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Is your closet a disaster? Does opening the closet door
create feelings of stress and confusion? When you reach
for an item do the walls come tumbling down?
Your
clothes closet is a major contributing factor in how you
start your day. If you feel rushed in the morning, perhaps
it’s because you stand there wasting precious minutes
surveying your wardrobe, deciding what to wear. What does
your daily inventory reveal? Pants and skirts that don’t
fit? Dresses that you never should have bought in the
first place (price tags still in evidence)? Fashion relics
that you haven’t worn in years? Sweaters and whatnot
jumbled in corners and on top of shelves? Hordes of empty
wire hangers that seem to produce families overnight?
(Get rid of the hangers now - recycle them at the dry-cleaners.)
To
save precious minutes in the morning, decide what to wear
the night before while drifting off to sleep. To do this
effectively, you must visualize your closet and everything
in it, along with the location of each item. So, first
you have to organize your closet.
Before
attempting a closet makeover, you need to take stock of
your entire wardrobe and schedule uninterrupted time to
complete the project. Now is the time to be ruthless about
items that are wasting precious space. Begin by pulling
everything out of your closet. Then follow this three-step
process:
1.
Sort clothes and accessories into three piles
- Items
you LOVE and WEAR. (This one is easy.)
- Items
you FEEL GOOD IN. (If an item makes you feel special,
there’s a good chance you’ll wear it in
the future.)
- Items
to RECYCLE. (Take these clothes to a consignment clothing
shop or to a charity or thrift store.)
In
the process of sorting, create a want (as opposed to need)
center. Put clean clothes you can’t decide about
in storage containers in the garage, attic or basement.
You may be able to recycle these at a later date. Clothes
tend not to improve with age.
Now
you have only the “I love to wear it” pile
to deal with!
2.
Separate the “I love to wear it” pile into
categories. For example:
- Career
outfits and accessories
- Leisurewear
- Formalwear
- Drawer-bound
foldables
- Seasonal
articles
3.
Subdivide by category.
- Suits,
pants, skirts, blouses, etc.
- Same
with shoes and accessories
Reconfigure
Your Closet Space
Why put your clothes back in the same old closet? Here
are some ideas for creating a more organized space:
- Change
rod placement. Sometimes it helps to relocate
the rods from which clothes hang, or to add a rod so
that you have two parallel rods at different heights
to accommodate clothes of varying lengths.
- Add
shelving. How about another shelf just below
the closet ceiling? Use it for folded items that you
want to see, but don’t need to touch.
- Consider
possible closet organizing tools. Many types of shoe
racks and see-through shoe boxes are available. Use
the back of the door for tie, belt and scarf hangers.
For folded sweaters and workout clothes, choose a system
of drawer units that suits your needs.
I
favor wire organizing units because they provide ventilation
for clothes, visibility, and easy accessibility. Drawers
slide in and out effortlessly, and shelves offer strength
and support. Wire systems are fairly easy to install,
can be reconfigured as your needs change, and are among
the most affordable available.
Custom
designed wood or laminate systems look fantastic in your
closet and seem to add value to the resale of a home.
However, the shelving, cubbyholes and shoe units lack
flexibility when your needs change or fashion produces
a major shift, like the bulkier shoes and longer skirts
we’ve seen in recent years.
If
neither wire nor wood systems meet your needs, create
your own modular system with see-through lidded containers
that can be stacked on shelves or in cubbyholes with endless
variation.
Keep
the hanger population under control. Last but
not least…..have you ever wondered how hangers seem
to produce babies overnight in your closet? It happens
because you leave them there to produce clutter. Get rid
of old wire, discolored, and broken lucite hangers and
purchase new durable hangers of uniform color. This step
alone will make your closet “feel” good and
your clothes will thank you for it. According to Bo Niles
in an article for Family Circle magazine, if planned right,
the average closet can accommodate approximately 184 hangers.
Your
new closet will save you both time and money. You’ll
know exactly where to find things and, better yet, where
to put them back. It’s easier to mix and match outfits
when you know what you have and can see everything clearly.
Best of all, you’ll be able to expand your organized
closet. In other words, go shopping!
Sally
Allen, Professional Organizer
A Place for Everything, LLC www.aplaceforeverythingllc.com
"Organizing for Stress Free Living" at 303-526-5357
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