I’ve been a rebel from the second I was dragged out of my mom’s womb. Perhaps before, since I had to be retrieved three weeks after due date. If someone made a rule, I immediately used my powers to figure out how to break it. Fortunately, as my brain synopses finally fused together in my 20’s, I started to realize that some of those rules and regulations could possibly be in my best interest. Like clothes. No, this isn’t where I disclose (dis-clothes!) that I’m a nudist. I’m not. I’m talking about the wardrobe war.
Remember when you were a child and your mom made you lay out your clothes the night before school? I hated that ritual. It was another chance for her to tell me what to do. How did I know what I was going to be in the mood for the following day? Maybe I woke up feeling really girly and wanted to wear a dress (with shorts underneath of course just in case some boys decided to get mischievous!) Or maybe I’d feel like this was going to be the day that I wanted to take on the best dodge ball player in class. Thus an athletic outfit would be handy. However, without laying out my clothes the night before, I’d end up staring at my wardrobe options and often miss my bus because of clothing indecision.
Rebel with a Cause
One of the best things that ever happened to me in high school was making the cheerleading squad. Sure it was fun to be one of the popular girls and get to burn off uber energy all game long (I have never been able to sit still through school, church, concerts, games, etc.) My favorite perk about being a cheerleader was that we got to wear our uniform on game days. That usually ended up being about three times a week. The other two mornings, you guessed it, I was in dire risk of missing my bus to school again. What to wear?
Each non-uniform school morning, while other girls were trying cute new hair styles and experimenting with make-up- I stared blankly into a tiny closet. I was anything but a clotheshorse and there were only so many combo choices, yet my brain was befuddled. Clothing crisis had me paralyzed.
Until recently, I continued to have this problem. My husband was amazed by how quickly a mountain of clothes could grow before his very eyes when we’d have some place special to go. Often it would take at least three changes, some partial-others full, before I would find The Outfit that looked and felt perfect! The same thing happened in the morning while my brain was still addled by sleepiness.
I have come to a very un-original solution to this problem. It’s the ole “lay your clothes out the night before” trick. This especially works when you have an early morning commitment to a meeting or even a workout. Lay the clothes out so you have one less thing to think about while preparing for your important day- especially before the caffeine has kicked in! Plus, you’ll have more time to use your powers in a purpose-full way.
“Establish it again as a nonnegotiable ritual, and see the difference this small adjustment makes in your day,” advises Productivity Specialist Bruna Martinuzzi. “Remember, the simplest things in life ground us.”
Don’t you just hate when Mom was right?
Karen Loucks Rinedollar is a motivational speaker whose goal in life, 
besides catapulting her husband into retirement, is inspiring audiences to make a difference. She is Founder and Denver coordinator of the children’s charity Project Linus and author of “Working for Peanuts: The Project Linus Story”. Her next book “The LINUS Effect- Five Steps to a Purpose-Full Life” is due out by the end of summer. www.karenloucks.com
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