July 19, 2011
Diana Vreeland (a fashion doyenne) once said: “Never fear being vulgar, just boring. We all need a splash of bad taste; no taste is what I am against.”
What is your style? Your taste? Your fashion? What does it say about you? What message do you convey to the world around you when one sees you but doesn’t know you? Does it change - or has it remained the same year after year? Or do you give it much thought? Is it something you take for granted - or perhaps don’t even care about?
I have come to realize that our own personal style says a lot about who we are and where we are emotionally in our lives. It is something not to be taken too seriously, but doing a personal inventory of who you are from time to time can be fun and rewarding. You may be surprised at what you can achieve and change without spending any money - and actually feel better.
Remember the phrase: “Retail Therapy”.
If, for example, you are feeling down in the dumps because of a bad break-up, and your friends say, “Hey go shopping it’ll make you feel better”. Well, sometimes that can work… at least until your credit card bill comes in the next month!
Temporary happiness can actually be worse than going through the initial pain. Here’s another easy idea, whether you’re going through a crisis or not, how about starting with… Cleanse your closet!
CLEANSING YOUR CLOSET
First off, even though I consider myself a woman of style and good fashion sense, I have to confess I am the ‘Queen of clutter’. Ergo, what does that say about my mind? Every day I go by my closet and see piles of unorganized hangers; clothes I haven’t worn in years; clothes that don’t look good on me anymore and clothes I might fit into one day. This is a real shame and waste - not to mention incredibly frustrating. And sometimes I realized my professional life is in exactly the same state.
Piles of unread articles I promised to get to; stacks of magazines with photos of how my home will look when I get the money to redo it; and unfulfilled dreams of the perfect job I don’t have, but will get one day when it is meant to be. One time I even sent away for a brochure on how to “Professionally Declutter”. It was so long and complicated it also got thrown into the, “Will get to when I have time” pile.
It wasn’t until a close girlfriend of mine told me about an experience she had while cleansing her home. She reminded me that, “When you let go of the old - the new has space to arrive”. Of course, I’d heard that adage before, but for some reason it really resonated with me at that moment. I knew my life style was blocking creativity because I hadn’t left any room for inspiration. And what is life without inspiration? Especially if you consider yourself a creative person.
TIPS TO CLEANSING
1) Slow Down: We rush around a lot of days to get where we’re going and accumulate stuff we don’t really need. We think it brings us happiness or satisfaction, until we begin to “cleanse” and find some of those items at the bottom of our closet; half the time with the tags still on. If we were more aware and conscious before buying the item, we may have made a different choice. Have we forgotten how to find simple old fashion happiness? The next time you are about to purchase something ask yourself, ‘How much do I really need this item?’ Whether it’s a new hand bag (even though you have 4 others in your closet), or a new toy for your son or daughter - even though they have lots of others too. When we “slow down” we make better choices.
2) Let Go: One of the greatest satisfactions in life is to make someone else happy; especially someone less fortunate than yourself. When I started to cleanse my closet the last time, I made give-away piles for different people in my life. My neighbor, who is a single mom and works so hard raising her two kids; the children of our community gardener who is so dedicated to making our neighborhood look beautiful; and some of my friends who are going through a rough time and need anything to brighten their day. I also made piles of things I could resell – meaning, ‘consign’, and make a little extra money my family could use. That’s where local consignment stores in your area can come into play.
Being the owner of a consignment store myself, I can truly say it will make an appreciable difference in your spending budget. At The Cottage Boutique, consignors bring in everything from clothing, to shoes to handbags & jewelry. And be sure to always have your items in the best condition possible; clean and organized. The better quality and condition they are in is the key to a higher price-value of your sale.
You can learn more about consignment stores and how they work at: www.thecottage-boutique.com
3) Respect: When going through this process, remember to consider the value of what you already have. When I’m home with my 4-year old daughter and cleansing, I make it a point to tell her what I’m doing and why. She always asks, “Mommy, what are you doing with my toys (or dresses), they’re mine?” I try to teach her about children in the world who are not as fortunate as she is, and those who may not have mommies or daddies to love them like she has. I say, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to make them happy and share what you have?’ She has now learned at an early age about letting go and respecting her own possessions… as I have. It is a great project to share with your children at any age. Make it a positive experience.
4) One day at a time: This process can seem overwhelming at first, so take it one day at a time. We are all busy with our lives and families and priorities and would rather be doing anything but ‘cleansing’. But I have come to realize this process can be very rewarding. It has definitely put my priorities in order and become something of an addiction. Every time I let things go out of my house, I have received something beneficial in return. Even if it’s just one closet or drawer at a time; make an effort to do something each day. It has been a form of meditation for me, which has enhanced the way I live.
5) Attitude: When I first embraced this process, I realized how much in my life I didn’t enjoy - and what does that say about oneself? We worry so much about what we don’t have that the ability to enjoy what we do have has disappeared. Being grateful for all the beautiful things you do have in your life - being in good health, able to see, able to walk, able to hear, to have the ability to put a smile on someone else’s face, for laughter, for nature, for all that surrounds us… we sometimes take too much for granted.
As curious as this may seem, all this came to me when I began my home and closet cleansing. I began to appreciate what I had and how wonderful it felt to let go of what I didn’t need.
IN SUMMARY…
So, after you take the time to ’cleanse’ you may feel one of two things: You may panic and want to run right out and go shopping; or you may take the time to really enjoy the concept of “less is more”. Sometimes if we have too many choices it is impossible to focus on what we really want vs. what we really need. Now is time to be creative with less. Wear those things you have put away for a special occasion today… now! Why wait, enjoy the moment now. This is the time to identify and define your creativity and individual style. After a while, you will begin to add to your personal style, but add when inspired and motivated
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my very first BLOG. I hope you found it useful and encouraging and will return to read more.
See you again.
Xo
Wendy
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