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A couple of weeks ago I completed a major closet purging session and went through every last piece of clothing that I owned.  I typically keep a "donate" bag inside of my closet, so I have been pretty good about maintaining a "one in" and "one out" policy.  And being that our personal closets are not all that big to begin with, I really didn't think I would find myself getting rid of too many pieces of clothing.

I still ended up removing 114 pieces of clothing/shoes from my wardrobe!  That was almost half of what I owned and left me feeling a) astonished and b) amazing.  Suddenly, I felt free from my daily "what should I wear" battles.  I shared in this post how I tucked everything back into place, and today I am going to share a little more about the new system I have been trying out ever since. 



I am going to preface this post with a few points right off of the bat:

• This post is not at all sponsored by Stylebook.  In fact, they were a long time blog sponsor (which is how I learned about them), but they are no longer advertising on iHeart Organizing.  I decided to purchase the app on my own to help me make better use of the clothing that I own.
• Stylebook is an app that I use on my iPad and iPhone.  Just like many organizational apps, this app can be utilized down to an incredible depth of detail.  I am using it at a higher level and know that I am not fully taking advantage of every last feature that the app offers.
• Some of you asked that I share a few examples of the outfits that I decided to keep.  Knowing I am far from a fashionista, I was a bit apprehensive, but further down I do share how I put together a week's worth of outfits using the inspiration I gathered and stored in the Stylebook app.  Not a trendsetter, totally a follower.

The first step for me was to completely empty out my closet and my drawers.  I dumped every last piece of clothing onto my bed to prepare myself for a major sorting session.


As I began to work through my jumbo pile, I started to realize a few things.

• Many items hadn't been touched in over a year.  I would let myself believe that I would find a way to wear it or make it work to avoid letting go of something I thought I loved and splurged on.  This time I was ruthless and was OK letting go of things regardless of the cost or intention.
• I made sure to pay attention to the brands of the clothing I was purging the most.  There were a few brands that hadn't held up well to frequent washings and wearings.
• Many of the clothing items I was putting in my donate pile, were items that I purchased either impulsively or to create a single outfit.
• Having too many pieces of clothing to select from can create an overwhelming feeling in the morning and can also mean that the clothes that are being invested in, are not being worn often enough.
• Having too many clothes costs more than just dollars, it costs sanity and space.
• I had a lot of items that were quite similar in shape, size and style.  Below is an example of two dresses that I owned, and when I put them together I had to ask myself, "why"?

With each item of clothing I touched during the sorting process, I asked myself quite a few questions.  Do I really love it?  Like, really, really love it?  How often do I wear the item?  And more importantly, how many different outfit combinations can I make with the specific item?

Last week I shared my tips for making the most of your home decor, and I shared my new rule of three.  The rule is that any home decor item that I purchase should work within at least three different areas of our home.  I also tried to apply a similar rule with my clothing.  Was I able to create at least three different looks/outfits with each piece I was keeping?  And more importantly, did I enjoy the piece of clothing enough to even try?

I think the overall goal was to make the most of my closet and the items I own.  I want to spend less and achieve more.  To make the most of the amount of storage I have available instead of going out to purchase more as my inventory grows/changes.

Because I am not a blogger known for creating creative outfits, and because I also do better with visuals, I thought I would utilize Stylebook to manage my current clothing inventory.  Previously, I had pin boards on my closet door that I would use as outfit inspiration each morning...


The concept worked well but required me to print and pin up the photos, and truthfully I started to fall behind.  The same outfits stayed on the board to the point of not being useful any longer.  In fact, one board fell down completely a few months ago and I didn't even miss it.

Where did those outfit ideas come from?  Bloggers.  And where did I find those ideas and store many of them?  Pinterest.

As much as I fight it at times, technology can make our lives easier and is much more instant than the process of printing, cutting and pinning.  After my sorting session, I had reduced my clothing inventory to only key pieces that I truly enjoyed.  Now it was time to digitally catalog each of those special pieces.

Wowza!  This was not a quick process.  Fairly easy, but it did take a few different time slotted sessions to get everything added in.  And for those with walk-in closets and rows of clothing, this may not be the best solution for you.


Using a combination of Google Images, Online Shopping Sites and the "Shop" feature in the application, I loaded in an image of each of the items of clothing that I decided to keep (or images that closely resemble my clothing items). 



Once each item of clothing is saved, you can take things a step further and create outfit combinations with each of the clothing images.  Those combinations can also be saved within specific outfit categories, such as "day", "evening", "formal", etc...


If you are at all like me, you like someone else to tell you how to dress.  I typically will utilize Pinterest to search for specific outfit combinations based on the item I would like to wear.  For example, if I would like to wear a coral skirt, I will search for "Coral Skirt" on Pinterest.


I will then scroll through the images until I find outfits I can make with the items I own (or outfits that look similar or can be used as inspiration).  I save each of those items to my inspiration files in Stylebook.

LOVE YOUR STYLE HI SUGARPLUM!

And that is as much as I have personally done with the app.  I have saved quite the variety of outfit ideas based on the clothing that I already owned, and finding at least three ways to wear each piece.  Now, each morning I am able to flip through the categories in my Inspiration file and based on what my day holds, I can easily plan my attire.  And because the application is on my iPad, I can do this from bed the evening before or right away each morning.  Heck, I can even plan an entire week's worth of outfits in a jiff!

 
I also loved that many of the clothing items left in my closet really reflected my personality and my favorite colors (the same ones I use in my decor, printables and day-to-day life).  That was a VERY good sign.

P.S.  Major props to the fashion bloggers putting together outfits effortlessly each day.  Even laying out pieces to photograph is not as easy as one would think! 


A few more notes about my Stylebook experience:

• I can easily sync and share my items between my iPhone & iPad, however, I wish it was automatic based on my profile and not something that I have to do manually.

• This app will prevent me from purchasing duplicate items and help me become much more intentional about my clothing shopping.
• Once I got over the major time suck of the initial setup, maintaining the app is easy breezy.  If I purchase a new piece of clothing, I just have to track it down on the clothing's website and save it to my Stylebook app right away. 
• I have been utilizing the app for a couple weeks now and it definitely has helped me make better use out of the items I am storing in my closet.  I am actually excited to pull together outfits each day because it is easy and I know I won't be wearing the same things week after week.  No more clothing ruts!
• One of the biggest wins for me is that although my closet is organized (even by clothing type and color), I can gaze at everything hanging there and nothing jumps out at me.  Looking at a full closet becomes visually overwhelming to me.  This app allows me to see my inventory right with the push of a button and also provides me with a variety of compatible outfits at any time, from anywhere.
• Stylebook offers a calendar that allows you to schedule your specific outfits out in advance.  I haven't done that yet, but I did want to mention that for any of you long term outfit planners.
• Stylebook also offers the ability to photograph your clothing, I opted to utilize stock images for a cleaner look.

Overall, the app is pretty user friendly, however, I did run into some questions along the way and realized I was making things a bit harder than necessary.  I found this website extremely helpful when it came to troubleshooting my questions



Anyone else a fan of the Stylebook app?  Or any other apps that help you manage your wardrobe?  I would also love to know where y'all find your clothing inspiration.

Happy Easter weekend everyone!  Is it starting to feel like Spring where you live yet?  It always takes our area a bit to catch up, but that doesn't mean that I am ignoring my urges to bring a little bit of the season indoors.

Not only is spring influencing my color choices as of late, it is also inspiring me to check a few unfinished rooms and projects off of my To Do list.  I always feel like I have 101 projects in the works or in the wings and that type of chaos tends to get a little overwhelming.  Because my husband works outside of the home, a lot of what we do is completely based on the time we have and what we are able to build into our nightly schedule.  One day we may have thirty minutes to tackle something small in the studio and the next we may have three hours to go after a project in the laundry room.  I have become custom to working in this way, but unfortunately, it has gotten a little out of control.  We have project supplies purchased for our utility room {still not done six months later}, our laundry room, our living room and our studio.  I am aiming to take a month off of starting anything new and focusing on one area at a time to just finish the areas nagging on us the most.  This week was our dressing room.


Earlier this week I shared the biggest piece of the dressing room project, which was adding in a few storage towers with shelves and drawers for our extra accessories.  I also grew my jewelry board with a fun coral addition; which consisted of pairing a bed sheet with a stencil and cork board.

After living with the coral for a few days, I knew it was the right move.  Bold, but happy and fresh and exactly what I was aiming for in my windowless sanctuary.

We use our dressing room multiple times per day, not only for getting ready each day, but also for doing any exercise, stretching and treadmill running.  We also use it at the end of our day to prepare for bed.  I have always wanted to create a sanctuary that greets me with a smile each morning, as it is the first thing I see when I open my eyes and the first room I enter to begin my day.  I am a believer that your surroundings impact your attitude and mood, so I am excited to finally be putting a few more details into the space.

I initially purchased a coral flat bed sheet after seeing the new Threshold stools at Target.  The stools totally made my heart race, but there was no need for me to purchase them when I had two perfectly useful x-base stools already sitting in the center of our dressing room at home.  So, I set out to recover them in the same color as the inspiration stools, using a twin sized flat sheet.  The sheet covered both stools as well as the cork board I shared earlier this week. 

I shared our initial stool reupholster project back here, and we essentially followed the same steps.  We removed the scarf {which held up surprisingly well over the last year given that it was never upholstery material}, and pulled the sheet tightly around the bench cushion.  We secured the sheet with our staple gun, giving each staple an extra tap with the hammer to be sure everything was nice and secure. 


The bottom of the stool already had pre-drilled holes for the tufted buttons.  But the original blue buttons were not going to cut it with this new color scheme, so I set out to create new white buttons with the help of a kit.


Once the buttons were created out of some scrap white fabric, we tufted those stools and it was awesome.


The next project was to create a chalkboard to track our weekly exercise plan.  A place to jot down our running sessions and routines and the results of any time spent on our workouts.

I started with a frame found at a local thrift store, and gave the glass five coats of chalkboard paint.


I also painted the decorative frame with some flat white paint.  Once the chalkboard paint was dry, we used an oil based Sharpie paint pen to create the lines for the tracker.  We followed our previous chalkboard calendar tutorial here.


The letters on the calendar were created out of some gold foil with my Silhouette die cutting machine.

The final fun project we did was finally get around to hanging a print I purchased back in October {that totally seems to be how things roll around here}, as well as a decorative hook.  The hook was placed near my wardrobe as a place for me to hang outfit selections.


I have been living with a stand in table for a few months while I used my vanity in my studio, however, I had enough of that and brought it back in where it belonged.  For a hot second, our entire dressing room looked magical!


And a view from our bedroom....


With all of the airy and spring like colors being used, I tossed in a few black accents to keep it all a bit balanced.  I totally heart it!


We just hung the new chalkboard workout log yesterday afternoon and you can imagine I am giddy excited for Sunday to roll around so I can begin using it!  The hubby and I are about to get competitive, so this will be a perfect place to track some {fingers crossed} results.  More on our exercise corner here.

The vanity is happy to be home.


I topped it with a coral vase filled with one of my favorite blooms, as well as a candle, glass of amazing gold makeup brushes {gifted to me from a very dear friend} and a small lamp for added lighting.


You can see how I organize my makeup here.  And how I tackled the interior of my wardrobe closet here and here.


It was so fun to see what a few simple additions could do for our space.  One coral corkboard, a set of coral stools {made from a bed sheet}, a framed print paired with a decorative hook hook topped off with our black and white striped throw and boom!




I was asked in the last post if my space always looks this tidy and the honest answer is no. I love having good systems in place, but we have piles of laundry and bedding and personal items out and about at any given time.  I try to tidy up once per week or if company is coming, but just like the rest of our home, the space is loved and used. 

How is spring inspiring you lately?  Any new colors being used or projects being done with a nod to the seasonal change? 

Today's project is one that I have been putting off for far too long.  Up until recently, every time I would grab a sweater from my closet, it would snag and I would become frustrated.  My initial sweater storage solution turned out to be a giant fail.


You see, I wear sweaters all year round (freeze baby), yet, I opted to give my sweaters hand-me-down style storage.  Two random baskets have been corralling my sweaters for far too long now.  Not at all sweater-friendly with their woven and wire finishes. 


The other problem is that I could never see the sweaters on the bottom, meaning I was always digging and causing the mess you see above.  Lastly, the existing baskets were just too small to hold my bulkier cardigans and number of cold-weather items.

Not able to find exactly the shape, size or style of sweater box that I needed, I set out to make my own.


SUPPLIES

• Fabric (I used Nate Berkus fabric from JoAnn)
• Fray Check
• Liquid Stitch
• Box Cutter
• Mod Podge
• Marker
• Sponge Brush
• Fabric Sheers
• Box
• Cutting Mat
• Label Plates (optional)

I found two moving boxes from Home Depot; they were the small 16" wide x 12" deep x 12" high size.  I began by putting together the box, taping the bottom and slicing the flaps from the top with a utility blade.


I wanted the back to be taller than the front, allowing the sweaters to stack, yet also providing visibility from the front.  Using a ruler and marker I drew my template on the exterior of the box.


I very slowly cut the lines with the utility blade, yet there were still a few imperfections that I was afraid would show through the fabric that would ultimately be covering the boxes.  I used some painter's tape to add a softer edge to the box.


The fabric I purchased didn't quite wrap around the entire box because the box was a bit too big so I figured I would have to try and piece in a scrap in the back.  Because the sweater boxes would eventually be filled with sweaters and living in my closet, I was completely OK having a visible seam.


To affix the fabric, I found that Mod Podge paired with a sponge brush was the best, easiest solution.  I have used spray adhesive in the past, but didn't want any risk of sticky business paired with my sweaters.  The Mod Podge dries nice and clear without any stick.


I gave the box a thick coat of the Mod Podge and then wrapped the box and edges with the fabric, pulling tightly and smoothing things out as I went.



After I had my scrap piece on the back, I fully wrapped the remainder of the box exterior and temporarily stuffed the excess fabric inside.


On the back where the fabric began and ended, I used some Fray Check to prevent the fabric from fraying down the road.


As you can see above, there was a lot of extra fabric, which was great for completely finishing off the interior.  I left the bottom of the box fabric-free.


I found that as I worked, the Mod Podge was great for affixing the fabric to the box, the Fabric Stitch was best for gluing the fabric to itself at points within the box and the Fray Check was perfect for preventing the fabric from fraying where there were fresh, exposed cuts.


Because I notched and sloped the sides, those cuts were a little trickier.  Above you can see how I angle cut the fabric to make it easier to lay in the corners.

I worked my way all around the box and tried to wrap it just as I would wrap a gift.  Once all was complete, the pattern was a little busy on the interior where everything met up, but I was extremely excited with the outcome of this little DIY.


I added a sticky label plate to the front of the box (the original ones pictured couldn't be affixed without creating a potential sweater snag on the interior) and once all of the glues were dry I filled the boxes up with my freshly folded sweaters.


One box holds regular sweaters while the other box holds all of my bulkier cardigans.


So much better!  I love the fresh pattern that welcomes me when I open my closet door.  But most importantly, I appreciate that my sweaters have a little breathing room and will no longer risk being damaged by my initial storage choice.


I used about a yard and a half of fabric total for each box (price will vary based on fabric cost).  The first box took me almost two hours to complete (wow!) while the second was easier and only took about an hour.  So not the quickest project, but definitely worth the time and effort to preserve my clothing.