Yolanda V Acree 3/27/15 Yolanda V Acree 3/27/15

Create Your Capsule Wardrobe

When I started decluttering my closet, I was unknowingly creating a capsule wardrobe. It’s really a big thing in the lifestyle blogging world and is a great concept for simplifying your style.

What is a capsule wardrobe?

It is a limited collection of clothing and accessory items based on your personal style needs. The aim is to pare down your closet and focus on your style.

History of the capsule wardrobe.

Designer, Susie Faux first used the term in the 1970s and Donna Karan popularized it in the 1980s with her “7 Easy Pieces” collection.

“Faux defined it as a collection of essential pieces which do not go out of fashion and can be worn for multiple seasons. She suggested that you update your wardrobe with seasonal items to have something to wear for any occasion without having to buy a lot of things. Her list contained two pairs of trousers, a dress or skirt, a jacket, a coat, a knit, two pairs of shoes and two bags.” (source)

Donna Karan's collection consisted of a bodysuit, pair of pants, coat, jacket, blouse or turtleneck, skirt, and evening dress. I think their lists were super minimal and serve as a good base to work from when creating your own capsule collection.

Number of items

There is not an absolute need to count your items or reduce them to a certain number of items, mainly because the right number of things is different for every person.

There is a popular challenge from Project 333 to create a capsule wardrobe based on 33 pieces of clothing.

Shopping for items to complete your capsule wardrobe.

How this generally works:

You create a list of items (checklist) you think you need for the season or year.
You look through your closet to find the items on the checklist that you already have.
You go shopping to fill in the rest.

Tread lightly on #3. Remember you just decluttered your closet so you don’t want to go buying stuff that will clutter it up again.

Also, if you’re a recovering shopaholic, please do not use #3 as an excuse to go shopping. Scrutinize your closet and your list.

I guarantee you already have everything you need because what have you been wearing all this time? It’s really a matter of keeping it pared down. If you must buy something, make sure it is an absolute need.

Benefits of Creating a Capsule Wardrobe

A closet that speaks to your style.
Discover how creative you are with a limited wardrobe you must make work for 365 days a year.
Less wondering about, “what will I wear today” and more style confidence.
No more storing your off-season clothes in a spare bedroom, attic, garage, or storage unit. Ideally, all your clothes will fit into your closet.
Savings galore! Less time wasted, less money spent, less hassle.

Tips for creating a capsule wardrobe.

A neutral color palette is more versatile, but pick a color scheme that works for you.
Accessories are everything. They can change the mood and tone of an outfit. You can also add pops of color via your accessories and makeup.
Document your outfits. This is a great way to save time and take the guesswork out of figuring out what to wear. You'll have plenty of style options at your finger tips. The Stylebook app and Polyvore are great ways to have a visual representation of your wardrobe. I used Polyvore to create the images in this post.
Consider your weekly activities (work, errands, church, leisure).
Have two wardrobe subgroups: spring/summer and fall/winter. You can also do one for each season.
Layering pieces are essential. Cardigans, blazers, jackets, and scarves help you create more wardrobe options and transition between the cooler and warmer seasons.
Accent your capsule wardrobe sparingly with fun, trendy, of the moment pieces.
Tops are more crucial than bottoms. You can wear neutral colored pants over and over again without anyone paying much attention, but use your tops to add variety.
Know your body. Every item of clothing should accentuate the body you have.

My (current) capsule wardrobe.

Items:

black leather jacket

black suit (blazer + pants)

blue jeans

black jeans

stonewash jeans

grey twill slim leg pants

black twill slim leg pants

black + white striped dress

black dresses (2)

black mini skirt

blouses (black + white, long + short sleeves)

black cardigan

white cardigans (2)

grey cardigans (2)

green cardigan

black + white sweater

jean shirt/jacket

black flats

black moto boots

pink converse sneakers

nude sandals

black flip-flop sandals

cotton t-shirts (black + white, long + short sleeves)

black sandals

Creating a capsule wardrobe is a great way to discover your personal style. It may take some time initially, but it's worth the investment to have an edited closet with only the quality pieces you love.

What are the staple items in your capsule wardrobe?

Yolanda V Acree 3/13/15 Yolanda V Acree 3/13/15

Declutter Your Closet: 21 Tips to Spring Clean Your Wardrobe

Spring (or anytime) is the perfect time to spring clean your wardrobe and declutter your closet.

General rules to declutter your closet.

If you haven’t worn it a year, get rid of it. A year is a good rule of thumb because it covers all of the seasons.
Multiples. How many of the same or similar items do you need? Two pairs of blacks pants is ok if you wear them all the time. The same shirt in two different colors is also cool. What’s not cool is five black blazers. Two of any item is a good rule of thumb.
Toss any item that is faded, worn out, holey (in a bad way, not talking about ripped jeans, those are cool) and any accessory that is broken or has turned colors.
Keep your favorite things to wear. The things you love.
To quote Johnny Cochran, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit”. Throw it out. Real talk, work with the body you have now, excluding any significant situation like pregnancy. If you're dropping pounds consistently while on a fitness plan, don’t buy any new clothes until your weight stabilizes. Consider getting your current clothing altered where appropriate while in transition.
Remove anything you don’t like. It’s amazing how much fugly stuff we keep in the back of our closets.
Keep classic pieces. They are timeless and will help you build your capsule wardrobe.
Make three piles. Toss, keep, I don’t know. Separate the "i don't know" items into a box or different part of your closet. Monitor if you wear any of them over the next few months. If not, toss them.
This is purely an aesthetic item, but I like to have all the same hangers. At one point, I had all wooden hangers from Ikea in my closet. When I move, I would really like to purchase those slim black ones because even though I love the wood ones, they're a little bulky. Anyways, if you have a lot of hangers that are all different colors and materials, choose one type or color of hanger to hang the items you’re keeping and toss the rest.

Wardrobe Sub-sections

The same rules still apply mostly, but here are some additional things to consider when deciding what to toss and keep.

Shoes. I’m separating them from accessories. You need shoes that are casual, dressy, work and seasonally appropriate. You do not have to sacrifice style, comfort or quality.
Outerwear- You need a sturdy winter jacket (where appropriate), and a jacket or two for spring and fall. A thin sweater or cardigan for chilly summer nights and air conditioned spaces. A blazer can complement your work wardrobe and dress up anything.
Intimates- How many underthings you need will depend on how often you wash your clothes. One to two weeks worth of underthings will be sufficient in most cases. This includes bras, underwear, socks, and tanks.
Accessories and makeup. How many stud earrings or lipsticks do you need? Choose the ones that are your favorite, most versatile, and flatter your skin tone. Things like diamond studs or a pearl necklace are classic. Keep items like this if they are your style. Also, keeping old makeup is nasty. Do you know how many germs are on it? Throw it out and buy a new one if you love the color or it’s an essential item.

Tips for making your clothes last longer.

Wash them on the gentle/delicate or short cycle and hang or lay flat to dry. The lint your dryer accumulates is your clothes’ fibers. Also, air drying uses less electricity and drying racks are inexpensive.
You don’t need to wash your jeans or pants as often as other types of clothing. Wash them when/if they have visible dirt, stains or smell.
Get the heels, tips, soles of your shoes replaced by a cobbler periodically.
Invest in conditioning and weather resistant products for leather and suede items.
Find a dry cleaner or tailor to make alterations and repairs.
Learn how to mend small holes and sew on buttons.
Items in storage. This shouldn’t be an issue since you’re decluttering your closet and can fit everything into one closet, but should the need arise, make sure your clothes are placed in a properly sealed, temperate location with covers.
Pay attention to the way your items are stored in your room. Whether they are hanging in the closet, sitting on a table or open shelf, or folded in a drawer, do so with care.

Watch me declutter my closet.

Learn how to create a capsule wardrobe.

What are you tossing and keeping in your closet?

Yolanda V Acree 2/20/15 Yolanda V Acree 2/20/15

30 Days to Digital Declutter

Digital Declutter Challenge

The new year signals a time to get rid of the old and make room for the new, but one area we may overlook is our digital life. Cleaning up your digital world is just as satisfying and beneficial as cleaning out your closet.

To make this easy for you, I have created 30 tasks to do over 30 days or at your own pace. Each task moves you closer to being clutter free.

I have also created a free, simple checklist to help with your digital declutter. Ready, set, begin!

Steps/Days 1-6: Your Cell Phone

Let's start with your phone because it's arguably the most used device that you own. It goes everywhere with you and we've devoted six whole days to cleaning it up.

During this period you will review your texts, contacts and photos to decide what is unnecessary. You have to set the parameters for what is considered old and useless, but here are some guidelines you can follow.

Delete:

texts over a week old
photos over a month old
contacts you haven't spoken to in the past year

Tip: Save any photos by e-mailing them to yourself or moving them to your phone's micro sd card. Swab your phone with alcohol often to get rid of the germs.

1- Review and delete photos.

2- Review and delete texts.

3- Review and delete contacts.

4- Delete unused apps.

5- Clear app data, caches and downloads.

6- Enable auto backup, review internal and micro sd storage.

Steps/Days 7-10: Your Laptop/Desktop/Tablet

Depending on how much stuff you have on these devices this might take more than the allotted time, but if you're persistent you can definitely do this in four days.

You can do one task per device each day or choose one device to do all the tasks for each day.

Tip: If you have a PC, you may want to defragment your hard drive after cleaning up your computer. Remove those keyboard crumbs with some canned air.

7- Review and delete media, document files, and downloads.

8- Delete unused or outdated software and apps.

9- Repeat for other devices such as your camera.

10- Back up your devices to an external hard drive, sd card, or cloud.

Steps/Days 11-13: Online-General

This section deals with your general internet usage. We'll get to your email and social media accounts shortly.

Do you have too many passwords to remember or use the same password for multiple sites? Secure your online access by consolidating them and using one master password for all of your accounts.

I know you don't have anything to hide (or do you), but clear your browsing history, cookies, and temporary files at least monthly if not weekly. It will make for a more pleasant internet browsing experience.

11- Consolidate passwords and store them in a safe place.

12- Clear browsing history, cookies, temporary files, and caches.

13- Bookmark your most visited sites.

Steps/Days 14-18: Online-Email

I try to keep up on my emails because I have three accounts, but it's easy for my inbox to get away from me.

What makes decluttering your email potentially difficult is that you might want to read your emails to determine if you should delete them or not.

Use your best judgement with the sender and subject line, but I'm of the mindset that you should just delete it.If you need that information at some point in the future, the universe will provide it.

Tip: If you use Gmail, you can star emails that you want to save for later so the next time you declutter you won't have to second guess if you're deleting important info.

Also, Gmail now separates your e-mails into tabs. Make sure you review each tab and check that emails are filtered correctly. Update: Gmail has a new, cool feature called Inbox that makes organizing your emails even simpler.

After deleting all of your unwanted emails categorize the remaining ones into folders and unsubscribe from any newsletters you aren't reading (not mine though!). Try unroll.me to a quick, mass unsubscribe.

Tip: By law, you can not be added to a mailing list with out your express permission. When you unsubscribe, you can select why you are unsubscribing. You can also forward spam to spam@uce.gov.

14- Review and delete emails.

15- Review and empty spam and trash folders.

16- Save important emails to appropriately labeled folders.

17- Unsubscribe from unread newsletters.

18- Use your email system’s features to organize content.

Steps/Days 19-24: Online-Social Media

Social media is tricky because what started out as platforms for individuals to connect on a personal level has evolved into a culture of its own used for good and bad.

It's now populated by businesses, organizations, social media personalities, advertisements, praise, criticism, and subcultures like "black twitter".

Additionally, employers and the government use social media to check up on you. It's important to be cognizant of how you present yourself and review each site's privacy policies and settings so you can protect yourself. Keep this in mind as you update your social media accounts.

Tip: Keep your profile information and pic consistent across all platforms so it's easy for people to connect with you.

19- Update your profiles with current information.
20- Unfriend/unfollow/block others where appropriate.
21- Leave any groups you don’t participate in.
22- Remove wary posts.
23- Organize your boards, lists, and friends.
24- Deactivate unused accounts.

Days 25-30: Other

The last several days of the #digitaldeclutter challenge are for wrapping up all of your tasks and going over anything you have missed or skipped. This also includes your digital accessories, i.e. cables and chargers.

25- Label multiple sd cards and other external storage.

26- Store all your chargers, cables, sd cards, cases in one place.

27- Sync your content across devices if applicable.

28- Revisit any tasks you may have skipped on this list.

29- Repeat for your work devices.

30- Recycle, donate, or trade-in any old or broken devices.

Bonus: Unplug

It's important to walk away from your devices sometimes. I recently lost my phone and couldn't get a new one for a few days. It was a surprising pleasant experience being (almost) unreachable. Read a book, take a walk, or do anything that gets you offline.

31- Go offline for 24 hours.

Congratulations! You've adopted habits and tools to keep your digital life organized and clutter free forever or at least for a couple of months and then you can start all over again.