Chronicles of a Closet Cleanse

My smart, beautiful and ever pragmatic friend Jennifer Rose did what most of us are afraid of doing; she plunged into the arduous yet rewarding task of excavating, cataloging and yes, organizing her closet.  Jenifer hosts a style blog.  I recently caught up with her and we talked about the scary mission of organizing one's closet.  Please read her anecdotal accounts below, at the end you can also read the unedited Q&A session we held; I enjoyed so much exploring the very spiritual and practical ways in which organizing can elevate the status of the spaces we have, I hope you enjoy it too.

What I Did Over The Long Weekend - J. Rose Style

So my first post is about what I did this weekend.  The weekend started simply enough, I went to the library to pick up some movies and while perusing the non-fiction books section I found this, "The Shopping Diet: Spend Less to Get More", by Phillip Bloch.  Reading the bio on the back one can ascertained that Bloch is a jack of all trades, stylist, writer, commentator, the list goes on.  The book is aimed at people with shopping compulsions or addictions, the promise is that by considering what you actually wear in your wardrobe you will become more aware of what you need, what your style is and what looks good on your body, therefore less likely to make those unnecessary purchases that lead to a budget crisis.  I was intrigued. I am not a compulsive shopper, but I always felt like a terribly uninformed or unaware shopper.  Constantly buying something I like without considering what I have at home to go with it or even if it was really flattering to my figure.  As a result my closet was a mish mash, without enough solid pieces to build an outfit with and a bunch of clothes that didn't fit right.  My closet was in desperate need of editing.  Following the steps in Part Two of the book (Part One is about assessing your style, what you wear frequently, etc...) I emptied my entire closet, in season, out of season, accessories, jewelry, socks and underwear.  My bedroom looked like my closet threw up everywhere.  Ahh!! However my closet was completely empty.

Using the tips Bloch outlined, I separated my clothes into categories and then I began to edit.  Trying on everything in front of a full length mirror and deciding if it stayed in the closet, was fixed, was sold on eBay or donated.

My very well edited closet.  Not sparse, minimalist darling.

It took an entire afternoon, but the process was very cathartic and eye opening.  I don't have a lot left in my closet, but what is left are clothes and accessories I truly love and wear constantly.  The pieces that I feel are missing from my, now very well edited closet are written on a list that will go with me whenever I go shopping.  I don't feel like I need a lot of clothes, in fact the more clothes I had the more stifled I felt.  Yes, I thought that all those clothes gave me more outfit choices, but they didn't.  Having too many choices made getting dressed too complicated and overwrought.  I think that the key to style is knowing what works for you, on you, having great accessories to spice up any outfit and carrying yourself with confidence wherever you go.

Q & A - A Yogic Perspective in Organizing Your Closet

Q- So Jenifer, what motivated you to look into the closet?

A- Mornings are always crazy,the most challenging part of my mornings were when I went to get dressed, I would open the closet, see it stuffed with clothes and feel completely overwhelmed. In February, I was reading Philip Bloch's book "The Shopping Diet" and it had a statistic like women do not wear 80% of the clothing they own, instead they wear the same key pieces that are comfortable and fit.  Major aha! moment, choices in terms of my closet are bad, instead of feeling empowered by the choice of clothes, I felt overwhelmed.  I knew the closet needed to be purged and resolved to do it immediately.

Q- What was your vision or intention when you finally decided to get your closet re-organized?

A- When I started I knew I wanted to cut that "80%", the extra stuff, the fat.  I wanted my closet to be well edited to suit my current taste, only containing pieces that fit well and make me feel great when I wear them.  Every woman wants that, I just didn't realize how much I didn't need till I dug in.

Q- Did you use any organization technique in particular?  What tips or advice was most useful for your closet cleansing?

A- The first thing I did was to remove the extra hangers, this freed up a lot of space in the closet and made it easier to work.  I put the hangers in a box to the side in case I needed them.  Next I took everything out of the closet, in-season, out of season everything.  When everything is hanging up in a dark closet it's hard to evaluate, bring it into the broad light of day so you get a clear picture of what's been lurking in there.  As I was taking things out of the closet I sorted them by type, skirts, shirts, pants, etc... I made piles of like items so I could evaluate what I had, example why do I have three pairs of black pants.

I know a lot of people are probably grimacing at the prospect of this kind of deep cleansing, but you need to "make a mess" to get things in order.  Also do not, I repeat do not go out and buy things to organize the closet before you clean it out.  Clean it out first then see what you need.

Q- How did you decide what garments or accessories had to go?  What were you looking for when you looked in the mirror?  and What did you do with items that you weren't sure if they had to go?

A- In order to decide what stayed and what went I brought in a full length mirror.  I tried everything on and was brutally honest with myself about, what worked, what didn't and what was just so-so.  If you aren't able to be that honest, invite over some friends that will be.

For sorting the things to get rid of I pulled out four bags, I labeled them all, one for donations, one for things that I like but need to be fixed, another for things I thought I could sell on eBay (new or almost items) and the last one was for sentimental clothes (things I won't wear, but have a special meaning and maybe one day I will part with).  I also brought out a garbage bag for things I couldn't salvage (happy to note, that the clothes in the garbage were recycled into cleaning rags).

If there was a case where I couldn't decide I took a picture of myself wearing the item.  Usually the picture didn't lie, if it didn't flatter my figure out it went.  Clothes that don't suit your shape are like backstabbing friends, they'll tell you that you look great to your face and then turn around and reveal your flaws to the world, who needs that.

Accessories are only as good as the clothes they go with, if I had any scarves, belts and shoes, that never matched the clothes I have, I got rid of them.  It's probably because they were colors I never wear.  Also I got rid of any belts or shoes that didn't fit, they were just taking up space.

When I put everything back in the closet I knew it was only things that fit, that flattered and that matched what I owned.  I sorted the clothes by type when hanging them up (making it easy to sort through) and the color.

More isn't always better, sometimes it's just more.

Como Una Ola - breathing meditation

"Like a wave, your love arrived in my life," the song goes, "like a wave of limitless force..."  Como Una Ola, in case you were not living in Spanish speaking country in the 1980's,  was a great hit by Rocio Jurado.  The song describes the stages of a love affair, from its surprising arrival, its monumental growth and to its recoiling end.  In recent weeks I was inspired by the song (blame youtube for this) to practice a breathing meditation with focus on the limitless healing power of breathing. You can practice this meditation whenever you feel that you need to connect to the grace of the universe, or a mini vacation from a tough day.  Just set a timer and surf the wave;

Lie flat on your back on a mat or blanket, with knees bend.  Let the inhalation come down into your back body like the trough of a wave.  Feel how it flattens the back against the floor.  Let the wave fill your body, let it grow in your front body from the belly to the top of your longs.  With the exhalation let your body follow the wave's crest as it withdraws into the back of your pelvis and out of your tailbone...let the whole wave dissolve back to the ocean of grace, knowing that there will be a new wave.  When you mind wants to move to a different task, just bring it back to the breath, like a wave, "como una ola," and repeat the wave cycle as many times as you like.

Namaste.

Bound me up, bound me down

I'm fascinated by words that follow.    Last week I encountered the word boundary in many forms: while teaching,  while designing, during my yoga practice, while talking to my friends and ultimately listening to my teacher.  My yoga practice (Anusara) deeply involves the concept of freedom and its love relationship with boundaries.  Sometimes I feel the 1990's  film ¡Átame! is about yoga.  We are constantly asked to recognize the freedom in which we dwell, AND the best way to show that recognition is by creating boundaries that work for us.   So here is one of those examples of boundaries that I saw this week, probably not the most prevalent, but it is the easiest one for me to explain.   I decided to stop carrying every artifact I thought could help my day go smoother (it isn't very smooth when eight pounds of stuff follows you around, unless you are pregnant).   I started using the GRID-IT from COCOON.  This is a very open version of a zippered pouch.  In limiting the items that I can bring with me, I have expanded time and space, cultivating a fresh way to move with the belonging that make my day better (and knowing that I can choose what comes with me everyday, allows me to recognize my freedom everyday).  Bound away!

Addicted to Love

I read this piece by the fabulous Jane Scott.  Aside from being an exuberant Art Director, artist and fashionista, the girl isn't afraid to inquire within!  Please enjoy this wonderful essay on love, breakups and makeups...

Make-ups and Break-ups by Jane Scott

Valentine’s Day is going to be a little different for me this year. I didn’t think that my enduring, long, passionate, 25-year love affair could be broken up by a Reality TV series preview video on Yahoo.  But, on January 4th, 2011, it did.

But,  the best place to start is at the beginning with my first real boyfriend, Anthony.

Anthony and I had gone the traditional route of friends first in the second, third and fourth grades. He was an impressive bachelor. He was the tallest in our class, very athletic, handsome, moderately intelligent, and good in math. His plagiarizing the classroom encyclopedia for any report’s subject be it country, explorer or historical event was mildly unsettling. But, I learned to choose my battles. He could draw. But, I wasn’t fond of his horrific skeletal violent depictions on paper, copied (of course) from the Iron Maiden t-shirts he frequently wore. But, we liked each other. We always sat near each other in class because our last names were alphabetically close. We had fun making each other laugh too.

Our relationship, like most elementary school ones occurred by means of a bizarre truth or dare “going around” negotiation with several classmates. There was no hugging, kisses, shared lunches, or gifts. Evidently love meant being picked as the first girl on his team after the athletic boys were picked. Although, I did receive my 5th grade obligatory Snoopy Valentine’s Day card stating “You + Me = Valentines”  and on the back “ To: Jane. Love: Anthony Rosini”. Not “FROM” mind you, but “LOVE”. A grand gesture for Anthony standards,  but not enough to keep me faithful.

A new passion emerged in my life of the non-human variety. That passion was the romance novel.

I started off with the lavender covered Silhouette novels circa 1970s/1980s.  These always required a picturesque locale and a wealthy, titled suitor. Oh, and they NEVER went all the way. Only third base. No home runs until a ring was promised and that was always at the second to last sentence. Yes, I know what you’re thinking. Romance novels are about smut, not plot and location. And yes, that came later. But, my lavender novel reading courtship days were chaste.

I’d like to point out that I did have standards. No unattractive suitors on the cover. If the male model on the cover had a 70s moustache, leisure suit, excessive gold medallions or bad hair - Out. If he looked like a GQ magazine ad - In.

At some point in the 80s the violet series ceased being published. So, I quickly progressed to the white Harlequin ones and it was there that I lost my romantic literary virginity.  In white Harlequin novels, you get more action. Pre-marital action before love is established. Fondling coupled with missionary position sex, generally.

So, it was then that my relationship with romance novels in my hormonal teens became more about the fine art of the sex scene. The crafting of the seduction. The bulging muscles. The why’s, the when’s and where’s.  My friends may have been dating, but I had better things to do and read on a Friday night.

Which ushered in the red book series phase.  Not the finest relationship hour. For anyone knows the red ones are only about sex. They’re the cheapest in cost and in sentiment for a reason. It’s stamped on the flame filled covers in words like “Blaze” and “Heat.” The cover art is more negligee and bare chests, rarely respectable clothes.  No exotic locales, just satin sheets and wine glasses. The wham, bam thank you ma’am one nightstand quickie of romance novels.

These books pretty much announce to the world “I’M READING PORN!” But, then any romance series could have that association. But, the red ones were a little too loud and clear. They also had horrible plots, because well… they’re porn

Somewhere in the tawdriness, content actually became important.  The character’s journey not centered and derived solely on having three simultaneous orgasms for the first time on a kitchen table or swimming pool.

Which lead me to romantic fiction, chick lit, if you will. These are the books you can generally read in a mixed crowd or on public transportation. They usually have a point too.

I learned a very valuable lesson with the chick lit. When you are looking for quality, a sense of humor and depth. You CAN NOT rely on cover art. In fact, attractive cover art is generally a front for a badly written, boring book.

Which meant I had to seek out the ugly countryside covers that look like rejects for that PBS painting dude’s landscape paintings. Turns out the books without the pictures of the men were the ones that had characterizations, plots and could be occasionally funny too.

The heroines and heroes were messy, flawed, and issue-ridden. And sometimes, they didn’t even have sex on the page. Which kind of sucked frankly, but it was the price you paid for guessing a book’s content by its cover.

I’d like to think that my relationship with romance novels given this more realistic story somehow normalized into reading books other than romance. But, in gaining taste, I simply clung to those trusted authors’ books even tighter. I read and re-read these characters hoping for some secret code I could borrow or a world I could jump into other than my own.

When I had the rare occasion to actually venture out on a date or hope a friendship was more, the romance books were forgotten. But, the minute it went sour and reality stepped in. They were back to being my old trusty lovers. Ever present, never criticizing, always diverting.

I always viewed my romance novel love affair as that great research for my future soul mate. The more reading, the more research to share!  Oh the things I know… But, the years went by. The milestones of getting married, co-habituating, settling down, having kids were happening for everyone around me, except me. They happened every time I thumbed through the romance novel. But, my diary didn’t have the same entries.

Turns out. Reading romance novels a lot is a type of addiction: A love addiction. Yeah, they have them. A whole umbrella of options ranging from sex and romance addictions for the extroverts to fantasy addiction for the introverts like myself.

Which leads me to the break-up initiated by my trusty old KROQ Love Line D.J. I knew since my childhood and teen days in California, Dr. Drew. He has a TV show called Intervention. A celebrity rehab meets reality TV car crash of a show. I don’t have cable and tend to avoid it. But, the title of his TV series preview video “romance addiction” sparked my interest.  Anything with the word “romance” generally does. In the video, he briefly mentions the untapped world of love addictions. How they aren’t just about indiscriminate sex, but something subtler like excessive romance novel reading. And how all of these types of addictions are intimacy repelling. Which explains why I like to cuddle up to them on Friday nights.

Crap. So much for blaming the Facebook.

So now, I’m reading more books with “romance” in the title these days. They just center on creating worthiness, true intimacy and healing childhood wounds through appropriate adult boundary setting. Something romance novels failed to teach me.

So I’m breaking up with my co-dependent, unrealistic, intimacy deficient, truth neglecting, non-human paper lovers.

I know you were expecting a make-up scene. Every great romance novel’s final chapter has one. Trust me, I know. But, my make-up scene isn’t the resolution. It’s actually the problem.

My “making-up”, also known as another word for “pretending”, scene was finding something like romance novels to divert me from confronting my inner love demons in the first place. Finding the courage to love myself unconditionally. But, in defense of my old lover, my top few favorite romance novels actually do cover that on occasion. The savior is actually the self, not the white knight with his bulging manhood.

What we “make-up” to self soothe or divert from our true selves eventually has to “break-up” for us to live authentically. So, I don’t view this break-up with sadness, but rather with great hope and relief on behalf of my whole hearted, true self. I can still enjoy the occasional fiction, but only when I have participated in the more compelling non-fiction characters in my own life.

So, this break-up story isn’t one for the romance novels, but I’m thinking, that’s probably a good thing.

I resolve to intent

intention [inˈten ch ən]; noun:, aim, purpose, design, contemplation. At this time of the year I hear and read a lot about New Year’s resolutions.  Even though this concept is still foreign to me, I always find the transition time to a new calendar year a good opportunity to clarify my intentions.  Not necessarily my goals, but just my spiritual intentions or purpose.  One can do this just by taking simple actions that show the person one wants to be.

I remembered a New Year celebration years ago back at home, when my aunt Hilda right before midnight brought out a suitcase she had packed earlier that day and went out into the night to make sure the New Year would find her “traveling”.  She later explained that her wishes for the New Year were to travel abroad, so she was showing the New Year what she wanted.  I’ve always loved her demonstration of faith and this idea has always inspired me to try to behave in the way I want to be seen.  I am not advising we start packing suitcases (though I do remember aunt Hilda traveling to several countries that year); or hitting the gym at midnight on January 1^st to confirm our resolution to get in shape (though I am thinking this would be a good time to find an empty treadmill in January).  What we can do to clarify our purpose in life is to acting out our intentions, and by doing so we become who we aspire to be or become inspire to re-design our intentions…Happy New Year.