looking presentable with pd
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When I was working outside the home, I used to dress very professionally. I spent time, energy, and money on clothes, getting my hair cut, pedicures, etc. But with PD and not working out of my home anymore, I’ve adjusted all of those things to my new lifestyle. Some of those things have changed to economize, some of them because I’m at home much more, and some of them are to accommodate my PD.
I like to be presentable every day whether I’m leaving the house or not. It makes me feel good and starts my day on the right path, however I’m also very low maintenance so I try to streamline things . These are things that help me dress each day easily.
In my closet and drawers, I remove all the clothes that are out of season or that I don’t wear anymore. I put them in baskets or in the back of my closet. Everything I do wear is right in front. Having fewer choices actually makes dressing easier. I only put the things that I like, I know I feel good in and that I’ll wear in the next three months.
My clothes are ready to wear when I am. Marc loves to iron his clothes each day. I hate to iron, so I iron once a week when I do my laundry. Too many times I’ve pulled something out of the closet and then put it back because I didn’t want to iron it first. So now anything I pull out is ready to go. I also re-wear things more than once so when I take them off, I immediately hang them up. I have a clothes steamer in my closet so I can freshen it up if it needs it, and I keep a small spray bottle of vodka in my closet for a spritz which can also freshen it up. I know this sounded weird to me too but I got the idea from a fantastic book called Laundry Love which has all sorts of great information about how to do your laundry better.
Next up is hair and makeup. I have found a haircut that works well for me, that’s easy to style and upkeep. Although I love seeing things like highlights and curled or flat ironed hair on other people, I know myself and that I would not be happy with the upkeep and maintenance. I do color my hair and have found a good home hair coloring kit. Same thing for my nails. I love to see all sorts of beautiful nail polish but I do a lot of household chores and gardening and the constant upkeep would drive me nuts. So I keep my nails trimmed, cuticles pushed back and a little cuticle oil rubbed in. I’m even too lazy to get a pedicure so I do my own at home and that’s where I can have fun with colorful polish.
Conversely I have a friend who loves to go to the salon for all sorts of beautiful hair and nail treatments, which is fantastic. For her, it’s easier and enjoyable for someone else to do it.
As for makeup, I do like to put some makeup on each day. My eyebrows are sparse from over plucking back in the day, so those are a must and then I have an easy and quick routine that I can do without fuss.
With PD, how I feel can change from hour to hour. I can have energy one minute and want to lay down and rest the next and when I’m feeling junky, feeling physically disheveled makes me feel worse. So having an easy plan that works for me to be presentable each day, helps me feel my best and ready for whatever the day has in store for me.
