Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now; Not Just a Chili Pepper's Song

One of the greatest annoyances of my master bedroom is the ridiculously tiny size of my closet. However, I have come to realize that this is actually more of a blessing and than a curse. Of course, nobody likes to have to seasonally shift their clothes from storage crates to closet and back into crates again, but I have actually learned to enjoy this seasonal ritual. First of all, it is exciting for me when a new season begins. Although, those of us in Colorado know how tricky it can be to dress ourselves appropriately when all 4 seasons can happen over the span of several days. More importantly, it gives me a chance to really evaluate my wardrobe.

The average woman tends to keep roughly four to six different sizes of clothes to help compensate for that oh-so-fun yo-yo weight battle that many of us wage. I say, get rid of what you don't currently wear! Learn to love and accept your body where it is now and have clothes that make you feel fabulous NOW, not 5 or 10 pounds skinnier or just in case you add a little extra layer for winter warmth. Every time you get rid of something old, you make room for something new.

Now I am completely guilty of holding on those the skinny pre-pregnancy jeans that I just know I will get back into. But really, who am I kidding? It's kind of fun to have something as a weight-loss gauge, but just use a mirror or scale or measuring tape. When I actually got back into one of my one old pairs of my jeans, they were so outdated that they looked ridiculous. Plus body shapes change, even if you are one of the lucky ones to have made it back to your happy size.

But, I digress....Here are some tips to help decide what should stay and what should go.

1) Every time you buy something get rid of its equivalent. For example, if you buy three tee-shirts, find three old shirts to donate, or toss, if they are too worn out. I actually got rid of 6 pairs of shoes this summer. And, yes, I did buy 6 pairs to replace them before they were donated (gotta love DSW), but it really felt awesome to ditch the old pairs!

2) Go through your closet a minimum of twice a year; better yet four times. If you haven't worn something for a season or two, ditch it. If you still are unsure if you can part with your favorite sweater that Aunt Tilly knitted for you, wait one more winter, and if it never leaves the closet, it's time to say goodbye.

3) If you have so many clothes that you just can't remember what you have worn, flip your hangers backwards with the hook facing the opposite direction after you wear something. At the end of the season, the clothes on hangers that haven't been flipped are up for donation debate.

The truth is that although we have so many clothes, we tend to stick to the same several outfits. So, do a constant reality check. If that blouse that seemed like such a good buy at the time never seems to feel quite right when you put it on, then swallow your shopping pride and donate it. It is such a great feeling to purge. And if you do get to that goal weight that you were hoping for, you should treat yourself to something new. You deserve it! There are plenty of charities out there who would greatly appreciate your donation. I am on ARC's 6 week calling cycle and almost every time they call, I have at least one bag to give. I feel great to have cleaned my closet, help someone else in need, and now it's time to go shopping!

A few donation ideas:
Women's Alliance and Dress For Success take gently worn women's professional clothing

Glass Slipper Project collects and makes prom and formal dresses available.

Other charities such as Salvation Army and Goodwill generally have centers everywhere or will come to your home and pick up items.

When Soap Isn't Enough

The most disgusting of disgusting happened to me the other day. As I was helping my daughter in the Home Depot bathroom, my sunglasses fell off my head and right into the toilet. Now, there are many things I would not rescue from this particular situation, but my prescription polarized sunglasses were definitely worth saving. I stared for a moment completely mortified. Then, quickly fished the sunglasses out and hustled to the sink (luckily the toilet had a freshly-flushed bowl). I washed the glasses and my hands for about five minutes in soapy water, but felt like I wasn't quite ready to let them anywhere near my face.

After wrapping the sunglasses in a paper towel and heading home, I called my personal Optometrist and his office manager (a.k.a. my parents) to find out the best way to clean the sunglasses to my satisfaction. I learned a few things about cleaning glasses that I thought I would share here, since I know my first instinct of throwing them into boiling water then dowsing with Clorox probably was not the best course of action.

1) Use rubbing alcohol for disinfecting. NEVER use a household cleaner as it can ruin any coating on the lenses.

2) Use gentle liquid soap such as dish soap to clean. Put a dab on your thumb and index finger and rub lenses carefully under running water. At the risk of sounding like a shampoo commercial, rinse and repeat as necessary.

3) Kleenex is actually the best thing to use to dry. T-shirts, dish towels and paper towels can easily scratch lenses. And make sure your tissue is not the lotion variety or you will be rinsing and repeating a lot more than you would like.

4) If there is any leftover lint, use cloths that are glasses specific (they usually come with your glasses, if not; they are inexpensive and can be washed in the washing machine).

5) Wear and enjoy :)

Hopefully you won't have the issue of have to rescue your glasses from a public toilet, but if you do, now you know how to clean them properly.

Mother Knows Best

There are many times in my life when I swear that I am adopted and can in no way be related to my parents. And then there are times when it is pretty evident that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. The last time I visited home was when it first dawned on me that my parents are some of the most well-organized people I have ever seen. My mom claims that there had to, of course, be an Organized Mother, in order to "train and nurture" The Organized Goddess; and indeed she is right. Not only is her home in perfect order, knick knacks aside, but she is a wealth of knowledge of fun tips and ideas. So, I send lots of props to Mom as this tip was one of my mom's most recent ingenious ideas.

Everytime she visits me in Colorado, we have our ritualistic shopping madness of running around to all the stores in the area including any and all organzing type stores (she's so excited that the Container Store is now open at Flatirons, as am I). As she was perusing the dollar travel section at Target, I saw her putting tons of toothbrush holders into her cart. Of course, I think she's losing it. I mean, how many travel toothbrushes can you possibly need?

When we got home she demonstrated her new idea of using the travel toothbrush holders as eye make-up brush containers, either for travel or keeping in your drawer. This was such a great idea that I thought I should share it here. The average women can have a multitude of different brushes, and what a better way to keep them organized and separated by use and style then to use this inexpensive storage and/or travel container? The actual brush is protected and kept dust-free in a compact container.

So thanks for the tip mom, and as always, you do know best :)