Can you relate to standing in your closet and literally STARING at your clothes? You don’t move, you don’t really touch anything, you just stare – waiting for something to jump out at you. But it doesn’t so you sigh and exclaim, “I have nothing to wear!” This is usually said aloud with a defeatist tone and slightly soap-opera-esque gestures. Recently, I’ve been having this experience too many times and since I don’t have the time or money to re-haul my wardrobe, I had to invent someway to soothe my inner Fashionista – she couldn’t take another night out in my default jeans and a top outfit.

I’ll share the method I’ve been using to treat my “closet full of clothes but nothing to wear” issue. It’s not a ground-breaking idea and I don’t expect Vogue to be calling, but it’s saving me money and aggravation! Instead of walking into my closet and looking for an “outfit” – I approach it an entirely different way. I go to my jewelry box, my belt rack, the cabinet I keep my purses, my make-up bag, or my shoe rack instead. I pick ONE item and plan an entire outfit around that accessory. Instead of starting from the outfit and then adding the accessory, I start with the accessory. It’s sort of like getting dressed in a different order.

What’s happened is I have discovered new combinations of things that look great together, I am finally wearing accessories that were collecting dust and I spare myself of those frustrating moments of hating all my clothes. Planning an outfit around an accessory gives me a mission, a game-plan, a problem to solve. And instead of staring into my glamour-less closet like a zombie, I am on a creative hunt. I feel like my own personal stylist.

Now this may sound trivial but let’s take this application out of the closet and into life. Imagine you have a problem in front of you and you can’t see a solution. Try approaching it from a different angle. Chances are you’ve been looking at it the same way for a while now. Your problem-solving skills may need a makeover even more than your closet does!