This is always a melancholy day in the Grand Strand - it's the first day I felt I needed to wear long pants and closed shoes for weather reasons. Generally for me, around April the sandals and shorts come out and stay out until I just can't stand to wear them any more. Today is kind of chilly and rainy so I broke out the jeans and a long sleeve shirt. Sigh.

This makes me think of the tip for finding out which clothes in your closet to discard from Peter Walsh (via Merlin Mann). I note that their default duration is to check after six months which clothes you haven't worn and discard them. That betrays a certain Californian lean, I think. Even here in the beachy area of South Carolina, we have significant weather swings. I think for almost anyone in America, you need to do a full year. Had I started that plan in March, around now I would decide I don't need any of my sweaters or sweatshirts.

I actually don't mind the turn from summer to fall and then to winter. I like wearing sweaters and sweatshirts and enjoy it when the weather allows me to break them out. I also like that I get that here, but not for a brutal 5 solid months like we had growing up in Kansas but maybe for a month or two in the dead of winter. Before that is mild fall, after that is mild spring. This seems more pleasant to me.