Like many women, my sweet mother-in-law had a china cabinet. On the west dining room wall, it had closed storage on the bottom and glass doors on the top. If I put my nose close to the glass, I could see stacked wedding china, etched water glasses, pressed glass snack sets, her mother’s crystal salt cellars, a variety of serving trays and bowls, and an assortment of travel souvenirs. The cabinet was overstuffed. Christmas dinner and her women’s Nighthawk Club were the only events her good dishes escaped the cabinet.

Similarly, I have two crammed clothes closets—my newer, prettier, more dressy clothes end up across the house, and my casual, older clothes hang in the bedroom closet. Ninety-five percent of my days, I dress from, you guessed it, the closet housing the worn and faded. I also have glorious hats and shoes, but I wear my ball caps and tennis shoes, tattered from washing and wearing, while stylish shoes, fedoras, and wide-brimmed hats, sit on open shelves collecting dust.

How about the linen closet? My everyday Arizona towels are putrid green due to a bleach abundance, and stacked in the linen closet are soft, plush, beautiful matching towel sets waiting for guests to use, I guess.

Do you have a hinged, felt-lined wooden box that holds your good silverware while you use mismatched stainless on the dinner table? How about your drinking glasses. Do you have a high shelf that holds matching water glasses?

What is wrong with us? Our logical brains need to rage war on our illogical reasoning.

I don’t know about you, but I feel younger, happier, and smarter when I wear my good clothes, stylin’ shoes, and strategically place a dusted-off hat on my head. Add some bangles, and I’m ready for the day. How sad to only dress-UP for weddings, funerals, and church.

Imagine if we ripped-up those old towels for rags, boxed-up our ancient silverware and dishes, swapped the location of our clothes and wore our beautiful or fun jewelry. Just imagine. Simple changes can increase our perceived IQ, multiply our smiles, and add skips to our steps. Plus, it would cost nothing.

Are you saving your good things? Your kids likely won’t want them—they have their own. Your good things probably have little monetary value, even if they were initially expensive. They serve little purpose except taking up room, and they are yours, so use them—today, tomorrow, and forever. Give the old stuff away.

Men, the same applies to you. Wear and use your good things—why not?

Believe you are worthy of treating yourself as you would guests and use your good stuff. We all want to be happier, and I promise these simple little tweaks in your daily routine, even if you stay home or don’t expect company, will be a first great start.

Until the next time: Live while you live.

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