Each morning I feel to crawl right back into bed when I have to think about what to wear. I eventually drag myself to my closet, which is in disarray ninety nine percent of the time. On a weekend, I’ll force myself to get it all organized, it looks wonderful, I find clothes I forgot I had, I get excited, and I look fabulous for about a week – that is until I come in late from an event or a movie with the kids, and I fail to hang up a sweater… or I wash clothes, and never take the folded clothes out of the basket… or I come back from a trip and just start getting dressed out of the suitcase (I have a habit of washing ALL our clothes before we get back from any trip – it just makes life easier – sometimes).
When I had the opportunity to ask the Editor in Chief of Essence Magazine how to get my fabulous back as a busy mom, she had just two words for me… Get. Organized. Had she been in my closet?
Here’s part of my interview with Constance C. R. White – she talks with me about how she keeps her kids connected to Caribbean Culture.
Like me, Constance C. R. White is a super busy Caribbean American mom of three. Unlike me – she STAYS looking amazing. As a culture and style expert, she has been setting and reporting on trends for years. Her work has appeared in British Vogue and Glamour, and she is the author of StyleNoir – the First Guide to Fashion Written with Black Women in Mind
When Constance C. R. White tells me that I need to get organized, I do just that.
I asked myself, “What do I spend time doing that keeps me from getting organized? What do I do best?” These days, the answer has been – take pictures, and Pinterest. From there, I came up with a plan to create a “Pinventory“. Who says that Pinterest is just for clothes that you wish you had – why not for clothes you ALREADY have? I take photographs of my clothes, shoes, and accessories, then add them to my private board on Pinterest. Why private? I don’t want the world to know exactly what’s in my closet. Why Pin it? 1) I have the Pinterest app on my phone, and I can check out what’s in my closet while I am at the store to make sure I’m not wasting money on something I don’t need, or check to see that something matches, 2) When I’m shopping online, it is pretty easy to open another tab or window, go to Pinterest and make sure that I’m making purchases that make sense with what I already have. You can never have too many black flats… or can you? You can easily check your “Pinventory” before you spend money on something you won’t need. 3) On a good day, I check my phone for email, texts, and missed calls before I get out of bed. I can check my Pinventory too, so that I can get dressed quickly.
I used the Sunpak 620-EBOX Camera Light
I used the Sunpak 620-EBOX Camera Light
I used the Sunpak 620-EBOX Camera Light
I used the Sunpak 620-EBOX Camera Light
I used the Sunpak 620-EBOX Camera Light
Another tip she shared with me was to pre-plan whole outfits. To keep myself from tearing up my closet and destroying all my hard work – there’s Polyvore. Polyvore allows you to upload your own images to create outfits as well. Since you have already taken pictures for your “Pinventory“, take it one step further with Polyvore (If enough of you want a tutorial on how to make your backgrounds transparent for Polyvore, I’ll make one and post it – just leave me a comment here). Between your own personal “Pinventory” and Polyvore, you can get organized quickly and easily.
Thanks to some much needed advice from Constance C. R. White – I am well on my way to returning to fashionista-mom status.
Do you plan to try this to get organized? What do you do to keep your wardrobe organized?
