Professional Organizer Shelley Davies Shares Her Tips & Tricks
Our client Shelley Davies is an organizationalist and the founder of details MODERN ORDER. Her mantra: less is definitely more. She believes the foundation of all great spaces starts with order. By adding details and the things you love to an organized home, your personal style unfolds creating a space that not only flows but reflects the person you truly are.
MINIMIZE. ORGANIZE. STYLIZE.
Organizing is very personal. Every closet and client are different, so it’s important to get to know the client first. The initial meeting is key - what is their lifestyle, ‘daily uniform’, weekly activities, do they like to shop, etc.?
"I ALWAYS ASK, “IF YOU COULD WAVE A MAGIC WAND, WHAT WOULD YOUR CLOSET LOOK AND FUNCTION LIKE AFTER?”
We asked Shelley for a few of her tips.
Has COVID-19 changed your process?
Covid has been a good ‘aha moment’ as many clothing items that were being held onto pre-Covid were easy to let go of during this spring and now fall purges... finally making room for new items. Covid had people ‘re-thinking’ what’s in their closet and realizing that more is not always better. The focus has switched to quality over quantity. I explain to my clients that by buying quality name brands, they hold their consignment resale value if they decide to sell the item in the future.
by buying quality name brands, they hold their consignment resale value if they decide to sell the item in the future.
- Shelley Davies
What are the best methods for helping a client be able to part with items that you know should be removed from their closet?
Minimization of a client’s closet involves touching every item in a closet. When we do that, we ask the following questions:
1. Do you love it?
2. Does it fit?
3. Do you wear it? (If not – why? Too small, needs repair, etc.)
4. Does it go with 2-3 other pieces in your closet?
5. If it wasn’t there, would you miss it?
6. Does it fit your current lifestyle and activities?
Answering ‘no’ to any of the above questions starts the conversation of whether the item stays or moves out of the closet.
Once a closet is organized it doesn’t stop there. A closet is a dynamic space and with each season should evolve with new purchases and removal of those items not working. I coach my clients to always work with the ‘one in, two out’ rule. Clothes need room to breathe, and you need to see all your clothes to truly be able to wear them and enjoy them. Buy a new pair of jeans... get rid of one or two pairs. That’s the secret to maintaining a great closet.
ANY ADVICE OR THOUGHTS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE ON THE PROCESS OF CLEANING OUT AND FINDING SECOND LIVES FOR ITEMS YOUR CLIENT NO LONGER NEEDS?
The secret is to keep the flow in your closet. When you try something on, and it doesn’t fit or feel good... don’t put it back into your closet. Get three bins and label Spring/Summer Consignment, Fall/Winter Consignment and Donate/Give Away. Add to the bins as soon as you decide the item no longer works for you – don’t put it back in your closet. Once a bin fills, drop it off at consignment or donate to your favourite charity. Post-Covid, donations of any kind go a lot further than they did in the past – there are so many people in Vancouver who could benefit from your gently worn clothes.
ARE THERE ANY ITEMS THAT YOU RECOMMEND YOUR CLIENT KEEP REGARDLESS OF IF IT’S NO LONGER ON-TREND OR IN THEIR SIZE?
There are two types of clothing items people hold onto. Sentimental and emotional. Sentimental is easy – the sweatshirt from university days doesn’t warrant a spot in your main closet in prime real estate. It can be packaged up or moved to another location.
Emotional items are the more challenging ones to part with. They are usually centred around size and cost. I coach clients who insist on keeping other sizes to only keep them if they are one size smaller or larger than their current size.
THE REALITY FOR MOST PEOPLE IF THEY LOSE WEIGHT, THE REWARD WILL BE SOME NEW CLOTHES. REMOVE THE UNNECESSARY STRESS AND GUILT.
I hear a lot...“I can’t get rid of that dress; I paid a lot of money for it.” Simple fact, the money has been spent. Another simple fact, it is now just taking up prime real estate in the closet. Calculate the ‘cost per wear’. (Cost per wear = cost of item divided by number of times worn). Consigning the item does many things – gets a return on the initial investment, opens valuable space in the closet and removes the constant reminder of the bad purchase.
What service do you provide for the items removed from their closet?
My goal with my consignment service is to make it simple and easy for my clients to get some type of return on their investment. The extra bonus is opening up space in their closet for future purchases.
My consignment service works differently for each person. Sometimes it starts with a closet purge and organization, sometimes it’s word of mouth from close friends and family who use my service and it’s simply a ‘pick-up’ service. Here is a breakdown of the full scope of what my consignment service offers:
1. ‘Anytime’ pick-up.
2. Seasonal sort.
3. Cleaning and repairs.
4. Seasonal drop-off of items to the stores.
5. Inventory sheets.
6. Monthly updates and payments.
7. Liaison with the consignment team at Turnabout to make sure client’s items are priced well
and priced to sell.
8. Donations – make sure it goes to the end user, not into a donations box.
9. Storage of off-season items.
10. Liaison with clients and reminders of intake dates.
You've been bringing clients to Turnabout for many years, and we are very grateful for your support. Why Turnabout?
Turnabout has been and remains one of the leaders in the consignment industry in Vancouver. Joy Mauro continues to evolve her stores (LUXE, COMMUNITY, menswear collections at select stores, etc.) and she makes sure her processes are up to date which in turn makes my job of consigning and tracking clients’ inventories and sales easy and accurate. That is key to the success of my consignment service.
On a personal level, I think the teams at Turnabout are amazing and great to work with. I feel like I walk into ‘Cheers’ each time as they know my name and are always making the consignment and shopping experience easy, fun and the best.
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