How much better do you feel when you do a bit of decluttering! All elements of our lives need some housekeeping periodically. This is the first of a series of videos to help you to face and flourish with decluttering your home, wardrobe and mind.
At midlife and beyond… you can end up with all sorts of clutter – not only the clothes chair by the bed, the clothes with tags on stashed in the back of your wardrobe, the date dress that you save for best but never wear, the box of childhood letters you’ve never looked at
or the everyday debris of letters, newspapers and paperwork on surfaces and tabletops, but the mental and physical clutter of a lifetime of memories and experiences.
Of course, there are those rare people who manage to throw things away as they go, but from my experience I see a lot of lovely ladies with exploding closets, bits and pieces of other peoples stuff everywhere, and homes that aren’t supporting them as well as they could be. And I believe every woman deserves to feel supported, radiant and happy and – in and out of the home!
I’ve worked as a Fashion Stylist and Creative Director for top fashion brands and magazines such as Chanel and Vogue, and know that it’s not just what you choose that matters- but what you edit out to move forward!
Editing and Decluttering creates space to step into the next level you, and allows you to honor the progress you’ve made in life, and the person you were AND move away from the past. It helps you to get in the mood for change, and into becoming the best future you! Without it, you can stay stuck in old patterns and limiting beliefs so that you don’t feel like yourself anymore, and don’t move on – when I know you want to live your most fabulous, fully realized next level life, as a full expression of who you are!
It’s time to move away from the past, and make space for your future!
Decluttering doesn’t mean purging and throwing everything away, neither does it mean living in a minimalist haven – unless you want to of course…Over the next videos, I’m going to be systematically going through different areas to declutter, using my shine system – S for social life, H for home, I for inner life, N for neural connections (because it all starts up here right!) and E for external self – your wardrobe and appearance, so you can easily find the subject you’re interested in, or do it all for a complete holistic life declutter – imagine how amazing that will feel!
I’ll be offering plenty of small actionable steps that you can take to feel ready for your fabulous Next Level You, with a renewed lightness to flirt through life looking AND feeling more powerful and in control of your life and your style, without the overwhelm. Whether you implement one or all of the ideas is up to you, but either way, you’ll start to feel more in control, confident, refreshed and lighter – and you’ll shine even brighter!
By the end of this video you’ll have three top tips to get you started on your decluttering journey, and feeling better than ever.
1. Schedule it in
I get it, you’re busy…but like anything else, if you don’t book it in, it’s all too easy to be defeated before you’ve even started. Give yourself time (book it in and break it down…it’s great if you have larger chunks of time, like a weekend so you can get into it, but if that’s not possible, 30 mins a night for 3 nights a week or however many you can do is fantastic…the important thing is to make that commitment to yourself and schedule it in….and then keep that promise to yourself – just make a start (it can become addictive, in the best possible way!)
2. Don’t try and do everything at once.
Just like at work, or getting the kids packed lunch’s made, be as methodical as possible – finish one section before moving to the next. That’s why it’s important to break it down into bite sized doable portions. It’s surprisingly satisfying to complete a slice, no matter the size.
3. Start small to get into the groove
Your handbag is a great place to start. If yours is anything like mine sometimes is, it may contain 4 red lipsticks (in surprisingly similar shades,) a tired looking hair tie, and one too many crumpled tissues and receipts.
You can even do this one with a glass of red wine and a feel good film on Netflix. I like to get a hand towel and pour everything onto it from the bag. This harks back to my days on set doing jewellery shoots for magazines such as Vogue and Bazaar, where I’d put the jewellery and small accessories on a towel to keep them together, and from rolling off a table. I like to have a few small pouches in my handbag, which keep smaller items together, and feels like some semblance of organisation -keeping pens for example, accessible, rather than being lost in the bog of eternal handbag doom. At least most of the time!
I have a small pochette with my trusty pencil, pen, hair comb and emergency tampon and hair pin inside, and another with a few bits of make up. My every day make up is in another mini pouch – a small concealer, a blush, a liquid eye shadow and a lipstick, is mostly in stick form as opposed to powder, as I’ve had one too many cracked compacts, in the bag, and the dusty Miss Havisham look isn’t one I’m going for at this point in my life. I also find them more flattering on parched and papery skin. When you’re done sorting through your possessions, throw away what you don’t need than shake off the towel, and dampen it ever so slightly, before wiping down your bag and the things that belong in it – as long as the fabric will allow of course. Et voila!
Doesn’t’ that feel great!
If you’re ready for more decluttering magic, check out my next video on decluttering your social life so that you feel more supported and have a greater sense of self – ready for anything at midlife and beyond!
Lots of love xoxo Aleksandra
