What do you do when you have closets and drawers that are billowing over, or in my case, collapsing under the pressure of all of your "stuff"?!?!? You need to downsize and organize! Part of the reason you end up with so much stuff, besides
Assess
Assess the clothes, shoes and accessories in your closet to determine:
1.) Is the item worth keeping? Is it damaged? If it is, is it salvageable? If not, THROW IT AWAY or up cycle it into something usable!
2.) Is the item "you" or have you outgrown that look? If the latter, donate or get rid of it!
3.) Does the item bring you joy? Do you feel good when you wear this item? Do you receive compliments when you wear it? Does the item bring value or interest to your wardrobe?
As part of my resolution for this year, I resolved to only purchase items that bring value, uniqueness and something fresh and new to my wardrobe. Why do I want to further clutter my space with things that are like what I already have! Doing that only exacerbates the clutter issue and adds no spice to the wardrobe.
Get Real!
Are you REALLY going to lose 50lbs to get into those $100 pair of jeans, with the tags still on them, you bought as inspiration to lose weight, that were waaaaay too small when you bought them; or try to squeeze your fat feet in that narrow shoe and look like you're baking bread? Ummm, the answer is most likely NOPE!
Just be honest with yourself and chock it up as a loss, OR try selling them to someone who can find value in them. It really isn't the end of the world to get rid of some of your stuff! Think of it as them finding a more suitable home because you were unfit (no pun intended) for it to remain in your care.
Organize
As you begin to organize your closet, start by taking items out of your closet by type only, (Ex. all shirts or all pants). This will keep you from becoming overwhelmed by the enormity of what's in your closet. Once all of your shirts are layed out, only put the ones that follow the assessment rules above back into your closet. I particularly like to organize my wardrobe by color. It helps the eye to quickly scan through the sea of clothing if you are looking for something in particular; plus, it just looks so nice!
Once you've gone through all of the shirts, move on to pants and so on and so forth. Here are a few of my personal tips for making your organized closet look professionally organized and aesthetically pleasing. Aesthetics go a long way, and as such, I prefer that all of my hangers match. Wooden hangers or, slim-line felt or velvet covered hangers help to define a well organized closet. I prefer the felt or velvet covered hanger because they take up less space than wooden and or plastic and have a no slip grip that allow your clothes to stay put.
These days felt and velvet hangers come in a variety of colors, so personalize your hangers by matching them to your decor or choosing your favorite color. The cons to these hangers are that the ones I have seen and purchased do not have a swivel neck, which can be annoying if you put an item on the hanger backwards and have to take it off, then put it back on; which leads to my next tip. Turn all like items facing in the same direction. Nothing looks junkier than clothes facing every which way! Think of how that looks when you go to a department store. Presentation, is one of many things that set high-end department stores apart from, say, Ross. It is the difference between looking like a boutique and a rummage sale!
Another tip that makes for a great looking closet are clear shoe boxes. Over a matter of time I have transferred my shoes from the cardboard boxes they came in to clear boxes with lids. The beauty and functional aspect of this is to allow you to see what you have. The boxes also stack nicely, one on top of the other, and allow you to utilize vertical space more efficiently. I took it a step further and used my label maker to label each box with the shoe name or description, which made it look professionally executed! Some people may prefer to put a picture of the shoe on the box, but I felt that was a little more than I wanted to do, but to each their own.
Get That Stuff Outta Here!!!
Now that you have assessed your closet, gotten real with yourself about what to keep or get rid of and color coordinated all of the keepers, it is time to do something with all of the stuff that you no longer have any use for. There are many people in need who could use the things you are getting rid of, so if you are feeling charitable, take your stuff to your local Goodwill, Salvation Army, Clothes Pantry, Church or give them to someone who could appreciate it; you can even get a tax write-off. Otherwise, take those $100 jeans and designer duds to a consignment shop and make some moolah to pay off that credit card debt you amassed trying to keep up with the Joneses! This will help reconcile the feelings you might have about having wasted $100 on jeans you never wore. If you are feeling particularly creative, you could turn those jeans with the stain on the bottom into some cute cut-off jean shorts or remove the zippers to make earrings (see my zipper earrings post). You have options!
So, What Next?!
Now it is up to you to take the first step and get started. Being able to see all that you have in your arsenal will help you to shop more wisely and show you what you have to work with. Since I have begun my resolution I have not worn the same outfit twice because I have made the conscious decision to look at my wardrobe in a different light. Since I have conquered mission organization, I am on to the next, which is to "Shop my closet".
Stay tuned on how to work with what you've got!
