Closet Organized Bliss

I’m still on my organizing kick and now that summer is just around the corner and hopefully we are back to warmer weather, it’s time to go through the clothes in my bedroom closet.  I sort my clothes into piles of what I wear most, seldom or not at all.  That decides what I keep and what I move to another closet to store until autumn or what I donate.  Then, I’ll bring out the summer ones so that I can get to them easily and I sort through those as well.  Even though I did this when I put them away last autumn, I do it again. This time, I try to make even tougher decisions!

If like me you are exploring what the trends are for this summer and wonder “what can I wear that won’t scream ‘old lady’?”, I suggest that you look carefully at what you already have. These would be the items that you wear most often and have been your favorites in past seasons. You can look through magazines and catalogues to determine if the fits or styles have changed slightly.

Organizing tip: for summer clothes that have thinner straps, consider using the huggable hangers.  These are the ones with a velvety coating and are super thin.  Your tops don’t slip off and into a heap on the floor.

I often have to wear black trousers along with a black sweater or blazer for work so I tend to want to wear my favorite colors during my off times.  Coral and turquoise are two of my favorites. Recently, I purchased a tote and day-time purse in a rather bright coral color because they tend to brighten up my “work uniform” and give me a happy feeling when I pick them up.  To add to the upbeat color is a cheerily patterned scarf tied onto the handle of the tote.  When grabbing the bags and leaving the house at 5am, it just makes the morning feel more pleasing and upbeat.

The perfect tee – does it exist?  Are you throwing on a tee (or t-shirt) for every day and not giving it a second thought?  Try thinking about your best colors and what flatters your skin.  Throw out all of those faded, stretched-out tees, or the ones with faded prints or sayings, and find some new ones that have a more refined fit and in colors that accentuate your coloring.  It’s a great way to be casual enough to work around the house but still feel good about yourself in the morning as you’re getting dressed.  You don’t have to dress for someone else – think about what makes you feel good about yourself.

Updating your wardrobe doesn’t mean that you throw out everything.  You can update your basics fairly inexpensively and still feel stylish. Don’t think you have to swim in a sea of only black and neutral colors.  NO WAY!  You’ll lose your fashion identity if you do.  Think outside the box and find clothes that project your personality

I find that clearing out my closets gives me control over my wardrobe and if I’m in a rush to get dressed, I can easily find outfits that go together.  I also find that even though it may seem as if I’m spending more because I’m replacing clothes every season, at least I’m not buying duplicate purchases.  When I’m done, I feel a great sense of satisfaction and also it’s rewarding to know that someone else will get use out of the clothes that I donate. 

I only slightly touched on bags (one of my passions and my husband just can’t understand why I need more than one) but didn’t even touch on items such as shoes and accessories (another passion).  That could be yet another blog post so stay tuned!

"I've always thought of the T-shirt as the Alpha and Omega of the fashion alphabet." Giorgio Armani

 

"Elegance is a question of personality, more than one's clothing." Jean-Paul Gaultier

Keeping Motivated to Exercise

This coming Monday (April 7^th) is World Health Day.  It’s the 64^th anniversary of WHO (1948) and this years’ theme is Aging and Heath.  We all have aging in common, and let’s face it - it’s better than the alternative. What better time to access where you are since we are now a quarter of the way through 2012.  Can you believe how quickly the time is going by?  How are you doing on the healthy goals that you set?  Still exercising?  If you are like most people who set an exercising goal for 2012, you’ve probably let it slip by now.

Due to recent jaw surgery, I had to stop exercising for a while.  “A while” was actually 5 weeks because before the surgery, in addition to working very long hours, I had a major sinus infection plus throat and ear infections that I was trying to kick.  Then following the surgery, I had another couple of weeks when I couldn’t exercise. Since exercising isn’t my favorite activity anyway, it would have been all too easy for me to just stop entirely.  But as soon as I had the OK to take it up again, I forced myself back to the gym.  I’ve been going again every morning and have increased my workouts gradually during the first week so that I’m now even beyond where I was before.  I’ve also started a weights class twice a week.  While I love lifting weights, I have trouble staying motivated if I have to constantly work out on my own so I find taking a class with others helps the time pass more quickly and it helps to keep me motivated.  I’m hoping that it will also help me get motivated to resume my weights on the days that I don’t have classes.

Following my surgery, I set myself a goal of walking a minimum of 3 miles a day and if I have the time I do 5 miles – that’s my goal for the day, every day for 4 weeks.  This isn’t just slogging along because I do intervals and inclines on the treadmill, increasing the speed and inclines to challenge my body when I can.  I’m not sure why I chose these distances or 4 weeks but it’s just a goal that I set.  These miles have to be in addition to any other exercise that I get throughout my day. 

Setting and tracking my goal helps motivate me to complete my goal. My husband gave me a Fitbit pedometer as a gift a few months ago so I’ve been wearing it faithfully.  It connects to my computer so that I can also log in the foods that I eat and calculate the calories that I take in.  Once you see the calorie in calculations versus the calories that you burn during your activities, the ratio in versus calories out all becomes much more real.

There are still days when I could so easily find a hundred excuses to not go to the gym.  That’s why I go first thing, very early, every morning. I am determined to accomplish my goal so I force myself out the door and once I get going, it’s not so bad.  I always feel better for having done it. 

So, are you still working on your healthy goals?  If the thought of going to a gym makes you cringe, there are so many other activities that you can do to keep active.  If you are bored with your usual exercise, try something new such as a new activity or a new class.  It will keep your body challenged and refresh your attitude.

 Join me by continuing your healthy goals for the rest of 2012!

The Anti-aging Bullet

Have you noticed that most of the Spring issue magazines are featuring anti-aging articles, or if not, it’s “being beach ready by Memorial Day”?  Not to mention the hundreds of books that are now out on those same topics.  There’s everything from anti-aging products such as nutrition, physical fitness, skin care, hormone replacements, vitamins, supplements and herbs. It is a lucrative global industry (and one that I wish I had stocks in)!

What’s wrong with being the age you are if you are over 60?  OK, we do have our aches and pains but on the plus side we have the experiences of life.  That can’t be packaged into a pill and given at doses a couple of times a day. My role models are Dame Helen Merrin, Dame Judi Dench and Suzanne Lumley.  All of whom are beautiful over 60 and loving life just as they are! (is it me or are all of the lovely let me all hang out 60+ ladies British?)

We should all have a list of things that we want to accomplish, whether or not we call it our “bucket list”.  What we want to accomplish in our lives is completely free and based on who we are.  What makes each of us special is what we desire and our determination to see it flourish.

I have to admit that I’m a “self-help junkie” and I’m constantly reading books on how to improve myself.  Those of you who know me know that I’m not sure any of them have really worked but I’m considering myself a “work in progress”. When I lived in the UK, I was lucky enough to meet the most wonderful lady, Pippa Davies, who is a marketing guru, as well as speech coach and author.  She’s a psychologist who helps people communicate.  We immediately hit it off and I threw myself into reading all of her books.  She’s an amazing lady of “our age” who has coached Prime Ministers and several cabinet ministers as well as CEO’s and board directors of blue chip companies and has presented on BBC.  She has also had the tremendous pleasure of coaching an Oscar winner.  She’s a formidable lady but I love her to bits and really miss her and our lunches. She’s also a confessed self-help junkie and we’d often discuss what the most current self-help articles and books had to offer. I’d really just like to be able to sit down with her and ask if it’s so terrible to be 60+ and why do we have to buy into all of this anti-aging hype.

We have to face the fact that no cream, supplement or any other devise is going to reverse the aging symptoms, regardless of the advertising hype.  We have to realize that it’s not fatal to have a few wrinkles and aches and pains – it’s a right of passage into the “golden age”. And we can take the advertising blurb from the hair commercial – “We’re worth it!!” and know that whatever we want in life, it’s worth going after.  It might not be the bikini on the beach or some other 30-something dream but it’s real life, as we are living it in our 60’s!