No More Running Late! Get out the Door Faster, with more Style

Picture this: It's Monday morning,you've overslept and there is no way you're going to be out the door on time. Crawl out of bed and stumble to the closet gazing blearily at it's contents. Since it's too early to think hard about anything, you grab some clothes at random and shove them on. As you walk in the door of the office, you catch a glimpse of yourself in the glass. "OMG What am I Wearing?!?"

This situation could have been averted.

I organized my closet into outfits that I love, snapped pictures of them, and printed them out on business cards blanks. Now when I'm running late, I pick a card at random, put those pieces on and I'm out the door in style.

Sound a bit extreme?

So is showing up looking like a mess, or wearing the same 5 ensembles week in and week out.

There are a few caveats to this strategy:

• Clothing items chosen must fit and be comfortable (at this very moment, not five pounds from now)
• Once an outfit is selected, try it on, If you decide it doesn't work at the last minute you haven't saved time
• To freshen things up, and make sure they suite the weather, cards need to be re-done seasonally
• Shoes, and other accessories should be photographed with the rest of the clothes (more time saved)
• If you decide, after wearing an ensemble, that it is uncomfortable, or unsuitable, throw that card out immediately

When I did this to my closet I ended up with about 30 unique outfits; more than enough to stave off fashion emergencies on weekday mornings for 3 months. It may not sound "fashionable" to pick out clothes that far in advance, but I found that I wasn't wearing my "cute" clothes when I had to scramble to put them together at 7:30 am, so this actually made it easier for me to look put together.

My thought was to use my creativity when I had the time to think about it, and save myself panic in the process.

Let me know if you try this out, or have any time saving tips of your own!

Until Next Time,
~Chardonnay