Our clothing is a form of expression as we adorn ourselves with garments that are chosen to compliment our particular taste.  Our clothing is seen by all of whom we meet and are always a component of the big “first impression.”  It is very important to our self esteem, peer relationships, business relationships and our reputations to wear clothing that is appropriate, coordinated, expressive, and that flatter our best features and minimize our least favorite.  The concept of the “Rainbow Closet” will help to not only support these goals, but will also help to maximize the use of the items that you have purchased in your closet.

The Rainbow Closet creates a harmonious color palate that is soothing and exciting. The color grouping allows for one to quickly create new and exciting garment combinations using the color palate. Moreover, the color palate facilitates the coordination of accessories such as shoes,  purses, hats, scarves and jewelry. The outcome is a more expressive yet professional look that boosts our confidence and self-esteem. Additionally,  this strategy allows us to maximize the use of our garments to capitalize on our investment in our wardrobe. Lastly, by wearing, laundering, steaming/pressing and mending our garments prior to returning to the closet, we create a entire wardrobe of Ready-to-Wear items which enables us to reduce the “Getting Dressed Stress.”

To create your own Rainbow Closet,  begin by grouping your clothes by color.  Don’t worry about seasonal garments as you will see how flexible these clothing items can be. Of course if you need to make room in your closet, remove the seasonal garments for storage. The important concept here is to group things by color and then by type of clothing such as pants, shirts, skirts, dresses, etc.

Start with the red garments and accessories.  Then move along with the colors of the rainbow: shades of orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, black and then white.  Now check all the garments.  Are they in good condition?  Do they need cleaning or repair?  Begin to assess all of your items and check over each carefully.  Check the buttons and the zippers to make sure they are in good working order.  Those that need repair need to be pulled to the side for later mending. Begin to categorize these items by dresses, shirts, pants, skirts,  and so forth in each color category and hang together. For example: group all red dresses and hang together: then red skirts, red pants, red shirts/tops and then all red accessories.

Here’s an important suggestion.  Align your clothing so that they all face the same direction.  It will make your closet look neater and more organized when you are finished with this process. I also like to use all the same type of hanger. This strategy gives a uniform and organized “attitude” to your closet. Having an organized and functional closet will stimulate you to wear more of what you have, thus making the most of your investment and ultimately saving you money by not purchasing items you already have. This strategy also facilitates the putting away of your clothing making your home environment less chaotic.

Now for the garments that need repair:  once you are finished with organizing the  clothing by color, grab those garments in need of repair. Put on a good movie or some favorite music and mend any clothing that needs repair.  A great suggestion to reduce the amount of eventual repair work is to coat all the buttons with clear nail polish.  The nail polish will strengthen the threads and the buttons will stay on longer.  Do this while you are catching up on those fascinating movies or reminiscing with home videos.    Don’t forget the sleeve buttons. Put all the mended clothing back, sorting by color and type of garment in your newly created Rainbow Closet.

What about those garments that seem out of date?  Can they be revisited by changing buttons or design?  Investing a few dollars in new buttons may salvage a favorite piece of classic clothing.

Now that all the repairs are made,  you will begin to systematically wear these items to check for fit and look. Each day, wear a new item from this collection. As you wear them, determine whether they are items that you will keep, sell at a consignment shop or donate. If any item does not fit well or is very uncomfortable, you may want to consider rehoming it. You will be more productive and happy in clothing that makes you feel and look beautiful.  Some items may be your comfort wear and not items to wear in public. These might be kept separately in your closet to avoid overcrowding of your finer garments.  I keep a collection of clothing to wear around the house hanging in a different area of the closet or folded neatly on the shelf. These are items that I do not iron so storing them on hangers is not so important. Having a small wardrobe of comfort clothing to wear when you are cleaning or working in the yard  preserves your better garments for work, business, church or other activities where you will want to look your best. The comfort wear is good for lounging, cleaning, playing with children and pets, exercising and other daily activities that may result in some of these items being stained or damaged. You can organize these by color as well for ease of finding and wearing.

Eventually, you will want to wear everything you have as a means of assessment. You will also begin to notice that certain barriers exist that prevent you from wearing some items. You may not have a pair of shoes or coordinating items to wear with something, so you avoid wearing a particular garment.  This is important information as you can then put on your shopping list that you need to purchase an item to enable you to wear this garment and this investment in your closet. Let me illustrate: I had a favorite dress but I didn’t  have a pair of shoes that would coordinate. I did not want to get rid of the dress but it was not enhancing my life in any way. It was just there. I finally found the perfect shade of blue shoes to wear with the dress. As a result, I was able to enjoy the dress and take advantage of the investment that I had made. If you find that you are unable to enjoy wearing a garment that you have. consider what it needs and add this item to your “focused” (a shopping list that helps us to focus on our needs verses wants) shopping list as a justifiable purchase . The next time you are out and about, keep a list of your “focused” shopping items so that these become your shopping priority.

After you have worn a garment, launder and iron it. Eventually through this process, you will have everything in your closet, freshly laundered and ready to wear. This is hugely important in saving you time and frustration was you try to get ready for any event. Just think of what it will be like to have every garment in your closet ready to put on, and ready to make you look and feel fabulous.  This will occur very soon and it will help you to become better dressed and less stressed.

Let’s talk about  cleaning the garments.  If an item needs to be dry cleaned, there are some steps you can take that will save some money and also preserve your clothes.  The garments that are dry clean only (except wool) , can be freshened in the dryer by using a damp dryer sheet between wearings.  Use this method for the clothing after you wear the garment and you can then wear the item several times prior to having it cleaned again.   If the garment is soiled, you can spot clean if you have a spot treatment safe for the fabric or it is time for the garment to go to the cleaners.  Ultimately, dry cleaning items will need to go to the cleaners after several wearings but less frequent dry cleaning will save you money and time.

All other garments items can be washed, dried, ironed and hung up.  Even though it can be time consuming, ironing clothing makes them look newer longer and extends your time with them.  I find it helpful to iron while multitasking; watch a movie, talk on the phone (using your phone on speaker) or when listening to my favorite music. You can even iron while you are supervising your children are doing their homework or have your child read to you.  Ultimately, ironing makes your clothing look newer longer resulting in the reduction of over purchasing. In the long run, ironing saves you money!!

Now that we are finished with creating our Rainbow Closet, we will begin systematically wearing and assessing all of our garments.  When you are looking for an outfit to wear, walk an item such as a skirt by colors in the Rainbow Closet. You may find that an item of clothing really compliments this skirt or other item that you are wanting to match.  This is a great way to discover new clothing combinations and extend your wardrobe to many more outfits of which you were not aware.

Cleaning the Closet

Don’t forget to clean the closet frequently to help keep your clothes cleaner. Keeping a clean closet helps to avoid dust and pet hair settling on your clothing. Vacuum the floor and dust the shelving. Check the light fixture for needed cleaning. This space needs a bright light bulb so check the fixture for the wattage and put in the appropriate bulb. It will help you to see the colors more accurately (especially those navy blues and blacks).

Thank you for joining me in the journey to Transform Your Life.

 

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