Book Club: Anita's picks / Clube do Livro: os escolhidos da Anita

Tweet
Nota: este post é bilíngue, a tradução para o português está em itálico.

A year without shopping for clothes and accessories sounds much easier than a year without shopping for books, or, EVEN WORSE, a year without reading. Yup, I'm one of those, a girl that always has a book inside her purse, that takes advantage of every spare minute to dive in, be it at the post office line, or the bus stop, or my lunch hour. Reading is essential to my being.

So at the end of 2011, when we all decided to start this endeavor, who did I run through for advice and counsel before I start this challenge? You got it, books. I ran to Amazon and ordered a few books to get me inspired. I mean, being organized, and fashion blogging were not my strong suit. Today I'm sharing 4 of those books I got for inspiration!

Um ano sem comprar roupas e acessórios é muito mais fácil do que, digamos, um ano sem comprar livros. Ou PIOR, um ano sem ler livros! Sim, eu sou uma dessas gurias, que está sempre com um livro dentro da bolsa, e que aproveita cada minuto livro do dia para ler, seja na fila do correio, no ponto de ônibus, ou na hora do almoço. Ler é essencial para mim. 

Então é claro que ao final de 2011 quando decidimos embarcar nesse ano sem compras, que eu corri para os meus amigos de confiança, os livros, para começar esse desafio com o pé direito. Aqui nesse post está uma seleção dos meus preferidos:

The Wonderful World of Fifi Lapin: Style Secrets of a Furry Fashionista

I pre-ordered The Wonderful World of Fifi Lapin back in November when it was first announced for sale. It took a while for it to ship, but it finally arrived a week ago at my house, and how I was happy to see it! It's probably the most adorable book ever written about fashion. It's hard not to recognize this fashionable bunny that always sports the latest runaway trends, and in this book, also gives fantastic fashion advice (and cupcake recipes)! I have yet to read it, but skimming through is already such an awesome experience. I'm really happy about getting this.

Eu pré-encomendei o The Wonderful World of Fifi Lapin em Novembro, quando ele finalmente apareceu na Amazon para comprar. Só chegou agora, em Abril, quando o livro foi finalmente lançado. Eu estou super empolgada para começar a ler, mas só de olhar por cima já acho que é o livro mais fofo já escrito sobre moda. O livro é cheio de dicas de moda, tendências, e até receitas de cupcake! Mas claro, com essa coelhinha fofa, o que mais podemos esperar?

What I Wore: Four Seasons, One Closet, Endless Recipes for Personal Style

Jessica Quirk is one of my favorite bloggers because she is down to earth and creates absolutely lovely outfits that you look and you think "Maybe I should try that too." Her book, What I Wore, was the one I was looking forward the most to read. I read the entire thing in one sitting, with a notebook by me to take notes and prepare for the year ahead. I love how she illustrated the book as well. It's an easy read and it helps you get more organized about your wardrobe and also how you shop. I can't recommend it enough.

A Jessica Quirk é uma das minhas bloggers preferidas, principalmente porque o estilo dela é bem acessível, e ela cria looks que você tem coragem de tentar fazer igual. O livro dela, What I Wore, foi o que eu mais estava a fim de ler, e quando ele chegou aqui em casa li em uma sentada, e tirei muitas idéias dele para me preparar ao ano que teria pela frente com o Occupy. Adoro que ela não só escreveu o livro como o ilustrou também. O livro é cheio de dicas de como utilizar as roupas que você tem ao máximo, e ser mais organizada durante o ano. 

Organize Now!: A Week-by-Week Guide to Simplify Your Space and Your Life

Okay, I admit being slightly embarrassed that I bought a book about being organized. I feel like I am alright, but I wanted some help with structure, and this book provides it. It is an easy week-by-week plan, that you can fit in your schedule. Just sit for a hour a week with Organize Now (you don't even need a notebook because it has space to write on) and read it and start organizing! The projects are small and easy to complete every week. My post on organizing your closet was also inspired by this book.

É verdade que eu fico um pouco com vergonha de mostrar esse livro. Eu acho que sou decentemente organizada, mas para o Occupy eu queria um pouco mais de estrutura para dar conta de tudo, então fui atrás de bons livros e esse caiu com uma luva. Ele é divido em projetos fáceis que você pode fazer toda semana. É só sentar com a sua cópia do Organize Now é um lápis e começar a se organizar! O meu post sobre como organizar o armário foi também inspirado nesse livro. 

Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual: For Everyone from Beginner to Pro

I'm not really great at make up, so I was happy that Bobbi Brown's Makeup Manual helped me get my basics in order. I not only learned make up techniques (so important when you're photographing yourself every week!) but what I needed to have in order to get decent results. I'm still not a pro, but I'm happy where I stand. Okay, I still need some practice with eye make up!

Sou um zero a esquerda quando se trata de maquiagem, mas esse livro me ajudou muito, principalmente no quesito "básicos," ou o que eu precisava ter na bancada de maquiagem para conseguir bons resultados., principalmente quando estou fotografando a minha cara toda semana! Mas eu agora estou feliz com o que sei, se bem que, podia aprender mais um pouco como passar sombra!

5 steps to an organized closet / 5 passos para organizar o seu armário

Tweet

Nota: este post é bilíngue, a tradução para o português está logo abaixo.

Take everything out of your wardrobe and throw it on your bed. I meant, EVERYTHING, clothes, shoes, accessories (bags, jewelry, belts, think of everything). I know it won't look pretty, but it's truly the best way to start with a clean slate closet, totally empty. You might want to plan to do it on a weekend when you have no other plans.

(PS: If taking everything out of the closet seems way too overwhelming for you —I still recommend it, though— our fellow wardrobe occupier Carol suggests that you do it by parts. First organize all of your shoes, then all your shirts, then the dresses... and so on).

Evaluate the space you have now. Do you need to hang extra rods, get extra boxes for storage, get more hangers, add another shelf? Make any modifications now.

Look at all your clothes with attention and answer the following questions honestly:

• Have I worn this in the last year?
• Does it flatter my body?
• Do I feel good in it?
• Does it fit?
• Is it worn out, with holes, stains?

If you answer yes to any of those, consider:

• Getting rid of it.
• If it doesn't fit or it is stained, is it worth to try to fix it? If not, get rid of it.

Make 2 piles for the clothes you are getting rid of:

1. Clothes, shoes, and accessories that are in good shape.
2. Clothes, shoes and accessories that are worn out, stained, ripped.. you get the gist.

With the first pile, you can either donate to a local charity or you can organize a clothing swap with your friends (you'll see a post on how to organize a clothing swap soon). The second pile can turn out to be really good rag material.

And another very important question you should ask yourself:

Is my closet so full, I can't fit everything inside? Darling, if the answer to that is yes, then you should definitely get rid of some things, or invest in some extra storage to help you stay organized and aware of everything you had. Remember: out of sight, out of mind.

photo source: collegefashion.net

Now try everything that's left on. Really, you'll thank me for that. Then repeat step 2.

Now you have the best of the best to work with on your hands, and that perfect closet just within reach. Hang your clothes by category and then by color, for example hang all work dresses together and separated by color, then do the same with your summer dresses, and so on. The same goes for the clothes that go folded in your wardrobe. Make sure all your clothes face the same way on the hangers.

photo source: Apartment Therapy

Last but not least... get creative. Now is the perfect time to tackle on all those projects you wanted to do anyway. Get boxes for all your shoes, take a polaroid picture of the shoe (or make a drawing of it you are so inclined) stick in the box. You can also use a pin board to organize all your necklaces and jewelry. You can get little pretty dishes to put your small knick-knacks. There are many cool and easy projects out there that you can do it on an afternoon. I've separated a few links for you to check out and get inspired:

Links:
1. Young House Love has a huge list of small DIY you can do to help you organize your closet (and really, pretty much everything else in your house). I particularly like this one post about organizing your jewelry, and this one where they show you how to install some cute baskets inside your closet.
2. 17 ways to make organizing fun: a list of small projects from Better Homes and Garden that are all really easy and adorable.
3. A cute way to organize your tights from Julie Ann Art. I do that with my scarves, and it looks beautiful.
4. Keep your shelves more organized with slid on shelf dividers, an idea I saw at Real Simple and am definitely putting into practice this week.
5. And my all time favorite from Maegan: A place for odds and ends, where she uses a shoe organizer to organize everything... but shoes! I have two of those over the door shoe organizers, I use one for my jewelry and belts, and the other for my winter small things, such as gloves, hats and earmuffs.

You can take this opportunity to inventory your clothes (like we did before starting occupy, here's a handy spreadsheet Vica came up with, that you can download and use it) and make a list of what you absolutely need to buy new. But be wise, make sure any new additions to your wardrobe matches at least three other items on your wardrobe. But in the spirit of Occupy the Wardrobe... instead of buying, try a clothing swap with your friends!
Important: Repeat this process twice a year for maximum closet organization!

This post was inspired by Ruche's post on how to get your closet organized, I decided to expand it and share my organization strategies with you guys.

[Tradução para o Português, clique no link abaixo:]