Sales time my Wardrobe Shop

The ever-stylish Nikki at Styling You did a great vlog on Friday where she mentioned 'shopping your wardrobe'. As a person who rotates the same six garments at the front of a seemingly packed full wardrobe, heading into my own stash before I hit the shops seems like a great concept. I think it could definitely work at my place except...

My wardrobe looks like a shop at 'sales time'. You know, when the shop has 'Everything Reduced By 50% BUY NOW NOW NOW' signs on the window and inside everything is strewn everywhere and all the colours are clashing like a giant exploding firecracker and you think 'there is absolutely nothing I like in this store' (although, hell, at 50% off you darn well find something, right?)

It got me thinking that if I did a big wardrobe clear out and then hung and folded everything all colour-co-ordinated by outfit like they do in the stores when it's not sales time, I might actually want to shop my wardrobe. I could even have items stacked the way they should be stacked in the shops - with the big sizes at the front, decreasing down to the smaller sizes. Because, yes, I have all those sizes - my weight is too unstable to risk not having 'back ups'!

So, I could do all that and no doubt find loads of really lovely outfits to wear in my Wardrobe Shop that cost me absolutely nothing...

Or do they?

Just thinking about this a bit more. What would be the cost to my sanity having to maintain my Wardrobe Shop? I worked Saturday mornings at Rockmans circa 1989, I know how much folding and hanging and refolding and rehanging and folding is involved in clothes-shop keeping. Even the memory of my time at Rockmans is crushing me with boredom. And that's not even including the washing and ironing of said clothes. As a naturally messy person, the amount of work and stress involved would be phenomenal. I would have to give up my day job so I could work in my Wardrobe Shop full time. Eek.

It's true, I lust after many a thing for my home. But a walk-in wardrobe with all those open shelves is absolutely not one of them. And while I can certainly take Nikki's excellent advice about auditing the piles I have, I think I'll stick with the sales.

How's your wardrobe situation?

Can you ever find anything to wear?

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And speaking of wardrobes... have you entered my giveaway yet?

[Image found via Pinterest]

The third drawer down is on the up

Remember when I shamelessly revealed my crazy third drawer down? Well... look at it now. Yes, that's it in the pic above. Can you believe it? I am officially crowning myself (as one does) the Queen of Clutterbusting. I'm very sorry reigning Queen of Clutterbusting, wherever you are (probably working for the actual Queen or something), but I'm taking over the coveted title.

See those little cuppy things and the bigger tray things? They all snap together and you can make any combo that fits. I bought the lot for less than $20 at Howards Storage World.

Embarrassingly, the whole job took me under an hour.

I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

Of course, I am not blind to the fact that there is a lot of room on top of all those marvellous cuppy and tray thingies so PLENTY of space for throwing things in with a nonchalance that would immediately strip me of my Queen of Clutterbusting title. So, don't worry, that third drawer down will be back to utter chaos in no time. I'll give it... oh, a week.

But let me gloat for that week, okay? I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeee!!

How do you go with the clutter busting? Can you live in chaos or does it send you bonkers?

Easy money

Like the cobbler's wife that has no shoes, I have no budget. My hub is a banker and a qualified financial planner, but no, we have no budget.

I've realised that aside from occasionally going a bit mad buying stuff for the house that we probably don't need, we are fairly careful with our money. I know that we buy whatever we want at the grocery store and that as a family we have never gone without (see point 'My husband is a banker' above), but still I think we are careful. We don't carry any debt (except our Obligatory Overwhelming Aussie Mortgage (OOAM)).

There are lots of little things we do without thinking that probably make the difference.

We don't drink a lot. Our 'alcohol' budget is generally minimal to non-existent during an average week.

We buy fruit and vegetables and meat fresh every other day. I know this flies in the face of the 'buy in bulk' mentality, but little and often means we always use what we purchase.

I have a bad back, but I still get my massages at the Nature Care Clinic which I discovered twenty years ago when I was a penniless student with a bad back. $38 for an hour long remedial massage. Happy with that.

In the same way, I wait for a Jump On It hair special to come up before getting my hair done. I haven't paid full price for a cut since I was ripped off by a salon who tried to charge me $200 for a haircut because it by a 'Senior Stylist' when I didn't even realise I was getting the infamous 'Senior Stylist' (and nor, it would seem, did my hair).

With the Tsunamis we have 'buying days' and 'no-buying days'. This renders pester-power a non-entity at our place. I tell them before we go that it's a no-buying day' and while there used to be whiny 'oh Mums', these days they just accept that a no-buying day is exactly that.

I've found myself having my own 'no-buying days' and try from time to time to not buy anything that's not food-related for a month or so. I generally do this if we need to get back on track and save a bit extra.

We religiously save money into a completely separate account (it's even with a separate bank). The money goes out when our pay comes in and we don't even look at it.

Yeah, well, I know these tips are pretty pathetic compared to people who are actually thrifty.  Those amazing meal-planning, hole-mending, co-opting, re-purposing geniuses. That's why I wrote this post... can you tell me what tips you have to help us all stay on track?

[Image by Elvira'sDADA]

Welcome to Two Thousand and Healtheaven

Hmmm… two thousand and healtheaven? I'm reaching a bit. I told you I would find 20Zen hard to top. I ‘theme’ my years these days, you see. I used to have a long list of resolutions that never got resolved, so one year (I think it was Two Thousand and Mate) I decided to just give the year a theme and really try to focus on one thing for the whole year.

This year it’s Two Thousand and Healtheaven. Time to pull up my socks and pull on my runners, because I’m not going to worry about anything other than getting everyone in Maxabellaland fit and healthy this year. Of course, LOML is already fit and healthy and, well, so are the Tsunamis, which leaves me – only me! – to carry the 20Healtheaven torch on behalf of us all. So valiant.

I’m not going to give you a long list of what I will and won’t be doing. Theming the year doesn’t work like resolutions. Theming is just being mindful of the theme. See, like most things that are actually really hard, it sounds easy!

It's being mindful of choices and remembering that every choice has a consequence, good or bad. It’s planning meals and deciding to go for a swim rather than read a book. It’s joining in on the trampoline, rather than just watching. It's taking good care of yourself. It’s putting health at the top of your mind every single minute of every single day - I just got a bit new year’s resolutionary there. Most days and most minutes will do.

Effectively, I’m going to keep my Two Thousand and Zen-like composure but add bit of ‘oomph’ to it.

So, hey there - HAPPY NEW YEAR! It feels like I’m going to be running towards a very good year this year. How are you feeling about the year ahead?

[Image via weheart it]

Clutter bygod begone

I don't like clutter. Ignore the fact that I seem to have developed a rampant bird ornament collection. I don't like clutter.

Contrary to appearances (frizzy, bit rough around the edges), I'm a very organised individual (super smooth, no edges). Having too much mess around me just makes me feel a bit psycho. Order = peace. Order = easy. Order = good.

That said, I can't stand a 'minimalist' approach to life either. I like lived in, I like things around me that make me feel happy. I'm a little bit messy and a tad suspicious of those that aren't.  And I'm nowhere near as neat as I'd like to be.

But in Maxabellaland everything has a container to return home to at night. I can't wax lyrical enough about good storage space and good storage containers. Not that you need to fill every available storage surface. My favourite place in my house is an empty drawer. A drawer. Empty. Makes me feel at peace with the world every time I look at it.*

You see, I try very hard not to buy clutter in the first place, but it's difficult to keep it totally at bay and allow the tsunamis to have a life at the same time. You know what I'm talking about: the stuff. So many artworks you could paper your house both inside and out. Lots and lots and lots of little bits that are supposed to go with other little bits but have been orphaned. A zoo of stuffed animals that you're pretty sure are breeding like they're all rabbits. You just know you will be picking up that same stuffed pink fluffy bear and green giraffe with the smug smile on its face** when you're child is doing their final exams.

Every now and then*** I have a total clear-out. I get rid of all the bits and the pieces and the stuff and the nonsense. I put it either back in its rightful place or in the bin if its past its useful date or in the bag for children who will love it more than you do by packing it away after they've played with it instead of leaving it in the middle of the hallway for your mother to trip over when she comes in the door with five bags of groceries in each hand.

 I love my clear outs. That wonderful sensation you get when everything is in its spot, where everything just works. Lasts about five minutes at my place (and god knows I've never successfully found a solution to the 'third drawer down' problem or the 'random basket of stuff on the bench' problem) but I live (and plan!) in hope.



* I know this makes me borderline weird, but you have no idea how relaxing an empty drawer can be.
** I hate that giraffe.
*** Ok, practically weekly but I'm not, like, obsessive or anything.

[Image from Run with Scissors - a really fab blog of a gal who judging by this pic is presumably living the life I so desire.]