ORGANIZING YOUR CLOSET

One big mistake people make is thinking that they don’t have enough closet space and that they need a new closet system or to purchase organizing products. When the fact is, they have plenty of space and just need to organize it better and get rid of clothes that no longer fit or they haven’t worn in years. The reality is that we wear 20% of our clothes....80% of the time. We all have our favorite outfits that we wear most often....they’re usually newer, fit the best and make us feel good and look good.

6 Easy Steps:

1. REMOVE items from the closet (or at least one large section of it).

2. SORT the items grouping like articles together (blouses, pants, skirts, etc.)

3. PURGE and PARE - Do you really need 56 pairs of shoes and 18 pairs of black pants?

Why not donate the things you aren’t wearing to a charity and get a tax deduction for it...or sell them in a consignment store? Some of the clothing which you no longer wear and consider out of style is actually vintage clothing and can put money in your pocket!

Ask yourself these questions:

• When was the last time I wore this?

  Here’s a simple exercise to determine what clothes you are wearing....or not:

  Turn all of the hangers in your closet backwards. As you wear each article of clothing, hang them back up properly. At the end of the season or a six-month or one-year period, you will quickly know what you are wearing....or not.

• Is the item “fit to wear” or does it have spots on it or need to be mended or altered?
• Am I really going to lose enough weight to reduce three sizes and ever wear this again?
• What is the worst thing that will happen if I get rid of it?

  4. CONTAINERIZE sweaters in plastic containers, shoes into shoe boxes, hats into hat boxes. Use drawers for socks, underwear, workout clothing, jewelry.

  5. REPLACE items into the closet. Think of your closet as a mini-clothing store making sure that all items can be easily seen and accessed. Group items by type, color or season if you choose.

  6. MAINTAIN your newly-created system or it will fail. The best system in the world won’t last if you don’t stick to it!

• Hang clothes up immediately after you take them off as part of your routine until it becomes a habit!
• Repair clothing before you return it to the closet to avoid surprises when you want to wear that item later.
• When you buy something new, something old must go. This will help keep your wardrobe to a manageable size.

Maximizing your space:

• Install a double rod to accommodate shorter hanging clothes.
• Consider hanging clothes which you have traditionally folded or start folding clothes which you have traditionally hung.
• Consider storing out of season clothing i.e. sweaters and ski clothes in storage boxes or in zippered garment bags on the highest shelves or under your bed.
• Be careful about the accumulation of empty hangers which happens over time. This can take up lots of valuable space. Keep empty hangers isolated in one section of the closet and keep the overflow in a guest room closet or get rid of them.
• Use stackable see-through storage containers to maximize space between fixed shelves that are spaced far apart.
• Use old bookcases and small shelving units in your closet to stack folded clothing, storage boxes or shoes.