If you clicked into this blog expecting to read style tips for making getting dressed easy, then now feels like an appropriate time to say, “surprise!" 🎉

No, this isn't an ol' bait and switch trick. 

You might be surprised that the one thing you can do to make getting dressed in the morning SO MUCH easier has nothing to do with how you style your outfit. 

It doesn't have to do with what you wear at all. 

It has to do with the state of your closet. 

Your closet is the starting point for getting dressed. 

If it's in disarray or overcrowded that gives you a hectic foundation, which leads to a hectic time getting dressed.

Even when your closet is neat and tidy, it can still hamper your best efforts and cause frustration if it's not organized in a way that works for your brain and your lifestyle.

A cleaned out, organized closet isn't just for aesthetics. 

It's one of the most helpful things you can do for yourself to make getting dressed in the morning easier. 

When I'm going through a client's closet, there are three objectives I always keep in mind. 

1. Get rid of clothes to create space

2. Re-organize the layout of clothes for the client's lifestyle

3. Categorize the clothes for easy outfit building

Each of these goals serves a purpose to help achieve the end result that every client desires (and if you're reading this, then I'm guessing it’s one you want too!) - being able to easily get dressed in the morning. No fuss. No drama. And definitely, no marathon try-on session of just about everything you own.

You may need all three or find that one is a priority over the others.

To help you hone in on your main focus, here's a break down of each goal and how it acts as an ‘easy’ button for getting dressed. 

A cleaned out closet creates space to see everything you own so you have more options to choose from.

When you have too many clothes, your brain fights overwhelm by going into default mode and directing you to the same go-to pieces you always wear.

This is how you end up staring into your closet thinking that you have absolutely nothing to wear ('cause by now you're so over those go-to pieces) and need to go shopping. Again.

But the answer isn't adding more, it's paring down to less.

Creating enough space to make everything hanging in your closet visible at a quick glance is the fastest way to alleviate the frustration of feeling like you never have anything to wear. 

It's why many of my clients experience the paradoxical effect of feeling like they have more to wear even though there are less clothes hanging in their closet!

Before

After

With this client, her closet was so overcrowded that she had started hanging pieces on her shoe rack in order to fit everything in. Once we cleared out the pieces she no longer loved or wanted to wear, she gained back an entire rack of dresses that had been in hiding! Not to mention racks of shoes that she had forgotten were an option because she defaulted to wearing the same few pairs of shoes that were easily visible on her closet floor.

A closet organized by lifestyle helps you easily pick an outfit for any occasion because all of your options are in one place.

When you have a system for organizing your clothes that makes sense for your lifestyle, it's synced up to how you're already thinking about your day so choosing what to wear is a breeze. 

Next time you have to go into the office, you can go right to the specific area of your closet that has all your suitable for the office clothes. 

When you have all of your options in one spot (and don't have to wade through cleavage baring date night tops and worn out leggings that are an automatic no), your brain can quickly and easily make a decision. 

Yep, this also means that Starbucks latte you've been dreaming of is so happening - because getting dressed was so easy that you were able to actually head out the door a few minutes early today!

Before

Before

This client had work from home pieces (ie, loungey, wouldn't leave the house in these clothes), uber professional business pieces and everyday clothes all mixed together. After we went through her closet, we dedicated an entire quadrant (on the bottom right) to work from home clothes and moved her rarely worn professional meeting clothes to a new, less accessible spot.

The top two quadrants are dedicated to everyday clothes so when she has happy hour with the girls, date night with the hubby or hosts one of her infamous dinner parties, she doesn't even look at the cozy work from home pieces and instead sees how many fun options she truly has!

A categorized closet allows you to purposefully and easily build your outfit for the day.

When the clothes in your closet are organized by category (ie, sorted by item type then sleeve length and then color), it helps you approach building your outfit in the same way. 

Instead of staring at your closet wondering what to wear, you can start by looking at the section with all of your tops, narrowing in on whether you want a long sleeve top or something short sleeve or sleeveless to wear under a layer. 

Now that you've decided on that floral print, pastel blue sleeveless top, you go next to the section of your closet with layers, honing in on your blazers since you have an important client meeting, and from there focus only on the colors that you know will go with your top.  

Now you head to your jeans section and easily see two dark wash options you have that are perfect for a business casual look. You pick one and voila…you're ready! 

How easy was that?! 

Hint: Way easier than the strategy of "I guess I'll just browse through my closet and see what I have." 

Before

After

The key to this client feeling ease when getting dressing was organizing her tops into categories by sleeveless, short sleeve, long sleeve, sweaters, cardigans, jackets, and finally blazers (shown left to right in the after photo). When she wanted to wear a cardigan that had a thinner fabric, instead of hunting through the whole rack for a sleeveless top that could work under it, she zoomed right in to the section of sleeveless tops. This turned 10 minutes of hunting into 2 minutes of deciding. Easy peasy!

Which benefit(s) would you find most helpful when it comes to easily getting dressed in the morning?

If you find yourself frequently standing in front of your closet and thinking, “I have nothing to wear,” you’ll want to make sure you clean out your closet so you can actually see everything you own. (You have more to wear than you think you do!)

If you find yourself frequently standing in front of your closet and thinking, “I need more work/date night/casual/etc. clothes,” you’ll want to group your clothes by lifestyle so you can see what you specifically have to wear for each occasion.

If you find yourself frequently standing in front of your closet and thinking, “I don’t know what to wear,” you’ll want to categorize your closet so you can make building an outfit as simple as possible.

Find yourself thinking all three? These can easily work with each other and all be incorporated together.

And, of course, if you're a busy gal and the last thing you want to do is spend your free time cleaning out your closet no matter how enticing the benefits make it sound - I get it! 

So go ahead and invite over your style bestie (that's me! 🙋‍♀️) for a Style Edit. With me by your side it will be the most painless, funnest (yes, that's official style terminology), rewarding experience you can give yourself.

Besides a cleaned out, organized closet, you get all the added benefits of:

• finally getting clear on your style

• feeling more confident in your buying decisions going forward

• understanding what doesn't work for you and why

• an organization strategy personalized for your brain and lifestyle

Click the button below and schedule face time with me to chat about the service or if you're ready to go, click here to instantly secure your spot on my schedule! 

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ABOUT:

I'm a Minneapolis personal stylist on a mission to eradicate outdated style 'rules' so women can unleash themselves in all their beautiful, authentic glory!

I offer personal styling services that empower women to wear what they love by helping them ditch any outdated style rules keeping them stuck, showing them how to dress in a way that embraces their beautiful body and, the key to it all, having fun! I believe in a liberated style approach so there are no style rules, body shapes, seasonal colors or dos and don’ts given out here. Rather, I help my clients tap into what lights them up and dress with the purpose of expressing their authentic selves rather than impressing others.

This is all done through a combination of styling services (including wardrobe edits, shopping trips and styling sessions) available in thoughtfully curated styling packages designed to help clients unleash their true self through the power of style.

When I'm not helping women take back their power style, you can find me reading (about a gazillion books at once), traveling to new and old favorite destinations, binging a random circa 2000's TV show with my hubby, Aaron, playing with my adorable rescue pup or, of course, shopping! :-)