The Best Way to Manage Loads of Choices
You're standing in the middle of the toothpaste aisle at the grocery.
Not only do you have 20 brands and flavors to pick from, you have to decide if you want Whitening? Extra fluoride? No fluoride? Sensitive?
You shake off the decision overload and make your move.
Only to find out the mistake of Fennel flavor when you thought you bought Wintergreen, that's what happens when you get distracted by your son asking for potato chips as he runs to the other end of the store.
True story. And fennel is gross. 🤢
Choice paradox. Research tells us that having too many choices, with its overwhelming choice overload, might give us anxiety, stress, and depression instead of happiness. The more options we have, the less decisions we make. When making a decision is so hard, we tend to blame ourselves when our expectations are not met.
If you have ever purchased anything, you have experienced the paradox of choice. You stand in front of racks of clothes to choose from at Target and wish there were simply 3-4 racks.
Or why doesn't the scroll ever end? Seriously, the internet is exhausting.
So with my toothpaste example- one choice-spearmint-would make you sad, especially if you didn't like spearmint. 2-3 choices-happy-yay-choices! 🎉🎉
10 or 11 choices-confusing, frustrating, irritating, too many to pick from. What if I’m missing out on whiter teeth because I picked the teeth brightening instead of the ultra brilliance.
But it's also happening in our closets.
We're making it more difficult than it needs to be and to fix it doesn't necessarily mean you need to get down to a few things.
First, let me tell you-I LOVE having choices. I am not a minimalist at all.
The clothing in my closet is on several shelves, multiple drawers and 4 hanging bars-far from a “capsule” wardrobe! If you feel the same, say “heck ya!”
The magic of having a full closet of choices and not being stressed out is due to 2 things. The 2 things I teach my clients that will take you from aggressively flipping through hangers in the morning, annoyed because you thought that black top would fit and you forgot you lost a button on those pants.
Everything I see, I can wear.
EVERYTHING.
Second- I have physically organized my closet in a way that is less stressful. The things I need to get ready for that have me needing to really show up-the meetings, the big events, the clients- I have all together.
So this picture perfect, category only, light to dark theory is not happening in one section.
The challenge I see most of my clients dealing with is this idea of the Pinterest closet. And while that looks beautiful, and peaceful…it can make for a stressful morning when you have to dig through ALL of your white shirts in ALL the categories to find the one you want.
Imagine all the things you need for work in one place.
(No more getting annoyed that the top you put on ended up having that small hole in the front and now you have to find another one.😠)
Imagine knowing the third drawer down on the left holds all the clothing you need when you're running around with your kiddos, or the things you need to garden in, or paint in. (I call this the grubby life section!)
Because nothing is worse than trying to get dressed, and I mean digging through it all, and your kids are yelling up the stairs that they can't find their shoes and there's no more cereal, or your dog is underfoot because you’re running late and didn’t go for a walk yet. 🙄
So maybe it's time to let go of the idea of the aesthetically pleasing closet if you aren't getting ready quickly, and finding things easily.
If you want lots of choices, and DO NOT want to be paralyzed by them, let's make sure your closet is organized by how you live your life, not category of clothing.
Does any of this surprise you?
Please let me know what your biggest frustrations are…the big “magic wand” moments you'd love to have. I'd like to be able to address them in my newsletters and here on the blog. If you are ready to shortcut the line and just get it done, you can reach me here and we can set up a time to chat.