Dear Kathi,

I am full figured with no waistline. What clothes should I buy?

Jessie, Waitress

Jessie,

Avoid wear baggy shirts that fall straight from your bustline to your hips. This practice makes your entire body look as wide as your chest. Buying shirts with a snug fit and princess seam under the chest is a good practice. Shirts that fit snug at your waist with tailored lines will accentuate your waist and draw attention to your lower areas. Keep suit coats long and make sure they hit below your hips, ending at the widest part of your bottom, not above it. This will give the appearance of a longer torso and minimize your hips. Suit coats with three - four buttons will minimize the bustline. Another important item to consider is your slacks. Wear slacks with wide legs that fall away from your hips. This will help you avoid the upside-down “V” look and you will elongate your torso at the same time.

Dear Kathi,

Help! Is there a way to organize my car without having everything spread across the seats all the time?

Vicki, Legal Assistant

Vicki,

There are many ways to organize your car. It sounds as if you work in your car. If this is the case, consider getting a small plastic vertical file box for your paper work, storing it on the floor behind the passenger seat for easy access. Also, a trash bag that hangs behind your seat is indispensable. You can purchase organizing pockets that hang behind your seat and magnets that hold your cell phone onto your dashboard. Expandable storage bags for your trunk are indispensable. These trunk bags are nylon and collapse down to one pocket or expand to up 8 pockets to hold your grocery shopping and other purchases upright in your trunk. An often-underused area in your car is your glovebox.

Typically this space is stuffed with repair receipts that can easily be stored in a file at home. Handy items to keep in your glovebox are a flashlight, comb or hairbrush, registration/insurance information and the maps that pertain to the area you live in (not ones from your trip to Montana three years ago. Store your important papers in a single envelope for easy access. Once every week, go through your car and purge the items that don’t belong there and you will be on your way to clean seats and room for passengers.

Dear Kathi,

My husband and I have recently downsized to a smaller house. We are finding it very difficult to let go of things we have always thought to be important. What are your suggestions? Kerry T of Del Mar

Kerry,

Congratulations on realizing that you need to release a few possessions from your life. As people move into new homes they discover that items that were once an integral part of their life no longer serve them. Even though they no longer need or use these items, they still feel sentimentally attached and find it difficult to let go. My suggestion is to think about how each item in question is now serving you. For starters, is it serving you at all or is it simply collecting dust in the corner? If it is only collecting dust, donate it and send it to new owners who will use it regularly. You will find this liberating and energizing. If you decide to keep it, move it into an area where it can be viewed or used regularly. If you can’t do this, it needs to leave your possession for good. Release and let go.

Kathi is a professional organizer, image consultant and event planner based in San Diego California.

Please submit your questions to: advice@addspacetoyourlife.com
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San Diego Professional Organizer