How Many Hats Do You Wear?

There are periods in life when balls get dropped, some are more visible than others, and the regular readers among you have commented when it gets a bit quiet on the blog front – feel free to feedback any time - your views are always welcome!

 

My excuse is much the same as many - ‘too busy’, although given that some people manage to organise multi-million pound businesses and their families, it must be that my support structures are not sufficient or my organisational habits not up to scratch, as every now and then I drop a ball or two!

When your life is full to the brim, how many hats can you wear at once and who can you bring in to help you with a ‘hat’ which is maybe not your area of expertise?  

 

I’ve been heard to say that I can be 3 things, wife, mother and career woman.  But is that true?  Is it possible to do more than one thing at a time? 

 

The world of technology is clear that there is no such thing as multi-tasking – the concept of multi-tasking is merely an illusion created by the processors working so fast or in parallel that they appear to be able to do more than one thing at a time – a bit like an effective parent! 

But, when the systems get overloaded, the computer crashes!  When I try to take on more than my own capacity, something drops and nothing seems to get done effectively.   Bring in the cavalry – back up required!  This Blog gives some good ideas for reducing the number of hats you may be trying to juggle! Whether this is asking for help from a friend, hiring a PA, a team of staff or even outsourcing to a company, it’s possible, BUT a certain amount of organisation is required to get to that point!

Just as order and structure supports me in work, so it does in my home - everything in its place and a place for everything’ - thus, frustrations mount as the clutter increases with expanding work, school activities, birthday parties and the Christmas influx!  All the ‘places’ are full and ‘things’ start to pile up in the corners. 

Working mostly from home means my space needs to be organised and (subject to the limitations of having young children) relatively tidy; I walk around the ‘clutter’ and TRY to ignore it but notice how distracting it is.  I say ‘try’ because in reality mess has an adverse effect on me; tidiness leaves me feeling relaxed and able to breathe. 

But it’s more than tidiness - at a basic level, the areas of my home need to support ME, i.e. do the right job in the right way.

At House of Colour, we work to identify that your clothes do the right job in the right way, supporting you in your lifestyle.   Enter Rannveig (pronounced Ranvay), of Anna Stone Design, an interior designer who works with ‘space’.  Rannveig listened to what I was trying to achieve and my frustrations with it not seeming to come together.  Trained, professional and objective, her fresh eye, made my space work better for me just as I’ve helped people’s wardrobes work better for them.

My problem was reduced to about a quarter of its original size by reorganising 3 out of 4 of my downstairs rooms - space and energy is apparent!

After an exhausting but enjoyable day spent rearranging sofas, chairs, tables, toy storage and pictures, my home felt completely different.  With only Rannveig’s time as my cost, I was well on the way to solving a problem that had seemed insurmountable because it drained me of energy and I always had too many things to do.   I’m used to being brought in as the ‘cavalry’ but today I’d been the recipient!  

And the best bit?  Nobody noticed!  I’d say that’s because it’s right, it works - just as when someone is wearing the colours and styles which suit and flatter them, people notice the person not the clothes.

Death and Public Speaking

 

 

It is often acknowledged that the two things people are most afraid of are death and public speaking. 

Most people can acknowledge that these are variations on Fear – of the unknown and being vulnerable.  Preston Ni has an interesting perspective, suggesting that these two fears are related by the fact that the fear of public speaking is the fear of emotional death!

 

 

Although it might not be so extreme, at House of Colour we’ve experienced people feeling intimidated by the thought of meeting an Image Consultant; they suddenly become self-conscious about their appearance, invest additional energy (compared to their normal levels) in thinking about what they’re wearing and apologise for various elements of their attire which they don’t have complete confidence in.  Otherwise confident people are reduced to varying degrees of nervousness. 

At the very least, this is something that needs to be acknowledged at the meeting introductions, and then put to one side, so that we can get on with the business of the meeting.  But what would it be like if you could remove most of the fear, releasing the energy for more productive use?

At our annual conference last year, we heard Mo Harford speaking about how our brains and thinking get in the way of our performance and producing great results.  In effect it is often only our beliefs which support (positive) or hinder (negative) us in our performance.

 

 

By focusing on getting your look ‘right’, i.e. one that you are comfortable in, comfortable with and that makes you look your best, you’re able to confidently step out and take care of the primary business at hand.  In the case of a ‘business’ person, this is getting on with their ‘business’!  

 

Special events can typically take a lot of our energy and attention when looking for the right outfit - often costing a lot of money - but it doesn’t have to.  For women, the problem often stems from a lack of confidence in coordinating items, so the safe option is to invest in a complete outfit which is clearly designed to coordinate and look good.  The problem with this approach is that you may have invested over £500 (clothing, accessories, shoes and in some cases underwear) and ended up with 1 outfit, rather than spending £500 on several items that can be used and adapted to create many more outfits in combination with clothing in your existing wardrobe.   Return on investment is about your cost-per-wear, shifting the focus to cost-per-outfit, an item of clothing or an accessory reveals itself as a good investment or not.

We need to know we look right, we have phrases such as ‘I need to put my face on’, ‘I’m having a bad hair day’, ‘I can’t go out without my lipstick/perfume/necklace (delete as appropriate)’.  All these statements point towards our need to ensure we ‘look the part’.  I particularly enjoyed reading this article on clothing related expressions!

 

Why are they fears? Because we all have a fundamental concern about what people think of us. This blog by Michael Hyatt gets succinctly to the point – take the focus off yourself!  Ironically, by focusing on yourself and your image, this is exactly what we are aiming for - get your physical presentation to such a level that you are able to take the attention off yourself and focus on the job in hand.

Maybe a business friend of mine who is considering a career transition from Business Consultant and Professional Speaker to Undertaker has the ideal solution to help you through your fears!

Personal Branding in a domestic world

‘Brand’, a term used to distinguish a product, service or concept in terms of a ‘personality’, is assumed to refer to business, so what place does this have for me if I’m a homemaker? I can hear it now….

 

‘I clean the house, manage schedules, play ‘taxi’ driver, make sure the ‘machine’ of ‘home’ works to support everyone’  but too often people lose their sense of self in serving others in this way. 
 

Enter stage left the ‘young person’ who honestly believes and declares that 'it doesn’t matter what you wear these days, people don’t judge you on  appearance.  It begs the question, do you dress for yourself or dress for others?  Maybe in the past we dressed more for others but the younger people of today dress more for themselves. 

 

 

The heightened focus on the Duchess of Cambridge’s attire, in her many roles, tells us that it’s still important to dress for your audience but more leeway’s given to dressing for comfort and style.  Ultimately, when you dress to flatter yourself, people notice YOU, the person. 

 

 

We need labels and categories to help us make sense of the world but, as individuals, we frequently resist labels (boxes, categories, structure) in favour of the ‘freedom of self expression’ -  it’s the conflict between belonging and needing to express our uniqueness.

  

Early in my career, I distinguished 2 main motivators for people searching out my services:

- Emotional: recognising the connection between how we look and how we feel enables us to take control of the ‘looking’ element to empower and strengthen the ‘feeling’ element, thereby enabling us to improve and enhance our feelings, increasing inner confidence  and self-belief, leading to a sense of inner peace and frequently, greater success in work, social and business life.

 

- Practical/Financial: the dawn of realisation in this group of clients was making the connection between how they look and money.  Whether it was sales attracted through being self-employed or in a sales role, promotions, pay rises or additional sales and, in the case of the self-employed or management, an increase in confidence.  As a result of ‘looking the part’, business increases.

 

Often client gender could predict the motivator but not always.  As a graduate, it was important to make the most of my limited budget so that clothes I bought for work were going to work hard and earn their keep in my wardrobe.   A very practical reason which led to me experiencing an increase in confidence and self-belief.  Within a year I’d experienced a pay rise, new job role, improved training opportunities - one thing led to another in a positive way.

 

 

 

A trigger at the ‘emotional’ stage, caused by a life change, relationship, job, status, moving from full- time employee to full-time mother is a culture shock for many and with plenty to keep yourself occupied, appearance is often the last thing on people’s minds!  Reverse that shift, as the children grow older, and try to return to the workplace with a different figure, body shape, lifestyle, budget and time constraints plus a need to reclaim your sense of identity, the offer of a consultation with House of Colour appears at the right time.

Personal Brand may not appear to sit in this ‘domestic’ world in the same way, but our need to have a clear sense of identity, who we are, our values, strengths and weaknesses, balanced against the need to be unique and that of fitting in, enables us to confidently negotiate the path between dressing how we are ‘supposed’ to look and dressing for ‘ourselves’. 

I just made my friend cry...

....all I did was ask her to put on a dress and then look at herself in the mirror – it’s part of my job!
 

Trying something that was at least 1 size smaller than she was expecting, containing colours she would never have considered previously and in a style far more revealing than she would usually dare wear (because it showed her figure rather than hiding it) enabled her to see the potential of how good she could look - for the first time since having her children.  I say she saw a glimpse of her true self coming back at her from the mirror, someone she had forgotten.

‘Telling the Truth and making someone cry is better than telling a lie and making someone smile’.  

Paolo Coelho

Let your appearance tell the truth about who you are. I don’t always move people to tears but it has been known!  Susan Boyle has also displayed this skill of causing people to be moved! If you haven't yet seen her original appearance, it's a real treat.

Transformation: 
a complete change, usually into something with an improved appearance or usefulness (Bing Dictionary). 

Susan Boyle is also one of the most significant and public transformations that we've seen in recent years and what a difference it’s made to the way people relate to her?   Coming on stage everyone clearly assumed that she couldn't sing - and the main basis for that was her appearance.  Understandably she then went through a make-over and typically followed the public criticism.  It's not an easy journey to make at any time, never mind in the public eye.

Simon Cowell captured it well when he later said:

 “Focus yourself.  …come back as the person you want to be, not the person you think you should be"

True transformation; noone can deny how gorgeous she can look.  

Internal conversations and scripts prevent you looking our best often accompanied by not knowing what suits you, your body shape, proportions and your personality, our consultants at House of Colour are trained to help you with that change to transformation.

I once met a lovely woman wearing scruffy trousers, a grungy (sorry, but it was!) vest top, no make-up and her hair scraped off her face in a messy knot.  It was highly likely the colours weren’t her best either becaue there was nothing stunning about her.  Yet she was an amazing woman with a lot to offer and we had a fascinating conversation.  She was someone who looked for the beauty in everything and everyone.  For her, true beauty was about the personality on the inside, not the outward appearance.  Ironically, in my opinion (and having consulted over 500 people, I consider myself a fairly objective judge) she was beautiful - stunning eyes, facial bone structure that many women would pay for, a fabulous figure and had what I can only describe as a peaceful, serene energy around her.  At the time there was something amiss but it wasn’t until later that it registered - the misalignment between the inside and the outside meant that she was making people work really hard to see her beauty.  Why would you do that?

When you present yourself to the world as a true reflection of who you are, you make it easier for people to see you, get you, understand, relate to you and therefore make it easier for people to work with you. 

While the most obvious application for this is some kind of interview, be it sales or a new job, they are one-off events.  It’s the consistency over time which embeds the transformation. I clearly remember a client who discovered that business networking suddenly became easier, more effective and far more enjoyable when she was dressed in colours and styles that flattered her -  that is, showed off her best self to the world week in, week out. 

By coincidence HOC HQ posted this on our Facebook page this week: ‘You’ve been criticising yourself for years and it hasn’t worked.  Try approving of yourself and see what happens.’  Louise Hay

I believe the world would be a better place if we did!  What do you see is possible?  

A Colour Revelation

I’ve been working directly with colour for many years and love being surrounded by beautiful things.  Beauty for me is in the delicate and subtle, the harmonious and blending, the segue through the seasons and the balance between natural and manmade. 

 

Spring is on the way, the birds are singing, the daffodils are peaking through, the snowdrops are making an appearance, hellebores are showing up for their long lasting display and I’m planning a trip to the Winter Garden at Anglesey Abbey.

 

Seeing and experiencing something deliberately designed to lift and provide pleasure in what is considered a fallow season is inspiring.

I adopted many of their ideas for my front garden and in those brief moments of arriving or leaving the house, I’m greeted with sights and smells that lift my spirits and gently remind me that I’m alive, all is well and there is life in the winter!

 

Colour has a profound impact on us and yet we’re not always conscious of it nor any better informed on how to use it powerfully.  Colours affect your mood as much as your mood can affect the colour choices you make.  Wearing your right colours will make you appear healthy; clients observing and participating in a colour analysis frequently acknowledge that someone looks more confident!  Younger!  Slimmer! In their right colours.  I know I feel happier when surrounded by my colours, wearing them or viewing them and find it far more appealing to view people also wearing their best colours, regardless of whether I personally like them or not.  And it’s all a trick of the light!  So set about employing these tricks gainfully to support you in pursuit of your goals.   If you apply for our free Colour Guide, researched and compiled from the world of fashion, you'll find this season’s colour trends laid out in the context of your season. Next week Harpreet will be introducing the new trend looks for Spring/Summer 2014.

My first foray into this world of influencing those around me with the colours I wore was totally innocent and over 15 years ago; I wasn’t feeling great but had some important work to do.  I deliberately choose a great colour (on me) with the intention of keeping my head down and avoiding conscientious concerned comments; ‘are you ok [you don’t look it!]?’ what I experienced and hadn’t expected, were positive comments, such as ‘you look well’ resulting in my feeling empowered – a revelation! 

Beyond the Best there is a Better!

School mottos are a funny thing – they provide an opportunity for discussion, debate and criticism and yet we’re often able to recall them years later.  Mine has stayed with me all these years and ironically means more now with the ‘wisdom’ of experience than it did with the ‘innocence’ of youth. 

At some level this is paradoxical - if you have delivered your best, how can you say there is a better?  But of course there is - we build on the shoulders of our predecessors, our previous experiences and develop new ideas and dreams from them.

It also describes a key element in my approach to life – it’s an ongoing adventure where I learn new things, how to do something better, more effectively, more efficiently or more thoroughly in order to achieve more enjoyment.

Personal development, literature, leadership and coaching programmes abound where we can identify our strengths, values and life purpose.  Recently, I really enjoyed learning via a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), on The Secret Power of Brands.   Evidence suggests that brand led organisations are more successful.  Can we therefore extrapolate that people operating from their ‘purpose’ or ‘Why’ are more successful?  Simon Sinek’s ‘Ted Talk’ is a fabulous account of the power of identifying and operating from WHY.

 

I believe that people are empowered when they look their best.  We don’t enjoy what we don’t know how to do.  For me, being able to take control of one area of my life by understanding what to wear to look my best, was a revelation - and it’s an ongoing journey.  The visible transformation I underwent in the early days has evolved, developed and been improved on! 
 

I recently had the opportunity to revisit my old university, sharing my experience of finding jobs and recruiting with the current students. 

One of them asked

‘When did you know what you wanted to do?’

‘I still don’t!’ I replied laughingly. 

However, I do know that I want to make a difference to people, inspiring, challenging and leading them to make the most of themselves, so that they discover what’s important to them and step into their own power and ability to deliver on it. 

As in life, things evolve.  My old school has a new lease of life after bringing together the best of three schools and I consider my life a 'work in progress’.  I’m loving the journey of exploring and enabling others to explore where ‘beyond the best... the better leads'!

A Sense of Proportion

Many of you will have seen this picture before, but not all.  What do you see when you look at it?  A Young woman or an old Hag?  They’re both there, suggesting that it's your perspective that gives the perception of reality.

In some ways, ‘looking good’ is just an optical illusion – the trick is knowing what to draw the eye towards or away from and how.  Knowing what we've got to work with and then dressing it with a little magic and a dose of common sense.  

We all have things that we think are ‘wrong’ with us, but maybe it’s just our perspective which is ‘wrong’ – try these:

• "My bottom is too big!" – or are you enviously curvaceous?
• "I’m short-waisted!" – or is your shorter torso balanced with long legs?
• "I’ve got no hips/bust!" – if you ‘haven’t’ got it, then you can add more detail to balance the other part of you… unless you have that straight androgynous body shape that looks really stylish in something simple, straight and boxy.

Understanding your body shape and proportions is a vital part of the Style Class.  You learn how to ‘redress’ your balance to create interest in a deliberate or intentional way - using emphasis to reinforce a statement about yourself that could be any number of adjectives such as ‘creative, reliable, knowledgeable, sporty, rebellious, relaxed’ and many more.

And for you non-believers?  There’s hope!  The Gestalt Principle “...maintains that the human eye sees objects in their entirety before perceiving their individual parts”.  In Michael Tuck’s detailed article about using the principles of design, it’s refreshing to read that good design can be intuitive, a natural ability.

“Gestalt Principles aren't artificial constructs that people have concocted to apply to design; they are attempts to describe and verbalize how we naturally perceive things....… in at least some sense, "design talent" is an ability to naturally — and perhaps even unconsciously — understand how human perception works, and how to create designs for websites, paintings, or wedding dresses that are artistically beautiful and functionally efficient by appealing to it.” 

A relief to know!

“Some of the best designers in the world know nothing of Gestalt Principles. They use them intuitively; when designs look and feel right, usually they incorporate these principles whether the designer recognises the terminology or not.” 

So, back to you; what of those features which can't take clothing e.g. 

• "I’ve got a big nose!"  Let’s be honest, these 'family features’ be it nose, chin, eyebrows even skin are not usually declared in a positive light. 

Wearing clothing and accessories that suit you in a way that compliments you, we call being ‘In Focus’; your look is balanced and attractive.  When you’re not wearing things that compliment you, you’re ‘out of focus’, out of balance and appear less attractive.  The feature you’d rather diminish often becomes more prominent.

Therefore, if you have a 'distinguishing feature', it’s amazing to watch it blend and harmonise when your whole look is ‘In Focus’.  We all have fabulous parts of our bodies, unfortunately we’re hard-wired to notice the negatives rather than highlighting the positives.  

One lovely client, a size 20+, arrived wearing palazzo pants and a long over shirt, complaining that when she was younger she had a waist!  I pointed out that she still had a waist, maybe bigger than it used to be, but still a waist that needed defining to show off her figure – demonstrating how to do this in a way appropriate to her current size and shape meant she immediately looked slimmer and gave her a massive boost of confidence. 

And then there was the male client who thought his legs were ‘long’ because he had difficulty finding trousers long enough.   I gently pointed out that at 6’4”, a 34” leg length while long, wasn’t disproportionately long, if anything it was a little on the short side for his height!  This left him able to focus attention on his clothes by getting the emphasis right on his torso, redressing the balance.  

There are few universally applicable rules.  In order to emphasise your uniqueness, we need to work with each of you individually.  Lisa Wade wonders “what it would be like to live in a world where the fashion industry encouraged us to “emphasise” our differences from one another, instead of trying to make us all look the same?”  You're all unique individuals; we focus on your uniqueness. 

You may have heard this from me before– it’s not what you’ve got but what you do with it that makes the difference!  

Getting a sense of proportion allows you to make the most of yourselves - you deserve it!

Making the Most of Yourself and Your Business

There is one main (personal) reason for writing this blog - I have always been passionate about helping people to make the most of themselves.  Whether it’s job prospects, securing the home you want for the right price, careers advice, how to get out of a ‘hole’ you might be stuck in – I’ve realised over time that my skill set has developed and is consistently delivered around a central theme of ‘making the most of your assets’.

The internet, an infinite resource, has so many tips and tricks about how to make the most of your assets, whether it’s your body, your health or your business prospects.  You don’t need to hang around long before a plethora of advice and opinions will cross your e-path.  It’s fascinating and very easy to learn bits and pieces that add and enhance your skill set and knowledge base (beware – it’s a time bandit if you don’t keep focused!).  Every now and then, it’s not so much advice as a clear example of why something is possibly more important than previously thought.

‘The Tale of Two Tailors’ is a perfect example of why you need to make the most of yourself, showing yourself and your business in its best light and how the invisible cost could be the tip of the iceberg of not doing so. 

The management guru Tom Peters sums it up nicely in this quote:

‘It’s a brand new world ….Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You’.                                                 

A few years ago, I was involved in a charity event where I took 3 local professionals through a House of Colour business ‘make-over’.  The DJ, The Chief Exec and the DJ were asked to turn up wearing a ‘typical work day outfit’ - their images speak for themselves!

(© stevewilliams_photo@btinternet.com)

This kind of transformation is typical of what you can achieve when you participate in the Business and Personal Brand sessions available at HOC in Business.

It’s clear that making the best of ourselves is beneficial both to our inner confidence as well as promoting confidence IN us from outside sources.  Make the best of yourself, enhance your assets and count the benefits that you receive, you may have more to do with attracting it than you realise!

 

Radio 1: Waking up to First Impressions

I heard an amusing comment recently that Radio 1 presenters will need to smarten up their appearance because they’re having their own dedicated channel on BBC iPlayer!

On searching for the news item I was even more amused to find no mention of what this will mean to them or their appearance! There’s a perception that if you’re on radio, it doesn’t matter what you wear but if you’re on TV it does! Maybe the old adage has changed too:

 ‘I’ve got the face for Radio and the voice for Twitter’

I was always taught to take pride in my appearance when going to work.  Despite working on a farm it was still important because it demonstrated my attitude to work and my co-workers.  Now I have children and can see things from an adult perspective, I haven’t changed that opinion.  The more important it is for people to see/hear me and my ‘message’, the more attention I pay to what I’m going to wear.

There’s much debate about first impressions and whether they count as much as we think  - modern networking happens across platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and it’s about your picture as much as what you say or post. 

According to M. Farouk Radwan, there are several factors that determine how we form a first impression:

·         Social exchange theory

·         How you make them feel

·         When you meet them – have they or you had a bad day? 

·         The Halo effect – an interesting phenomenon!

Arthur Dobrin suggests that while the halo effect is powerful, in a longer term relationship, its power is diminished, which is completely in line with our view that consistency is critical - in your behaviour and appearance but also with who you are.  Your beliefs and values shine through your personality whether you like it or not, unless you’re acting, and that’s difficult to maintain outside a temporary role.  The Queen and Bob Geldof are two examples of consistency because whether you agree or disagree with their stance, values or behaviours in the world, their impressions are upheld because they present themselves in ways that are consistent with their body language, physical appearance and character.

As for how long it takes, contrary to popular belief, it’s no longer a few seconds; according to Willis and Todorov it’s more like one tenth of a second, on that basis almost exclusively visual. 

There is hope.  Dobrin points out, ‘First impressions matter, but substance has the final word’. 

As public figures, Radio 1 presenters have already got a personal brand being clear on this and how to display it will serve them well if their visibility is suddenly increased.  If there is changing/upgrading to do, it needs to be maintainable – slow and steady rather than erratic and unpredictable will enable them to maintain their credibility, unless unpredictable and erratic are values they wish to be known by!   If their image is not consistent with who they truly are they won’t be able to maintain it over time without considerable cost to themselves and their self-esteem. 

And my top tip?  Dress for the position you want to be!  If you don’t look like someone who can represent your organisation at the next or even highest level, then you will either be overlooked in favour of someone who does ‘look the part’ or you’ll have to work harder to get there. 

Clear that Clutter!

I’ve done it again.  Many, many hours have been spent over the last two months clearing out clutter and I’m now gearing up for my second pass! 

Growing up on a farm the impact of my surroundings and the need for light and fresh air came home to me after I attended a London University!  So it’s no surprise that I’ve developed a keen interest in Feng Shui.  In my own language, this is about having a physical environment that works to support me in my life.   This includes being as mindful of the negative power of clutter as I am of the positive elements in my environment.

An interesting point that Karen Kingston makes in her book, Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, is that the negative effect of clutter can be far more powerful than the positive energy of anything else.  Clutter clearing is contagious, having cleared my office, I moved to my wardrobe including my underwear!   Pareto’s principle of 80:20 suggests that 80% of our time we wear 20% of our clothes.  Having helped many clients over the years, I concur.   Fortunately, I’ve applied what I teach generally but some areas are creeping towards 60:40, most notably my underwear and socks!  Suffice to say I found it liberating only keeping the ones I wear regularly!   Our theory at House of Colour is that you’ll only wear something uncomfortable 3 times before overlooking it in favour of something else when choosing what to wear.  This is especially true of underwear!  So do yourself a favour, be honest - if in doubt, chuck it out! Or at least put it in a bag with today’s date on it – if in 12 months time you haven’t been into the bag, then it’s time to get rid of it… without taking a sneaky look at what’s inside!

My husband’s wardrobe didn’t survive completely unscathed but a cautionary word of advice here from Karen and myself – don’t try clearing other people’s clutter!  After a painful process several years ago, I’ve managed to keep on top of this and learnt how to work with my husband.  I am currently learning how to work with my children!  If you want more tips, read Chapter 14 of her book!

The contagion is spreading; several of my friends have reported that they’re starting to clutter clear as a result of me sharing my experiences!   And there are many charity shops who are able to recycle fabrics as well as clothes and are extremely grateful for anything that doesn’t make it past the EBay apathy!

The process:

1.       Prioritise:

             a.       Identify all the areas that hold clutter
             b.      Grade them on a scale of 1-10 by how much they annoy you
             c.       Grade them on a scale of how big or small they are
              d.      Start with the smallest areas that bug you the most to get the quick win

2.       Have boxes to sort the clutter into:

             a.       Fixing/mending
             b.      Cleaning
             c.    Returning  to their owners
             d.      Charity shop/Ebay .. but make sure it’s done within the week otherwise it becomes  
                      another source of clutter
             e.      Filing – to be deposited in the rightful places around your home – but don’t do it until
                      you’ve finished clearing otherwise you’ll get distracted
             f.       Throwing away

3.       Sorting / Filing:

             a.       When replacing your cleared belongings, file them according to function/purpose/
                      colour so that they are easily found
             b.    Keep all things visible.  Out of sight is out of mind and you’ll forget they exist if they’re
                      hidden in a corner of your wardrobe.
             c.    Lifestyle – recognise how you spend your time and keep your clothes in proportion to
                      this.  10 ball dresses are fine if you go to several each year!

 My confession?   I couldn’t do this on my own – I’ve (nearly) finished the job myself but I needed someone to help me break the backbone in the worst area – my office.   Your consultant is trained to help you clutter clear your wardrobe as a critical part of your Wardrobe Review service.  Consider what help you need….and cut yourself some slack. Clutter clearing is a draining process but it’s well worth the feeling of lightness, clarity and space at the end!