Welcome to day 1 of the 5 days of organizing series! I'm getting the biggest, baddest, most intimidating one out of the way first. Closets.
Just how intimidating is going through your closet and organizing it? Well ... let's see ... the fella ran away from home around 8 or 9 months ago and I still haven't moved the things from my closet into his. (his closet was the smaller one in the bedroom, while mine was the larger walk in closet in the hall)
I've been wanting to/meaning to/hoping to/avoiding to move my seasonal clothes into the bedroom closet, while leaving the out of season clothes in the walk in. 3 seasons have passed without me doing this. I'm pretty much a great closet organizer avoider.
So while you read all of these posts this week, know that we're all the same. We all want to have an organized, perfect life and home, but we don't. But if you follow each of my 5 organizing posts this week we CAN be. For a little while, until the mess builds up again, anyway. Which in my book is better than nothing.
Organizing your closet isn't what you'd call brain surgery with a butter knife. It's pretty simple and we all know what has to be done. It's just that it's sometimes easier to do it when there's a list telling you exactly what to do. And a person you've never met before looking at you sternly from behind her computer screen.
So here is that list.
1. Identify what to do with each item.
- Keep
- Garbage
- Donate
- Reuse/recycle
Put everything into separate piles and deal with them immediately. Throw the garbage clothes in the garbage, wash and fold the donate pile and put it in a box (at the very least put it in a box and in the laundry room to wash and fold later), set aside things you know you can use for crafts and or projects later. More on things you should save and the things you can use them for later on in the post.
The clothes you keep are the ones you wear THAT a) look good on you b) are comfortable c) aren't hideously out of date or inappropriate. No matter how much you loved the dress you wore when you were 25 and how good it looked at the time, chances are 20 years later you look like a lunatic wearing it. Sorry. But, someone had to tell you.
2. Clean and decide how to categorize your clothing.
- Clean your closet.
- Buy or make shoe organizers.
- Decide whether to group your clothing by colour or season. (I do a combination of colour and season)
- Don't forget to use the back of your closet door for storage. Hanging hooks can hold purses, belts, jewellery or your housecoat.
- I *also* have a work category. Clothes that I can get paint, grease or goo on without worrying. These clothes go in their own drawer.
3. Put it all back.
- Hang pants and shirts.
- Fold sweaters and put on shelf or in drawers.
- Organize shoes. Do NOT keep them in their boxes. Out of site, out of mind. Even if you do that super-organized thing and take a picture of the shoes and paste it on the outside of the box, you'll wear them less than if you can just see and grab the shoes. We're all pretty lazy at heart.
A shot of my larger closet "before" ...
A shot of my larger closet "after" ...
Tips from my Closet
* Try EVERYTHING on. It'll remind you of how much you love or hate something. Looking at it doesn't work. Put it on!
(to make it less overwhelming, grab an armful of hangers and go through that pile. Try on, separate into piles, put keepers aside, repeat.)
* Put a pair of neutral heels on and try all of your dresses on at once. It's just easier. To clarify, I don't mean put one dress on top of the other until you're wearing all of your dresses.
* If you're iffy on something put it in your keep pile. Then when you put everything back in your closet, go through everything again. After trying everything on you might decide that thing you were iffy on is actually a throw away.
There are a few ways you can recycle old clothing into new crap!
SWEATERS!
Sweaters that don't fit, have holes or you don't like anymore?
Turn them into grocery bags ...
... or pillows! (like Centsational Girl did)
Jeans
Jeans too tight? Jeans too ugly?
Turn them into a hanging pencil holder.
Old shirts
Cruddy old shirts?
Turn them into MORE grocery bags!
Or cut the fabric out and use them as embroidery hoop wall hangings.
Hanging Embroidery Hoop Hanging tutorial
Approximate time for project: Well for me it took a whole day. But you're much better at keeping an organized closet than I am so I'm sure it'll only take you a few hours. If your closet is exactly as big a disaster as mine is ... give yourself the weekend.
On a side note, it'll take you a lot less time if you make a real effort to stay focused.
I made no such effort. You might say as I went through my closet I got a bit distracted going through all the stuff I found in there. Mind you ... I was just sticking to my rule of trying everything on.
Consider yourselves warned.
Have your own tips? Tricks? Let everyone know.
Nikki Kelly
Did I spy a VCR in your before closet photo?
Karen
Lol! No (although I have 2 VCRs in the basement!) it's an old laptop. :) ~ karen!
Barbie
OH! and those WIGS! HAHAHAHAHAHAAA!
Barbie
I've never done the "seasonal" closet thingy.....you got me thinking now....and that can be scary!
Nancy Tubre
Love this post! All of the comments that followed are funny too and want me to come play at your house. I have my own way to organize. Needs some improvement, but mostly works for me. My closet has a shelf with a hanging bar along the back wall. Dresses to the left (I only have a few. In fact I can count them on one hand!) short sleeve tops fill out the rest. One side wall has five shelves that I use from top to bottom: sweaters, jeans, two rows of shoes. The other side wall has two rows of hanging bars for my long sleeve tops and jackets. And yes, you guessed it - everything is grouped by color. Sad, isn't it? It's hard to be ocd in today's world! But there is hope. The closet floor is horrible and proves I have no good aim!
Oh, BTW, I never thought about turning my shoes out toe first instead of heel first. Great tip!
Leslie
When I'm reorganizing a closet I like to use good, sturdy, matching hangers that slide nicely across the rods and don't let the clothes slip off. That way all the work I put into it isn't destroyed the first time I reach in there to grab something.
No wire hangers EVER!
Debbie
Only wire hangers (unless the fabric is more delicate and needs the width of a plastic hanger)! Wire hangers slide beautifully and are perfect for our shirts. I wear mostly natural materials, so nothing slides off. Wire hangers take up less room and don't easily break when the boys grab them from their closets (they bend back into shape). I love the pants hangers from the dry cleaner that have the sticky cardboard. I threaten the family not to break those (jk). Wooden hangers are good for suits. I'm not fond of the hangers that have fuzz on them as I just know that fuzz will come off on my clothes and stain them. (They won't do that to anyone else's clothes, just mine.)
Nancy Blue Moon
I think you kinda look like Betty in that second wig..Oh yeah..the closet..two more cups of coffee and I'll be ready to rock it..
Laura Bee
Finally! I was afraid I was going to have to say it ;)
toekneetoni
well done. I adore that straw satchel on the top shoe shelf.
Lynne
Thanks so much for the inspiration Karen...I so need to get 4 kids and 2 adults worth of clothes/footwear in closets/basement cleaned through! I have to ask though...are those black Y3 boots/shoes sitting rightmost on the top of the bottom white shelf unit ? They look so funky...profile picture please?
Jodi T.
My closet looks about like yours... My husband had the flu last week, and I quarantined him in our bedroom for 4 days... He got so stir crazy that he (semi) organized my shoes along the bottom of the closet... I can't walk in now. LOL... I seriously need to take your advice about throw away, keep, and donate...
PS. Love the wigs. :)
BGrigg
The "overly attached girlfriend" pic at the end is hilarious!
Cheryl
Great post! I've began my house organizing a couple of weeks ago. Started with my food pantry, refrigerator, freezer, drawers and cabinets in the kitchen. Then made a list of all the meals I could make with what I had on hand (about 20!)--so now it's on to the bedroom. I have one EXCELLENT clothes closet organization tip that I would like to share:
Once you get all your clothes back in the closet (all the ones you just know you will wear)--then put the hangers on the rod facing backwards. Every time you wear something, after laundering, put it back on the hanger on the rod the correct direction. After a year (mark the date on your calendar) go to your calendar and ruthlessly grab all those hangers that are still backwards and throw all the clothes in a bag and get them out of there immediately. If you haven't worn something in a year you will never, ever, wear it.
The first year I did this I eliminated 1/2 of my clothes. Some of them had never been worn and still had tags. Donated all of them. So this week I'm going at it a second time and from the look of the hangers--1/2 more of my clothes will be toast. Then it will be on to the coats!
kelliblue
OMG. You would be totally incognito on those wigs! But um...no. Just NO. (esp. the second one - hello Maude!) So I'm thinkin you forgot one very important bullet point on your first list, what with the fella taking off and having to (re)move his stuff and all:
Identify what to do with each item.
Keep
Garbage
Donate
Reuse/recycle
BURN.
Just sayin.
AngieC
I was thinking on Friday I should clean my closet out but I got sidetracked by my disaster of an office/library. Glad I waited, now I can organize along with the rest of the class.
mia pratt
Thanks for the reminder, I needed to face a closet-cleaning and you gave me just the nudge I needed, Karen. Four times a year is my general rule, unless it gets too cold or I have too much company or I gain or lose weight and my pants are too big or too small. Luckily for me, now I can combine the post-Christmas and before-spring reorg into one day. I like to put a marathon of a favorite TV show on the telly, since I don't get to watch much telly here, and let it ride while I conquer and divide… Thanks for a great and inspiring post...
Karen
You're very welcome Mia! ~ karen
Deb J
Like that tidy closet! And those shorty boots at the front in the first shot - yum! One tip I have for keeping my closets under control is to go through about twice a year (spring & fall usually) but not to call it 'organizing'. I call it 'playing in my closet' and use the time to create new outfits out of the stuff I have in there. Stuff that doesn't work in any outfits either leaves or gets put on a 'what do I need to make it work' list. And I keep a box in my front door closet (the one nobody, not even guests use - they throw their coats on the chair) and I add to it whenever I come across something that should be someone else's treasure. Things still get out of control but ....
Sally A.
What a great winter-time project! I still have failed halloween costume ideas strewn about the floor in my closet (one of my cats has made a bed out of one of my tulle petticoats...he has no respect for my things.) Thank you for the inspiration!
Melissa in North Carolina
Thanks for the great laugh...love you in those wigs! Looking forward to the rest of the story...
Julie
In US towns you'll frequently see boxes marked, "Clothes and Shoes" in grocery parking lots. These are a great option instead of throwing out your clothes! Most people think, "I don't want to give my crappy clothes away. They aren't even good enough for Goodwill." BUT these bins are for recycling clothes so it doesn't matter how funky they are! And it keeps stuff out of the landfill!
karen
uh-oh...speaking of upcycled t-shirts, in which pile did that el mismo sol dress end up?? I see it in the "before" photo!
Karen
LOL. The dress is back and organized in the closet. :) My closet was quite the disaster before wasn't it! ~ karen
Susan S
When I do the big closet reorganization which doesn't happen often, I hang the organized clothes back up with the hangar turned around. When I take clothes out to wear I re-hang them the regular way. When it's time to decide what to keep or not, I can then see which clothes I've never worn in a year. That helps make the decision to get rid of them a wee bit easier. Also, my closet was pretty dark so I took the light cover off to brighten it up. Makes it a whole lot easier to see stuff.