My Crazy Addiction

My name is Lee and I’m addicted to scarves.

There. I’ve said it. What a weight off my shoulders!

I admit it: Living in Phoenix, a scarf addiction is a little odd. You’d think I’d be addicted to flip flops or sunglasses or swimsuits. But no. It’s scarves.

I think my addition started back when I traveled for business. I was in Chicago for work about 18 years ago and picked up a light pink scarf and fell in love. That spiraled into me grabbing a cute scarf whenever I see one I “can’t live without.” Which is probably more often than my husband would like.

I’ve lived in Idaho, Chicago, Charlotte, but I’ve never spent more than a year in a cold environment aside from the first nine years of my life. I used to enjoy the cold and skiing but now have undiagnosed Raynaud, which makes me very sensitive to the cold. My extremities get extremely cold, and it can be painful. So I try to stay away from cold temperatures, or find ways to stay warm.

But that’s not really a reason for me to have 50+ scarves here in Phoenix. Trust me, I’ve made myself aware of the problem and have considered purging and getting rid of them all. But I know myself. They would all accumulate back.

I do have one caveat: All my scarves come from places like Ross or TJ Maxx, where they’re usually $9.99 or $12.99. I think the most expensive scarf I own might have been $20 at Macy’s. So at least there’s that.

My scarves aren’t all the bundle-up-and-stay-warm variety either. They’re all different lengths, fabrics and thicknesses, so at least I can extend scarf season here in the Valley of the Sun. But this year, I’m determined to wear a scarf every day that it’s cold. So far, we’re up to about 15 days of what I’d consider “cold.”

Of course, when I made this decision, I had no idea how to wear all the scarves I had. Thank goodness for YouTube videos and online tutorials to help!

What’s your unusual addiction? I’d love to hear!