I’m so excited to share with you 5 reasons you need a color palette. Having a color palette was originally brought to my attention as a piece of business advice. The idea being that a cohesive color palette helps give continuity to your business. I fought this idea for years, saying to myself that my color palate was bright colors. Two years ago I dabbled in picking a color palette, but didn’t really commit to it. Almost exactly a year ago I decided to go all in and I’m so glad I did!
You might be thinking Sarah, it’s so lovely that you took that piece of business advice and applied it to your business, but I don’t have a business. I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to be a business owner to use and benefit from a color palette. While it started with my business and yarn, it’s spread into my closet, my home décor, and all things color! You may already have a color palette without consciously committing to it, I kind of did. However, I encourage you to be intentional about it. Being intentional has been super beneficial for me and I know it can be for you too!
First, let’s define what a color palette is. There are lot’s of official sounding definitions (the range of colors characteristic of a particular artist), but for our purposes we’re going to simply define it as a group of coordinating colors. Keep in mind that coordinating is often in the eye of the beholder.
One of the reasons I was so hesitant about nailing down a color palette was that I worried it would be restricting. I found that when I kept in mind the purposes of focus, intentionality, and joy, I really enjoyed creating and using my color palette! I hope you will too! So here you go! My 5 reasons why you need a color palette!
1. Reduces Decision Fatigue
Did you know that the average adult makes around 35,000 decisions every day? For moms I think the number is closer to 3.5 million. OK, maybe not, but it FEELS like it some days! Making decisions uses our energy, our brain power and our patience. I don’t know about you, but I need to conserve all those things!
Now, any decision I make even remotely related to color boils down to one question. Is it in my color palette? If it’s not then the answer is almost always no. Super adorable throw pillow that I want to impulse buy… is it in my color palette? No, decision made! Gorgeous yarn that is obviously gorgeous, but outside my color palette – also a no. Seriously, I used to spend so much time making yarn choices. Putting yarn in my cart, taking it back out again, making different combinations. Not any more! They’re either in my color palette or they’re out of my cart!
Having a color palette has even helped me reduce decision fatigue around what I wear too. Once I paired down my closet to fit within my color palette, putting together outfits and finding clothes that I really love became so much easier!
2. Saves Money
Oh my gosh you guys! The money I’ve saved on yarn that doesn’t fall into my color palette is astonishing! I am someone who is drawn to many, many colors. I use to fall in love with beautiful yarn and purchasing it on a whim even though it didn’t fit within my color palette. This often meant that I would buy the yarn, but not use it. What a waste of money. Ever since I started using my color palette, I make sure yarn fits within my color palette before I purchase it. I can appreciate gorgeous yarn and not purchase it when it doesn’t fit within my color palette.
The same has been true for new shirts, new shoes, adorable throw pillows, blankets to drape over the back of my couch, coats, the list goes on and on. Stopping to think about my color palette before making any of these purchases has allowed me to make more intentional and careful purchases which has saved me a lot of money.
3. Reduces Regret and Waste
As I said above, I can easily fall in love with pretty things. I would buy yarn or a top, which had beautiful colors, then I’d put them on my yarn shelf or in my closet and not use them. Were they pretty? Yes absolutely! Were they colors that I regularly used and wore? No, they weren’t, so I almost always regretted buying them and almost never ended up using them. So wasteful and I’d feel badly every time I looked at them and once again didn’t use them because I didn’t really LOVE them! Even if I did use them or wear them, I never felt as comfortable or joyful as I did when I wore or used yarn in my color palette. A big part of the reason those colors are in my palette is because they bring me joy!
Once I had chosen my color palette, I had a better understanding of colors that weren’t just pretty, but were MY colors! Colors that I loved to wear, look at and used regularly. I’ve had much less regret about purchases I’ve made that fall within my color palette. I shop more confidently knowing that it’s not just pretty but something I truly love. And even if I’m not going to use that yarn right now, I know I’ll still love it when the perfect project comes around and it’s more likely to coordinate with other yarn I’ve purchased!
4. Everything Coordinates
You guys! Don’t underestimate the power of everything in your closet, home, and yarn shelf coordinating. It’s a serious game changer! After choosing my color palette and applying it to my closet, my life changed! It means that now everything in my closet coordinates and can, mostly, be mixed and matched. I no longer have to sift through all the things I don’t really love or aren’t actually flattering colors on me. It has made getting dressed so much easier and so much more enjoyable!
To that same end, it’s made picking yarn so much easier and more enjoyable! When I have yarn within my color palette it also coordinates and goes together. It is so much easier to choose yarn from my stash when I want to start a new project. I don’t have one random skein that doesn’t go with anything else in my stash. Almost every skein of yarn is in coordinating colors and goes together and can be use together in a project. Yay for using and loving what I have! Also, since my yarn stash and clothes use the same color palette, everything I make goes with my wardrobe. It’s wonderful!
5. It’s the Law
Ha, ha, just kidding! I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I tend to be a little overly gung ho about things. When I was first thinking about choosing a color palette, one of the things that really turned me off was the feeling that once I chose a color palette that was the law, period, end of story. Of course, that’s silly! Choosing a color palette doesn’t mean you have to stick with it forever or that you can’t purchase things outside of your color palette every once in a while. While I’ve found mostly sticking to my color palette has been really enjoyable, I’ve certainly purchased a skein or two of yarn that coordinates with my color palette but isn’t in the official color palette. Don’t shy away from choosing a color palate because you feel like it will be too restrictive. You’re in charge! The purpose is to help you focus on certain colors, be intentional with your choices and bring more joy into your life!
Let it Set you Free, not box you in
Are we realizing, I ended up picking a color palette dragging my feet the whole way? Honestly, I did it more as an experiment to prove that not everyone needs a color palate . Boy was I surprised by how much I love having a color palette! I thought for sure I would feel restricted and boxed in. I was sure I would be disappointed by all the things I couldn’t have because they were outside of my color palette. In reality it totally set me free! Free to make decisions quickly and easily . Free to spend my money in the most responsible and intentional ways. Free to be really honest with myself about what I love and what brings me joy. I hope that choosing a color palette will help you find this freedom too!
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Coming December 23rd
If I’ve convinced you to choose your own color palette, but you’re unsure of how to do that, I have a blog post with several suggestions on how to build your own color palette. You can check that out here.
