‘Good is the enemy of Great’…

 'Good is the enemy of Great'.......

…is a well known Jim Collins quote From Good to Great - he states that:

 

‘Get rid of the good to make room for the great in your life’. 

I’ve noticed an ongoing theme this week:

Holidays are useful changes in energy which either cause a spate of activity before the deadline of leaving, or an injection of inspiration and enthusiasm after which a spot of spring cleaning is often initiated.

• My trusty swimming costume got left on holiday - it saved me finding a plastic bag to carry it in after using it during the day and flying home in the evening!  But this wasn’t the real reason, the Lycra was starting to go (Chlorine is the enemy of Lycra!) and I realised that I bought it when I was about ½ stone heavier, maybe not a lot, but on a 9½ stone frame, that’s 5%.  It didn’t make me feel great.
• As I started to unpack and return everything to their rightful homes, I recognised that at least 8 of my tops, trusty stalwarts, were no longer in regular use - past their best.  They didn’t make me feel great.
• I moved along to my dresses and realised a couple, while fine, never really worked. Each time I would overlook them in favour of another.  While I thought I liked them, they didn’t make me feel great.
• I’ve never quite bought into the handbag graveyard, preferring to have 5-6 covering the main colour/purpose points in my spectrum rather than one in every style or colour possible.  One, well loved and used, was past its best, another too floppy, unstructured, I could never find anything because it either fell to the bottom of the ‘bucket’ style, or the bag flopped over when I put it down and everything fell out.    They didn’t make me feel great.
• And so to shoes.  There comes a time in every shoe’s life when it has earned its retirement but at what point? Sometimes they’re looking past their best before date, other times, past the fashion trend, even though I like the colour or style and they still fit - 2 pairs gone.  They don’t make me feel great.

Are you noticing a theme here?

Working through accessories and jewellery, I removed 20+ items, resulting in a gentle feeling of relief at  the extra ‘breathing space’ in my wardrobe. 

 

By removing a small percentage of energy drainers I’ve freed up myself and the space in my wardrobe.  Even without any more clothes I immediately feel better because the ones left are the ones which make me feel great!

The mantra I’ve passed on to many friends and clients over the years is ‘if you don’t use it or love it, pass it on’.  Regardless of your feelings for 'it', if ‘it’ doesn’t love you, it won’t make you feel great and you deserve more than that! 

Why settle for ‘good’ when ‘great’ is available?

Simplify Daily Life!

Heading off on the school run, I realised that having a wardrobe that’s a ‘natural extension of me’, i.e. where all the clothes suit me, are in my colour and style and organised by function and colour makes my mornings so much less stressful.

Most of you reading this will be able to relate to the school run – at some stage you’re likely to have been on one either as a student or a parent!  The best run homes have a routine; the alarm goes off at the same time, the bathroom routines execute in an agreed order.  Distributing responsibilities is the way to go when more than one adult is available!  Breakfast is usually based on a recognisable formula and can be timed to the minute.  Brush your teeth, pick up your bags and head out of the door!

The children dress in a uniform, thankfully no choices to be made there! What a joy to have an element of that autonomy for myself.  I don’t have a uniform but having worked with my colour and style for nearly 20 years, I have a good range of my colours in my wardrobe and a good selection in my make-up kit.  It doesn’t matter what I ‘grab’ from either, I know that ‘the worst’ I’ll look is presentable because the colours are from the same family even if they don’t match they will harmonise and complement each other. 

My wardrobe is organised - I hate hunting for things and can usually lay my hands on something within a few moments.   Organising my wardrobe by clothes type (jackets, tops, trousers etc), then function/style (work, casual, short/long sleeved), then colour (blues, reds, pinks and so on) I can quickly find an appropriate outfit… if what I’m looking for isn’t there I know it’s in the wash and can easily find a suitable replacement on one of the neighbouring hangers!  I use simple wooden hangers so that everything looks tidy and organised - I’ve found Ikea and Wilkinson’s good value but others are available!

I love the fact that it’s easy on the eye, therefore one more stress factor is removed!  I used to hate clothes, hate shopping and invested minimal time and money in the whole process, I was never sure whether things really suited me….we rarely enjoy something we don’t know how to do well.   Investing in a Wardrobe Review or Shopping Trip will pay back several times over, the knowledge, experience and skills you learn will remain with you for ever. 

Business and industry use processes to save time and effort, minimise error rates and massively reduce cost, sometimes they have to invest up front to get the medium and long term savings – other savings are immediate.  Co-ordinate your ‘wardrobe’ process and you’ll get all of these benefits for yourself - dressing just got one step easier!

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!

 

Learning to Drive … at the next level

Earlier this year I got a new car, you know, the people carrying kind to make the school run that much more (un)bearable!

And I’ve been having fun learning to ‘play’ with some of the gadgets that are designed to make driving easier and safer.

I’ve long had access to using cruise control and find it quite useful on long motorway journeys or in speed controlled zones to help me keep within the speed limit.  But this is new - adaptive cruise control! 

With adaptive cruise control the computers in the car ensure that the gap between me and the vehicle in front is a ‘safe’ distance, which means if they slow down, so does my car, when they speed up, within the bounds of the original speed I set, so does my car …. And all I’ve done is make sure the steering is straight. 

Driving in the rush hour I realised that by ensuring my speed remains constant AND a safe gap ahead, I’m able to focus on the exceptions of the traffic, cars pulling out suddenly, traffic conditions, blind spots or bikes coming up suddenly in my rear view mirror.  Essentially, taking some of the stress out of what is a high energy requirement to drive.

It occurred to me that in the same way when you learn how to ‘drive’ your wardrobe with the right colours, the right styles, the right shapes for you then you can focus your attention on other things. 

If anything you choose from your wardrobe is going to work for you, then you need to ‘fine tune’ it for the audience or occasion and if you feel over or under dressed learn how to accessorise it up or down. 

Worst case scenario is that if you do turn up under or over dressed, at least you know you look good, you won’t feel out of place and you may be able to sneak into the cloakroom and adjust your accessories (fine tuning) to help you feel more appropriate. 

Learning to drive your wardrobe takes the effort out of the everyday, enabling you to focus on the exceptions.  

When we go on holiday we have 23 kilos of luggage allowance each but often end up taking 23 kilos between two of us for a week holiday; less stress at the airport, less space required in the car, more space for buying things when we’re away!   It doesn’t matter how much or how little I take on holiday I still manage to bring a certain amount back unworn but within Pareto’s 80:20 principle I ensure I wear at least 80% of what I take on holiday. 

I’m soon off again, me and my two boys, Dad follows later, each with 23 kg of luggage for 3 weeks – I’m half way through the packing process but would place a fairly safe bet on the fact that our luggage allowance will total about 30kg, including presents and the boys’ scooters so that we can go for walks without whinging kids saying ‘I’m tired…’! 

Learning how to ‘drive’ my wardrobe allows me to take the stress out of dressing so that I can use the other tools I’ve learnt to 'cruise' more comfortably!

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Life’s lessons applied to your wardrobe

How many of these lessons can also apply to our wardrobes?

I’ve just paid £15 for a £1 portion of chips!

The nice man in the chip shop informed me, after I’d handed over my money, that the 50p I’d given him in the changes was worth £15!  Strangely enough he didn’t want to give it back to meL

• We don’t always realise the value of what we have in our wardrobes.   I’ve met many clients who’ve realised that items they already possess can be used differently, accessorised or altered and brought back to a useful working life again. 

I arrived home to find half of one of my plants had fallen off.  I’m fond of it, a faithful old friend that survives my neglect!  Having rectified the situation, it looks so much better for a significant pruning. If I take care of it properly there’s even a chance it will survive and thrive again.

• We may be fond of our wardrobes but just like plants, a serious prune every now and then is essential to maintain a long, healthy and useful life.  It may be that a whole section needs an overhaul or simply a bit of maintenance, care and attention will bring it back to life. 

My kitchen storage jar (containing chocolate drops) had mysteriously developed a chip.  It’s a mystery how others containing sultanas, raisins, flour and nuts don’t have the same inclination to jump off the shelf – maybe my two young boys can shed some light?  So I bought a replacement but unfortunately, my memory didn’t serve me well and I bought the wrong size…. then discovered I already had a replacement and could have saved my time and money.

• We often think we need something new but our memory of what we’re trying to replace isn’t quite accurate.  Not only that but there is often something already in our wardrobe that will do perfectly well, possibly with a bit of tweaking using accessories, if we only took a look.

All these lessons are useful practical tips that apply equally at times of economic recession or abundance.  Understanding how to inject a bit of colour, variety and interest into your wardrobe by starting with what’s already there has got to be worth a bit of time and attention – hasn’t it?

 

Internet Shopping

I’ve just done my shopping… on a Sunday!  The shop was warm and comfortable, like my favourite armchair, it only took me an hour, AND I was home with my feet up in no time.

Internet shopping, not everyone’s cup of tea, but extremely handy for busy people when you know what you’re looking for (style, shape, colour, patterns, proportions) and even better when you know which brands suit you and fit you.

While browsing our Facebook page and following the trail threads, I was prompted to look at a brand that works really well for my clothing personality (Classic Ingenue) and figure shape (sharp curve), (Damsel in a Dress) – and thanks to the bargain I picked up in the January sale, (a dress for £50 reduced from £189), I even know my size! 

The beauty of internet shopping is that once I’ve decided to buy I order several items to try on in the comfort of my own home… with my accessories and shoes ‘handy by’.  I just need to make sure I return them promptly if I don’t want them, it’s what my Granny called trying ‘on approval’…. Bring it home, try it and if it doesn’t work, take it back to the shop!  The age of the credit card has made this to everyone’s mutual benefit, providing you have the discipline to take it back you can order more than you’re prepared to spend, allowing you to try a few things and select which work best.   I placed the order at 10pm on Sunday and by Tuesday, the delivery had arrived. 

I’m not a fan of shopping because taking my clothes off is such a hassle!  So much easier to try them on as I’m on my way to bed or getting dressed in the morning – it’s more time efficient, my husband is there to offer a second opinion and I can generally get unwanted items in the post the next day and back on my credit card before the next bill is issued!

However, from bygone days of catalogue shopping, I’m well aware of the advantages of shopping knowing my colours and clothing personality.  Much as some outfits look fantastic on the models, I recognise the ones that won’t work so well on me, whether it’s pattern type, scale, colour scheme or shape, some things are clearly MINE and most are not – a great time and energy saver!

I’ve been too busy writing this to be bothered to try them on tonight however, tomorrow morning will suffice and my credit card balance will live to tell the tale!

 

 

Choosing the Perfect Party Dress

It’s that time of year again to get the Christmas party outfit. Worried about what to wear? Do what I do and take inspiration from the pantomime!

Sounds unusual? Well when you have your Personal Style done at House of Colour they associate your clothing personality with a pantomime character. If you haven’t done your Personal Style Day yet, think back to your childhood and the character you liked to play when you raided the dressing up box. Although the characters of the pantomime are extreme, their attributes can help you understand your clothing personality.

Fairy Godmother from Wizard of Oz

I’m a Romantic and my pantomime character is the fairy godmother. Think the glamorous, glitzy saviour of the princess with a soft side (but if you’ve ever seen Shrek 2 you know some fairy godmothers can be moody too!) 

The fairy godmother knows grown up glamour so that’s what I look for in my Christmas party outfit.  Now I’m not intending to go to my Christmas party with wings and a wand, but I can take inspiration from the embellishments, lace and the sumptuous fabrics for my own outfit.

With that in mind I know the dress I choose will be perfect for my clothing personality and will make sure I sparkle for Christmas.


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