A Morning Without a Sprinkle of Stress
For mornings without “sprinkles of nerves”
We are all about easy mornings, but sometimes our ears catch those sighs:
“Once again, I couldn’t get dressed quickly,”
even though I have plenty of outfit combinations and plenty of knowledge about “what goes with what”.
With my first cup of coffee, I lined up my thoughts and placed a few morning tips on a little plate for you — so that in an easy morning there would never appear any unnecessary sprinkles of nerves.
1. CLEAN CLOTHES. NOW.
Make sure that every piece of clothing living in your wardrobe is clean.
Let it become a habit: when you come home and change your day clothes into your home clothes, take a moment to look over the clothes you are taking off.
This applies to shoes as well.
A wonderful way to “give yourself a gentle kick” is to want to collect shoes in your wardrobe. In that case, you will naturally feel much more willing to take the shoes you have just walked through the dirt in and visit the bathroom to “wash them”, rather than simply “placing” them onto a white shelf exactly as they came home.
Once this habit is created — choosing footwear in the morning becomes easy, because all your shoes are already “washed” and clean.
2. “SCENT STAINS”
T-shirts, shirts, blouses — personally, I wash them every single time after wearing them.
Remember: clothes have not only visible stains, but also “scent stains”.
We may not notice them ourselves on the same day, but when we put the garment on for the second time, the warmth of our body awakens those invisible scent marks, and it can become truly unpleasant to spend the day chasing the thought:
“Why did I put on this shirt/blouse/t-shirt that I already wore the day before?”
3. LOOSE BUTTONS AND “ACCIDENTAL” STAINS ARE NOT MORNING BUSINESS
A beautiful outfit without even one of its “participants” equals precious morning time wasted searching for something to replace it with.
Therefore, I want to emphasise once again — do not postpone washing until TOMORROW. There is no better time than now.
Do not put aside the thought of a loose button for later. When you notice a stain — take care of it here and now, or at least place the garment somewhere where you will remember that “something is wrong with it”.
There is nothing worse than creating the perfect outfit in your mind for the day ahead, rushing into your wardrobe, and discovering that one of the outfit’s “participants” is dirty.
Then you have to rearrange your thoughts and find another “replacement actor” for the dirty one, and that usually costs a great deal of time and nerves.
Early in the morning, when you already have enough stress trying to run out of the house within a limited amount of time, surrounded by a company of sleepy colleagues, there are already enough unnecessary triggers.
Do not create even more of them yourself.
Loose buttons and “accidental” stains are truly not morning business.
4. THE GOLDEN RULE FOR LOVERS OF WHITE SHIRTS
It is simple — wash them ALONE.
Modern washing machines often have short eco programmes that are usually more than enough to “refresh” shirts worn for one day.
If we are not talking about stubborn stains or heavily soiled clothing, personally I use a 15-minute washing programme.
Remember: white will stay white for a long time only when you wash it separately.
White bras, underwear, and undershirts may all be white, but they are made from different fabrics. Therefore, the old rule that if you throw all white things together, they will all remain beautifully bright white and never turn grey, no longer applies.
My personal experience shows that coming home and immediately sending that day’s shirt into a fifteen-minute “spa treatment” results in having ALL clean shirts neatly lined up and the freedom to choose whichever one your heart desires every morning.
5. MR. NEVER-ENDING IRONING
If you do not enjoy waking up at least an hour earlier than the rest of your family, this task definitely should not be left for the morning either.
My suggestion — there are two possible solutions:
Either choose clothes made from fabrics that do not wrinkle easily, so that after washing them and letting them spend the night gently hanging on a hanger, you can simply grab them the next morning and combine them into your outfit.
This is especially important for clothes that we wash after every wear (for example, shirts and T-shirts).
I put my hand on my heart and say this: lovers of white shirts must either have “ironing” as a hobby, or — if such a hobby has not been discovered — choose shirts that do NOT require being attacked with an iron after every wash.
Or — complete the ironing procedure in the evening.
From everything I have heard from you, all those unfortunate moments when “the iron bites a hole” into a beloved garment usually happen in the mornings.
When you are in a hurry.
6. MISS POWDER AND HER LITTLE TRACES
There is a category of clothes that absolutely do not need to be washed after every single wear.
For example: jackets, quilted/outerwear-style vests, blazers.
But. Oh. However.
Being lovers of pastel colours, after enjoying a day wearing light-coloured outerwear, we often discover — as a rule — Miss Powder’s little traces on the collar or on the parts of the garment that touch our neck or chin.
When you come home, inspect and evaluate whether such “traces” have appeared.
A beautiful outfit with powder-covered edges really does not look “quite right”.
The solution?
Honestly, something I came up with myself quite recently — and it works!
Micellar water.
I thought: if this is exactly what removes powder marks from our faces in the evening, maybe it could also remove them from clothes?
I tried it.
I put some micellar water onto a cotton pad and gently rubbed the powder-marked edges of a jacket-style vest.
The stains disappeared!
The process is quick, and the result is simple — the garment, clean and refreshed, returns to the wardrobe ready for the next day’s outfit.
7. A LINT REMOVER IS YOUR FRIEND
A regular rule: in the places where clothes experience the most friction, little fabric pills appear. They spoil our mood and can make even a brand-new garment look “worn”.
If the little balls appear in traditional places — on cuffs, on the inside of sleeves, around the underarm area — you simply have to accept it and use a lint remover from time to time.
However, if you notice that the little pills appear in unusual places, make sure to search for the one “causing trouble”.
Very often the culprit is a car seat belt, a handbag strap, a necklace with sharper edges, or the zipper of a favourite jacket that we often wear open (for example, a leather jacket).
Once you discover the reason, you will pay attention and stop forcing more delicate, thinner fabrics to become friends with those little “villains” waiting for a chance to pinch them.
Choose an electric lint remover that plugs into the socket and keep it somewhere convenient — for example, in your wardrobe — so that using it is not accompanied by the endless thoughts:
“Where did I put it?”
or
“Oh, it’s not charged again or the batteries are dead.”
8. DON’T FORGET THE WASHED ONES
Even truly wrinkle-resistant clothes will become wrinkled if, after washing, you forget about them and they spend half a day lying crumpled inside the washing machine.
I once laughed and thought that perhaps there is a reason washing machines have that annoying, ear-piercing sound reminding us:
“Get yourself up and go hang your freshly washed clothes.”
If this has already happened — do not hope that simply hanging them will magically straighten them.
In this case, it is better to run a short washing programme once again and repeat the process, this time with a promise (or simply waiting nearby) that freshly washed clothes must be moved onto hangers “here and now”.
9. THE COLOUR HORIZONS OF YOUR WARDROBE
Even if you do not have a huge wardrobe, try arranging your clothes by colour — whether hanging them or folding them.
A sleepy morning eye sees colours very well, and finding the piece you want by colour becomes much easier.
And if a morning change of heart happens:
“Oh no, I don’t want trousers today, today feels like a skirt day,”
you will immediately see which skirt living nearby could quickly replace the rejected participant of your outfit.
10. INVISIBLE, BUT VERY IMPORTANT
Undershirts should always be clean, folded, and “ready to serve”.
Considering Lithuanian weather, many of you probably wear a fitted, seamless undershirt underneath your shirts.
They are invisible, but they perform an important function.
It probably does not even need to be said that a black undershirt underneath white or pastel shirts will not create much beauty, and instead of looking bright white or softly pastel, your shirt will suddenly appear “dirty”.
Exactly the same rule applies to your underwear drawer.
Having seamless nude-coloured underwear neatly prepared and within reach is an incredibly good guarantee of an easy morning.
It protects our beautiful days from thoughts like:
“Are the little lace details of my bra really not becoming the main character underneath this thin fabric?”
11. THE PLACE WHERE CLOTHES HANG
Pay attention: a hanging garment will not always remain perfectly straight if it is placed in a space that is not suitable for its size or length.
Believe me, there is nothing worse than the “hems” of a long dress or trousers spending their entire time resting on the wardrobe floor.
Sometimes fixing the result afterwards is quite difficult — not to mention that doing it in the morning is even worse.
Therefore, when hanging longer garments, always look down and make sure your clothes are actually “hanging”, not “standing” with their hems leaning against the floor.
I wish you to love your wardrobe and begin your days by gently juggling with the feeling of an easy morning.
Once you learn a few simple rules, this little “confidence game” becomes enjoyable.
And quite often — even addictive!
Sometimes living inside my wardrobe,
V.
