how they can become better environmental stewards. I love my work and thought that it would be a good idea to begin to share my experience and ideas with a broader audience so Verde Chic is that outlet. I hope you will follow me I as continue my journey and share your experiences as well.