What NOT to Wear - The Learning Curve

Six Items or Less, cont...

Per yesterday's post (It's All About the Accessories, Right?), I learned from my "Get Really Sweaty" options that clothes should be comfortable and flattering.  Common sense, right?  It was a message I had not been heeding.  It was one of those Oprah ahas - my clothes should always make me FEEL GOOD!

One of the shirts was clingy in all the wrong places, so I avoided wearing it.  Unfortunately, that didn't leave many options!  The white shirt wrinkled too easily, so it didn't look fresh by the end of the day.  I got in the habit of changing out of the six items whenever possible and wearing my Life is Good t-shirt.

The result?  At the end of the 30 days, I wanted to try it again!  Getting the other six items out of rotation was a relief.  The weather was changing and I had more pants options to choose from.  And I decided to use eight items instead of six.  Just to make it a little less work.

This time, I tried everything on!  And scrutinized the fit.  Jeans were no longer an option, as I was working and volunteering more often.  I had always felt unprofessional in jeans anyway.

During month two, I was no longer thinking about getting dressed, so when someone complimented my clothes (which was happening more often!) I saw it as validation I had selected better items.  I looked more "put together" because - I WAS!  Pants that poked and shirts that hung without shape were in the back of the closet.  The clothes were no longer wearing me.  

I learned I had "put up with" certain items of clothing for the sake of variety.   

More Tuesday...still going!

What to Wear - It's All About the Accessories, Right?

When I selected my six September clothing items for the 6 Items or Less challenge last August (see yesterday's - What to Wear), I thought of all the possible combinations.  I did the math.  Because two tops could also be worn UNDER the dress AND with or without the white button down shirt, I determined there were about 20 possible options.  Here are photos of three:
 

Cute top OVER dress

3 items at once

White shirt OVER dress

Next up - the accessories!  I piled jewelry from various sources (read - tween) and selected color stories.  Then I organized them in bags for easy retrieval.

I also selected 6 options to "Get Really Sweaty" in.  These were clothes to use when cleaning house, completing yardwork, walking in forest preserves, or doing pilates. I chose to use them as pajamas too.

2 items with icing

Etc...etc...etc...

6 "Sweaty" options

In the end, however, I really only used 4 of the "Get Really Sweaty" options.  I just kept throwing the Life is Good t-shirt and the yoga pants in with other laundry.  They were comfortable and flattering and I got good use out of them.  

It was from my "Get Really Sweaty" options that I began to understand how to achieve success when wearing fewer clothes.  

It was NOT:

1. How the items looked in tandem on a bed.

2. How the pieces hung in two feet of space in the closet.

3. How chunky turquoise accessories accented the black.

4. How white floral accessories highlighted the floral print.

5. How creative it was to layer shirts OVER a dress to make it look like a skirt.

The way to achieve success was finding clothes that fit.  And only one of the six items was comfortable and flattering and made me feel good.  It took me nearly 30 days to figure this out.

Tomorrow...trying again.

What to Wear

Please join me as I prepare my 8-10 wardrobe pieces for the month of May.  What started as an experiment last fall, has become a life-long habit.  It changed the way I use my clothes. 

WEAR it all began...

In August 2010, I read about the 6 items or less challenge in the Chicago Tribune.  The challenge?  For people to look critically at their clothing and keep fewer items in rotation.  The actual challenge was to wear the same 6 items for 30 days.  Inspired by the photos, I spent several days thinking and paring down.

Looking back at the earnest photos (followed by supportive comments) posted to Facebook eight months ago, causes me to shake my head and smile - I have learned so much since then...

September 2010.  First attempt at pairing down my wardrobe for 30 day stretches.

1.  Jeans

2.  Black Shorts

3.  Colorful T-shirt

4.  White Shirt

5.  Cute Top

6.  Dress

More 6 items or less tomorrow...

Eco Easter

Easter baskets are a colorful tradition, but you don't have to spend money for them to be festive.  In fact, you do not need to purchase plastic Easter eggs, plastic grass, or baskets.  Get in the habit of reusing these items from year to year - think Christmas ornaments (and/or menorahs and dreidels, for double observing households like mine).  Make do with what you have on hand.

If you didn't save last year's grass, you can STILL make your own (and toss it into beach buckets?)!  Martha Stewart suggests shredding old wrapping paper.  Too cute :)

Martha Stewart

Shredded paper Easter grass!  

Eco Easter made Easy!

Reuse plastic grass from year to year.  About a week after Easter, dismantle the baskets and store everything (baskets too!) in an "Easter" box.  Check the plastic eggs for jelly bean crumbs first.

This year, try filling the eggs with loose change and serve the candy in bowls!  My mom (aka: Easter Bunny) used to hide jelly beans in cupcake liners.  And reuse peeps!  For constructing award-winning dioramas (Chicago Tribune Peep Contest).
 
Declare Order learned something new:
Beeping Easter eggs are available for children with visual impairments.
Inspired!

Kohl's cash

The problem?  I pay cash.

Specifically, I tried to pay with cash at Kohl's.

Kohl's is close to my house.  I avoid shopping there whenever possible.  Last week I needed a particular jacket, in a particular color, for a particular project.  In a particular hurry.  I found EXACTLY what I needed at Kohl's.  What I did not find out - EXACTLY - was the price. 

black quilted jacket

Sure the coat had a price tag but, because I was at Kohl's, this was NOT EXACTLY the price.  There were signs everywhere with lists of prices and discounts.  Sometimes, the price on an item was listed on one of these signs.  Sometimes not.  There were numerous options: 30% off, buy 2 get 1 free, buy 1 get 1 50% off...But, even if I found the right sign, this was still NOT EXACTLY the price. 

At the REGISTER there were more options dependent upon the day of the week, my age, the method of payment, coupons, etc...

But wait, there was more...

The price on the register screen in BOLD TYPE circled in red - was still NOT ACTUALLY the price.

I, however, read the price on the screen in BOLD TYPE circled in red as the ACTUAL price and handed my cash to the cashier.  It turned out the price on the screen  in BOLD TYPE CIRCLED IN RED was the AMOUNT OF MONEY I SAVED.  

At that point, I still did not even know the ACTUAL price.   

But I could tell you how much I didn't pay.

 

(Which was a different amount than the price the person in front of me would not have paid because she was a senior, used her Kohl's charge card, and she had some sort of coupon.)  

At that point, I felt like a guest on the Kohl's Riverboat Casino.  I put out money, but didn't lose too big.  The guest in front of me won more, so I was a little jealous.  Now, I wanted to stay.  See how the next player's cherries lined up.  I felt the desire to play again.  Try my luck.  That's when it happened...

 

The dealer handed me $10 dollars worth of Kohl's Cash for next time.

  Putting it all on black.

UPDATE 5/2/11:  Spent the $10 Kohl's cash on a pair of cargo pants from a 70% off clearance rack.  I did NOT pay $40.  The pants were marked, $8.00, so I exchanged the Kohl's cash and still have $2.00 left.  So...how much did I pay for the coat if I got a "$40" pair of pants for nothing?

Jackpot. 

Game, Set, Match

I do not like to waste time looking for mates.   
Here is how I store reusable plastic storage containers...

With the lids attached.

Stacked by shape and size.

Caution:  This method takes up space and does require assigning an entire cupboard for reusable plastic containers!  I am a heavy user, so this solution works for me.

DAILY LEFTOVERS - If your house is like mine, there will inevitably be lidless containers and container-less lids.  Keep these stragglers out of the daily rotation.  Drop mismatched plastic lids and containers into a separate holding area.  The kids can sort through them and find matches as it starts to fill up.  Then...just pop the reunited lids with their container mates and return them to the stack in the cupboard. 

LEFTOVER SOCKS - If your house is like mine, there will inevitably be mate-less socks.  Keep these stragglers out of the daily rotation too!  Drop mismatched socks into a Lonely Sock Box.  The kids can sort through them and find matches as it starts to fill up.  Then...they can roll reunited socks and return them to their rightful owner.  OR have a rolled sockball fight.

Tip:  If a sock is without a mate for over a year, relegate it to dust bunny duty.  (This will not, however, work for plastic lids.)

Absolute Socks

Tween girl's socks may not require matching, as mismatched sox are trending.

#napo2011

My 100th tweet.  Whoot!

When I started my professional organizing business on 1/1/11, I did not give Twitter much thought.  Declare Order professional organizing was hooked up with Blogger, a domain - www.declareorder.com, and a fb page.  That was enough - right?

One day, out of curiosity? I checked out the site.  To my delight I fell in - as I tend to do when inspiration strikes.  It has been 20 days now.  TWENTY DAYS.  In those 20 days, I have tweeted 100 times.  And I don't even know why!

Tweet #1...

a reply to @normmacdonald.  Yes, the comedian.  

Tweet #10

Link to my blog post.

http://declareorder.blogspot.com/2011/03/spring-in-big-box-store.html  

(Actual URL.  Had not yet attempted bit.ly maneuver.)

Tweet #20

Retweet from @GreySkyThinking
"Do you feel like you're stuck on the outside while all the cool stuff is inside? Then you're probably a loner. Or a fridge magnet."

Diversions...
I do speak Parseltongue, but with a thick Bronx accent.

I am not going to write about @BronxZoosCobra.  I mean, I did.  But I am not going to here.  Something went awry there.  Pre-recaputured tweets had different voice.  Unfollowed...

Tweet #50 - Learning To Pound

"Donating Declare Order packages to local PTA silent auctions. Kind of a "Spa Day 4 Closets!" #professionalorganizing

Fast Forward to this Friday... 

Was #FF by 2@s.  (Had to Google to figure out what it meant.)

Reading Twitterville by, Shel Israel.  Followed the NAPO 2011 conference in real time.  In awe of this profession.  In awe of this communication tool.

@Lifeisgood_.

Tweet #48
If a twitter #tweet falls in the global village
but no one reads it, does it say anything? #jw

Whose Turn Is It?

"Did anyone feed the dog?"
 "The table should be set for dinner."  
"Who has time to hang the cloth napkins to dry?"

Managing the day-to-day household responsibilities can be a chore.   How to divvy it all up?

When I was a classroom teacher, we assigned jobs by the day: Line Leader, Paper Passer, Attendance... Whenever a need arose, the designated kiddo popped up to help.

Though older kids are less likely to "pop up!" at home, assigning responsibilities by the day has proven effective in our family.  My son has Monday, Tuesday, and Friday.  My daughter is responsible Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  Hubby takes Sunday.

The dog is scratching her bowl.  Whose day is it?
Time for dinner, but the table hasn't been set.  Whose day is it? 
A load of cloth napkins is ready to be hung to dry.  Whose day is it? 

This system is also helpful because it teaches a variety of skills.  When the designated family member is unavailable, I might get a volunteer chirping, "It's not my day, but...I'll feed the dog."

Don't call them chores.  Call them responsibilities.  

Responsibility.  A comic thriller by Nigel Cox.