Just Do It

I’ve been having an errand declutter.  You know the sort of thing – those annoying little jobs that seem to sit on the to-do list for weeks on end, never entirely getting resolved, but niggling away in the background.

Things like taking my dress and scarf to the drycleaners

Getting my shoes re-heeled

Writing and posting my Christmas cards

Listing those dresses and handbags left over from my wardrobe clear-out on Ebay.

And I feel so much better for sorting out the small things.  Not just because my to-do list is shorter, but also because the mental clutter, the low level noise in my brain that comes from thinking about these things, is gone. 

This de-cluttering lark isn’t just about having a tidy wardrobe, tidy desk, tidy house.  They are just components of the overall aim of having a serene, comfortable, fulfilling life. 

So from now on, all those little tasks, those that will take only 15 mins or so, are going to be done without procrastination.

What about you - any ideas on further areas of chaos and clutter that may be weighing us down?

Wardrobe management

I've done a lot of clearing out over the last few months, getting rid of things that are very much no longer 'me'.  Things that I loved, but that really, a 40 year old mother probably shouldn't (can't?) wear.  The very short See by Chloe sequined mini springs to mind (happily shipped via Ebay to an excited new owner).
Conversely I've got rid of things that make me feel old.  The navy blue knee length sweater dress is one of them.

And this week I've been trying to document what remains.  Two things are obvious.
1) I have a lot of clothes
2) There are some amazing clothes that I never wear

So I've spent time coming up with outfits from my documented list.  At the moment, most of the outfits on there are tried and tested combinations and things I wear anyway.  But I'm marking each item as it gets used in an outfit, and trying to find ways of wearing each item.  That way I'm hoping that I can identify items (or even groups of items) that I don't really ever wear.
Maybe its because it doesn't fit with my lifestyle, maybe I don't have the right things to go with it.  Or maybe its because I love it, but it just isn't me or my style.
The first and third categories I will be being brutally honest and getting rid of those things that don't work.
And I've already identified a couple of wardrobe gaps that will enable me to make outfits out of some of those poor neglected pieces.

Maybe wardrobe planning is the way to go after all?

The power of tidy

I’ve always been a relatively neat and tidy soul – I find mess distracting and disorientating, but its only recently that I’ve fully discovered the delights of decluttering.  Whether it’s an attempt to impose order on a world where I feel I’ve lost a little control, I don’t know, but I wish I could bottle the satisfaction to be gained from a really good sort out.  Taking a drawer, a cupboard, or a shelf, emptying it, getting rid of the broken, the unused, the unwanted, the unflattering and putting it back in order gives me a deep level of contentment.

A beautifully colour coded wardrobe, where everything is clearly visible, fits me, is clean and works for me – well I’m still working towards that.  One of the big challenges I’m facing at the moment is that since having a baby, I’m not only slightly bigger than I was, but I also feel as if my clothes need to grow up.  And that’s difficult to come to terms with. 

But shelf by shelf, drawer by drawer, I’m working through the clothes – each sweep is more ruthless than the last.  And soon I hope I’ll have a wardrobe I’m happy to photograph and show in public.

But its an addition that could become a problem.  When I’ve done my own, maybe I’ll have to start on other people’s?

Emerging blinking into the light

I'll get round to telling you more about me in the following posts.  But just for starters, I wanted to post the reason for writing.

I never thought I'd start a 'Mummy blog'.  I never thought I'd be a mummy - that was never really the plan.  But now I am, and there are a lot of things I suddenly seem to need to say.  Even if no-one is reading them.

With my little biscuit now 14 months, and having returned to work in the City, I'm becoming increasingly aware that who I was a couple of years ago, isn't who I am now, or who I'm likely to be again.  I was a cocktail drinking, designer clothes wearing, new restaurant visiting, marathon running city girl.  I didn't live in an episode of Sex and the City, but at times it seemed like it.
Then I found myself pregnant by surprise (I was a bit old to be surprised in such a manner, but these things happen).
And what I had always seen as my life plan was thrown in the air.  My body isn't the same as it was, my social life definitely isn't, and I'm definitely not the superfit superwoman I used to be.
But I have discovered a new love for my home and my family, an interest in embroidery that surprised me, and a skill for organisation outside work that has given me pleasure.  I'm still trying on the new me for size, so I'm hoping that this blogging experiment will help me through the maze to find a new way of living that suits me, and my family.

Watch this space for items about fashion, style, keeping house, cooking, London finds, motherhood, exercise, work, relationships, happiness and many other musings on life, 

Happy reading,

Ali