There’s a can-do energy that sweeps in in January. It follows the Holiday Hangover and makes all things seem possible. Go through stacks of paper in the home office and file or toss? Piece of cake! Organize the cupboards? You betcha! Clean out the garage? Done and done and done.
We could look around our home and spot a target for that can-do energy. How about your wardrobe and your closet?
Last week I posted this question on Brenda’s Tips & Teasers Facebook page:
“What does your wardrobe wish for in 2014?”
Here are four answers:
HL Some attention. It’s been sadly neglected due to ill health for the past few years
KWW Consistent care and organization … focusing on less is more – as long as it’s gorgeous!
BBS Wearing what I have & to stop shopping!
NWN To be ‘curated’. That seems to be the buzz word lately.
Imagine swinging open your closet doors and this can-do energy makes it effortless (even fun!) to organize, edit, curate, and mix pieces together into outfits that have never played together before.
That can-do energy makes it seem like those wardrobing projects could be nearly completed by noon if you start right now. But reality may hit you before week two of January. You could lose your steam.
But wait! You have a wardrobe coach to help you! Let’s declare January to be Wardrobe Wellness Month. I’ll sprinkle in some editing, organizing, and mixing tips all month long. Let’s measure your efforts.
Take the temperature of your closet/wardrobe right now and let’s compare that number to what it might be by the end of the month. Maybe using numbers on a scale of 1 to 10 would be easier.
So, on a scale of one to ten (ten being optimal wellness), how well is your wardrobe functioning right now?
Use these questions to aid you in coming up with your starting number.
Do you have outfits for all parts of your life?
Can you receive an invitation to something casual or dressy and have something to wear and put together in five minutes?
When you pull out any item of clothing, is it ready to wear as is, fits you, and flatters you?
Are you wearing close to 80-100% of the items in your closet?
Do your outfits bring you joy?
Today’s assignment is to just assess. I’ll have more ideas for you tomorrow. Make a list of three things about your wardrobe that could use attention. And then share them with me here in the comments section or share it on Brenda’s Tips & Teasers Facebook page. I’m rolling up my sleeves and getting ready to help you.
Exercise #1 of Wardrobe Wellness Month
Three things I’d like to accomplish in my wardrobe or closet by January 31st
1.
2.
3.
4 Comments
Sallie
January 8, 2014 at 5:19 pmWhat a great topic! Here is my 1-10 scale
– Outfits for all parts of my life: 6 or 7
– Outfit for an invite to casual event would be a 10; dressy would be 5 or 6 for out to dinner sort of dressy; and a 2 for a fancier thing
– Do all items in my closet fit and flatter me: 8
– Am I wearing 80-100% of the clothes in my closet: 7
– Do my clothes bring me joy? Well … depends on the category. Yes, for work-at-office (thanks to you!). Also yes for work-from-home since that’s a lot of re-purposing the more casual work-at-office pieces. Casual and dressy do not bring me joy and need some attention. I am focusing on casual first since that comes up a lot more than dressy.
Here are three things I’d like to accomplish in my wardrobe by the end of January:
1) Buy a few very casual tops – nice sweatshirty things?
2) Spend a few hours putting together work-from-home outfits – I made a list of a few a month or so back and it needs to be expanded. Also spend some time on casual outfits.
3) Make of list of things I intend to wear this month and follow through! I have been using the Cloth app since last spring and it’s been enlightening to have a visual representation of what’s on constant rotation and prompts me to rotate in other things.
Brenda Kinsel
January 9, 2014 at 7:00 amYou bring up so many great topics! Thanks for doing that personal assessment. I want to highlight a couple of things. I think the category you talk about — casual outfits — is so important and I think it gets underrated and overlooked. So good for you for putting the spotlight on that!
I also want to call out the idea of making a list of what you want to wear in a month and following through. It’s such a drag to discover when winter is nearly over that you totally forgot to wear a favorite skirt, or sweater or boot. (Not YOU-YOU, but “you” the rest of us out here!)
So how are you going to remind yourself to look at the list?
Thanks for sharing, Sallie!
Sallie
January 12, 2014 at 10:03 pmHi Brenda,
I am keeping the list in my closet. It’s right by my wardrobe charts and the box where I keep my every day jewelry so I will see it every day. Fingers crossed this method works!
Sallie
Brenda Kinsel
January 14, 2014 at 10:52 amJust yesterday I was with a client who had a similar plan. She has vowed to wear a different outfit everyday. She has her recipe book in her closet (her filled out Wardrobe Charts in a 3-ring binder) and can pull it out for inspiration. I LOVE these ideas! I think your method will work, Sallie!
Have fun, Brenda