Back to Organizing Articles Index
Featured Article
10 Steps to a Happy Clothes Closet
by Maria Gracia
Join our newsletter to be notified when the newest Organizing Article is
available.
The clothes closet is one of the least respected areas in the house. It's often
stuffed from floor to ceiling with clothing, briefcases, purses, and shoes.
Valuable clothing rod space has been taken over by vast armies of
mismatched hangers. Books and magazines have managed to somehow
sprout out of nowhere. Bed linens are living with towels, umbrellas and
shoes. You can barely see the floor. Before you know it, your closet has
become clutter central!
Here's some friendly advice. Heed the old saying, "Less is more." You'll save
an enormous amount of time, money, and stress by thinning out your huge
wardrobe.
1.
Get the proper supplies. Buy a starter set of 30 hangers, or 60 if the
closet is shared by two people. Get the sturdy, plastic ones. They're
inexpensive and can be obtained at a housewares store. Buy all one
color for uniformity (or if you're sharing closet space with someone, get
one color for yourself, and another color for the person you're sharing
space with.)
While you're at the store, pick up a few sturdy skirt and pants hangers.
Vertical skirt hangers with clips that hold 5 to 6 skirts on one hanger are
a great choice. In addition, pick up an expandable shoe rack and a tie
rack if you wear ties.
2.
Start with a clean slate. Pull out everything (yes, everything) that's
currently in your closet. Keep in mind, as you're doing so, that you
probably only wear 20% of your clothes on a regular basis, 10% of them
are for special occasions, and the other 70% of them are probably never
used at all.
3.
Separate clothes into 5 piles…
•
A. Clothing that meets any of the following criteria:
o
it is outdated
o
it is ripped
o
it is stained
o
it doesn't fit (if you're not sure whether or not it fits, try it on now)
o
you think it may come back in fashion someday
o
you wouldn't dream of ever wearing it again
•
B. Wire Hanger Pile (they're weak, they stick up in the air, and they
damage your clothing)
•
C. Clothes that need minor repairs such as sewing a hem or replacing
a button. If it’s too much of a hassle to repair it, then don’t put it in this
pile.
•
D. Clothes you love and wear at least once a month AND clothes
you love and wear at least twice a year (special occasion
wardrobe). Your wardrobe should always make you feel good about
yourself. If you don’t love it or wear it often, it doesn’t belong in this pile.
By the way, colors are important components of your wardrobe. You can
design t-shirts for yourself to provide a rainbow of happiness in your
closet and to help ensure you’ll wear what you have.
•
E. Any other items that don’t fit into Category A, B, C or D.
4.
CATEGORY A OR B: Dump or donate it. Ok, now here's the fun part.
Grab a large plastic garbage bag and dump everything (yes, everything)
from your A pile into it. Bring it to your local charity organization first
thing in the morning or dump it now.
If you're still reading this in disbelief, take a deep breath to get over the
initial shock, then go ahead and toss it or donate it. You’ll feel better in
the end.
While you're at it, take all those terrible, awful, lousy wire hangers (Have
you gotten the point that I really don’t like wire hangers?!) in your B pile
and bring them to your local dry cleaner for recycling or dump them
immediately.
C'mon now. Are you still considering keeping something in your A or B
piles?? Please, dump it. It's clutter. You'll feel better about it later when
your closet is organized, inviting and free of chaos.
5.
CATEGORY C: Repair it within 2 weeks. Ok, now that your A and B piles
are donated or trashed (I hope), let's move on to your C pile. This pile
should contain those articles of clothing that need minor repair. Get a
basket or container. Dump this entire pile in it. Now, carry that basket
over to your clothing repair area.
Give yourself a 2-week deadline. If it's not done in two weeks, dump or
donate the entire basket. After all, if it's not important enough for you to
repair, it's clutter. Sound drastic? I wouldn't steer you wrong. It's very
easy for clutter to build up, and I want to help you eliminate any chance
of it happening to you again.
6.
CATEGORY D: Organize your keepers. Sort everything in your D pile by
category of clothing (blouses, skirts, pants, suits, etc.) When done
sorting, start with one category. Take one article of clothing at a time, put
it on a hanger (the colorful, sturdy, plastic kind) and hang it in the closet.
(Important Note: If you found something that didn't belong in the closet
in the first place, don’t put it there again.)
Do this until you've managed to hang all of your categories of clothing,
making sure that all clothing and hangers are facing the same direction.
(By the way, if you share your closet with someone, don't mix clothing
together. Put each individual's clothing on either side of the closet.)
7.
CATEGORY E: Categorize and organize everything else. If, due to lack
of additional storage space, you have some items that simply have to be
returned to your closet which haven't been put there already (your E
pile), categorize them. Then, get some inexpensive organizing
containers so that each category remains separated and place the
containers on shelves in your closet.
Now is a good time to set up your brand new, sturdy, expandable shoe
rack and neatly place your shoes on it.
8.
Finishing touches. Now, you're ready for some finishing touches. If you
install a few hooks on an empty closet wall, you'll be able to hang belts,
umbrellas and handbags. If you're lucky enough to have cubbies in your
closet, purses and hats can be stored there; otherwise, put them on your
closet shelves.
You can even pick up a clear, over-the-door shoe bag for small
accessories such as hosiery, scarves, jewelry and the like. Don't put
shoes in the shoe bag. It may sound funny, but these bags are too flimsy
and awkward for the weight of most shoes, plus they collect dirt from
shoe bottoms.
9.
Final thoughts. Don't overstuff. There should be plenty of room in your
closet to get an item in or out. If there's not, thin out your wardrobe a
little more. The goal here is quality, not quantity. Don't buy another thing
to wear without first determining if you really need it. Some people like to
discard something, they're not really happy with anymore, for a new
item.
10.
Celebrate. Congratulations! You're done. Don't you feel great?! You
deserve a special reward for your hard work. Treat yourself to dinner, go
for a massage, or watch a favorite movie. Be happy. Your closet is!
Back to Organizing Articles Index
The Original
Get Organized Now!
Website - Since 1997
by Maria Gracia
The Original
Get Organized Now!
Website - Since 1997
by Maria Gracia
GON Organizing Articles
By Maria Gracia - Get Organized Now!™
Copyright 1998 - 2023 Get Organized Now!™
611 Arlington Way, Watertown, WI 53094
All of our GON information on this website, discussion forum, newsletters and
e-mail correspondence, is protected by copyright laws. Reprint is strictly forbidden,
unless stated otherwise on individual pages. Anyone posting copyrighted material or
correspondence, without permission from the owner of this website, will be liable for
damages. For reprint permission, please contact the owner of this website.
Recommendations: If you happen to purchase anything I recommend in any of my
communications, I may receive a small compensation. Still, I only recommend what I
truly believe in and share with my friends and family. If you ever have an issue with
anything I recommend, please let me know. I want to make sure I am always serving
you at the highest level.