Marlys: Find Your Season.

Marlys and I know each other from when we both worked in the youth organization for our church. It was our responsibility to plan activities that were both wholesome and entertaining for 12-18 year olds. Phew.

One week, Marlys taught the girls that everyone has a color season. With the right colors, your hair, skin and hair will all glow, your imperfections will be diminished, and you’ll look bright and vibrant. With the wrong colors, your eyes, skin and hair will look drained, your imperfections may be highlighted, and your face will just be blah. You can figure your color palette out here on this website for college kids (they really should teach this concept earlier than college, but whatever.)

This was monumental information for me. I immediately went home and purged all of my white and black, and started replacing my wardrobe with beige, chocolates, oranges, and fiery reds. When shopping, I now quickly scan the racks for colors in my season, and ignore anything that doesn’t fall within it. It saves me hours of sifting through racks for no good reason. And I never buy t-shirts in every color anymore, ever, just because they’re 3 for $25.

Marlys, my wardrobe thanks you for the orange scarf, turquoise earrings, gold sequin tank top and mustard cardigan that’s now a part of it.

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Jesi: Fold Deep

I met Jesi Haack for about two minutes at my lovely friend Iris’ wedding. Jesi was her wedding planner and has a knack for putting together super spectacular events – all the way down to the details.

So of course, now I’m following her on Pinterest. And one of the first things she repinned?

So when you’re going through your stuff in the morning and looking for something in particular, you don’t have to sift down into the depths of your t-shirt drawer, get the piles all messed up, and then crumple everything into a ball when try to re-shut the drawer.

I’ve modified every drawer – all of my thin sweaters and cardigans, the kid’s t-shirts and long-sleeve shirts… even JEANS. And guess what? It all fits into 2/3 of the space that it used to fit in.

I love folding and putting away laundry now. A true miracle!

Claire: It’s Totally Blocking the Wind.

I went to my first Cubs game of the season last week. Anyone who has been to a Cubs game in April knows that it’s pretty much a 4-inning experience. And this game was no exception: cold, windy, wet, gross, 34 degrees.

A couple of rows in front of me, I saw this:

And I thought it was so genius that I climbed two rows down, tapped this girl on the shoulder, and asked her if it was keeping her warm.

“Yeah, it’s totally blocking the wind! You’d be surprised!”

They didn’t look super cool, but I know they were a lot warmer than I was, even with my 14 layers and Cubs hat.

Nice to meet you, Claire & friends! Next time, I’m bringing my zebra print umbrella and we can all be safari-esque together.

P.S. The Cubs actually did W this game, so Go Cubs Go.

Angie: Don’t pack a single pair of sweats.

Angie was my junior-year-of-college roommate. From Blue Springs, MO, her claim to fame is that her brother is best friends with David Cook. Although she didn’t know how to boil water or make scrambled eggs (seriously), Angie actually gave me some actual, practical, memorable advice before I went home for winter break (which haunts me every holiday season):

“Don’t pack a single pair of sweats. It’s winter. You’ll want to dress all cozy and comfy. DON’T. Because the second you don’t wear jeans or cords or something that holds you in is the second you’ll overeat. And then you won’t fit into your clothes when you get back to school.”

I’m sitting in sweats now and contemplating baking a BTS cake -> case in point.

Bridget: Color Czars decide EVERYTHING.

This past Thursday, I was at a Smitten Boutique for an event hosted by Kehoe Designs (an amazing florist/design company in Chicago). I met their Creative Director, Bridget (@BridgetCJohnson), who educated me on upcoming color trends for 2010. Lighter shades of yellow, lavender, and bold blues will be hot next year. (Just watch.)

And then I asked her how designers know what’s going to be in for the coming year. And she told me there’s a forecasting committee called the Color Czars; they’re the end-all, be-all of color palettes. They’re collaborating on 2015 right now.

So basically, a handful of people in the whole world decide what our living rooms, cars, iPods, Gap sweaters, handbags, shoes, lipstick, and hair color are going to be.

That’s a ridiculous amount of power.

Melissa: Figure out how to use your closet.

Melissa was my youth group leader when I was 10. We baked bread, square danced, started a vegetable garden. None of those skills really stuck. But one time, she spoke straight to my heart:

“When you’re old enough to buy your own clothes, make sure you figure out how to use your closet. Organize by color, season, size, type of fabric – whatever works for you. But for heaven’s sake – don’t just throw your clothes in a heap on the floor!”

So from that point on, I took her advice to heart. Here’s my closet today:

Thirty assembled outfits. Dressy on the left, casual on the right. Accessories on the hanger. Yes, the hangers are backwards for a reason – once I wear an outfit, I’ll turn the hanger around so I know it’s already been worn. (Thanks, Stacy and Clinton.)

Not only does this system save me a ton of time (no more frantic piles of clothes on the floor), but it also helps me purge (clothes not on hangers go straight to the donation bag) AND I know exactly which pieces I need when I go shopping. Like right now, I really, really need a navy blue cardigan. Really.

I love organizing. Probably in majority part due to Melissa.