Real Solutions For Living...It's Okay to Pile the Paper

Ha! You laugh. Organized? My closet organized?! That'll be the day.

I suppose it's time I remind you of one of my basic organizing principles: simply make it manageable. It's not about perfection, remember? Aim at putting your closet relatively in order so it functions sufficiently for you. How? Read on.

What is it you want from your closet? What's bugging you the most about it? Is it too full? Can't find a matching outfit if your life depended on it? Not real pleased with the choices of what to wear? Not sure how to use the space to its full advantage? Determine what your goal is. I highly recommend you right your goal/s down on a piece of paper and tape it up where you can see it while you are working on your project. You may need to refer to it when you are tempted to give up, get tired, get distracted, or need help in making decisions on what stays and what goes.

The first and most crucial step in gaining control of any closet is to remove every single item that doesn't belong in there. This would be all the things that inadvertently gets shoved in when unexpected company arrives. Or bags that got tossed in at the end of a day of shopping, in which there are still items begging to be put away. Or your closet may have confiscated toys, miscellaneous broken items waiting for repair (not just sewing), stuff you don't know where else to put, keepsakes, things you borrowed and need to return, and the list goes on and on.

As you are removing these items, place them into bags, bins, boxes, or such that are labeled: trash, donate, return, repair, put away. Add other categories if the need arises. Once you are done cleansing your closet from the riffraff, immediately take the trash out, put the donate items on the front seat of your car, place items to be returned to others in your car (not in your trunk or out of sight), place items needing repair where you will actually repair them, and then find a home for everything you placed in the "put away" bin.

You should now have some extra space in your closet! Yeehaw! How does that feel? If your closet still needs some help, then your next step should be to purge your closet of every single item that you absolutely never wear. I mean it! Be honest with yourself. How long has it been since you've worn the item? If it has been at least a year, you should part with it. Think of it this way -- you want to put clothes on that make you feel great, that you look great in, that make you feel like a million bucks. If you have clothes in your closet that you never wear because nothing matches it, it doesn't fit quite right, you keep meaning to mend it, "but it was a gift from . . ." even though you hate it, you need to be able to let go if it's not working for you. It's time to be realistic.

I know it can be tough to get rid of things that we paid a bundle for. I have trouble in particular giving up clothes I got a really good deal on! Either way, it's clutter -- physical, emotional, and mental.

So how are you feeling now? How's your closet shaping up? Looking better? You have actually done the hardest part of organizing a closet! The rest is simply a matter of preferrences.

Let's review: you want your closet to be organized in a way that you can easily maintain -- make it manageable. The following are various ways my clients have chosen to have their closets organized:

-- put clothes together in outfits and hang accordingly; odd pieces are then hung or folded by type
-- hang all clothing (including t-shirts, jeans, sweaters, and so forth)
-- hang clothing according to type, color, sleeve length, skirt/dress/pant length; or any combination of these
-- add shelves
-- add a small chest of drawers or plastic drawer units
-- add hooks or pegs
-- add an over-the-door shoe holder which can hold accessories or shoes
-- add a second hanging bar below the original bar
-- consider using wall space
-- use a pant hanger that is open on one end so you can slide purse handles onto it
-- store purses or totes inside larger totes
-- stack hats one on top of the other in order of how often you wear them; this helps keep their shape and takes advantage of the space between the shelf and the ceiling
-- store scarves, socks, belts, under garments inside baskets or bins
-- storing off-season clothing somewhere other than the closet will free up a good deal of space

If you have the habit of tossing your clothes aside after you undress, add some hooks or pegs. This will keep them off the floor and wrinkle-free so you can wear them again if they aren't soiled. If your habit is to hang an item up after it's been worn once, consider hanging it to the left (or right) of your clothes so it's distinguished from all the others. Think about your daily routine and see if your closet arrangement needs to be adapted further to accomodate your routine.

One last thing to consider -- this is true of any space you organize: store all items that you don't use often in the spaces that are the most difficult to get to. That way, the most accessible spaces are open to store the items you use most often.

Happy organizing!