You clothes closet should be decluttered at least twice a year, in the spring and fall. But occasionally it may need a more thorough reorganizing. Here are some steps you can take to make the job easier and more productive.
Before you take anything out of your clothes closet or start sorting and organizing, do the following.
1. Take a hard look at the use of space. Consider how much space you have, how it is organized, and to what extent it is being wasted. Is there unused wall space where you could install shelves or place shoe racks? Is there space for a small book shelf or chest of drawers? What’s happening on the back of the door (which can a prime spot for a hook on which to hang your bathrobe or a belt and accessory rack)? Seriously consider adding shelves, drawers, and racks wherever possible to better utilize the closet space and maximize its utility. There are plenty of closet organizers available for all budgets and they can make an enormous difference in keeping your closet neat and uncluttered in the future.
2. If you decide the use of space is fine, skip to step three. If, on the other hand, you decide to add shelving or storage units, do some serious research about your options by searching the Internet (a few sites to check out are www.stacksandstacks.com, www.easyclosets.com, www.rubbermaid.com, and www.homedepot.com, but there are many more) and visiting local home improvement stores. Also, ask your friends for their best closet organization ideas and take a look at their closet solutions. Once you’ve selected and purchased your organizers, take everything out of the closet and install (or have installed) your new storage units. If you add drawers or bins label them to make it easier to locate categories of items (belts, scarves, handbags, etc.).
3. Clean the closet well. Vacuum the floor and wash the rods and shelves.
Now you are ready to start the process of sorting and eliminating. Closet decluttering is no one’s favorite job, but it will be easier and more productive if you have the right attitude, so keep the following in mind.
First, set aside a time to do it when you are alert and full of energy.
Second, when the job seems overwhelming (and it will), remind yourself of the satisfaction that a clean, well organized, uncluttered clothes closet will bring you, to say nothing of the time it will save (wouldn’t you like to have the 10 minutes back that you spent last week looking for the pink strappy sandals that turned out to be under the sweater the cat’s been using as a bed).
And, third, be prepared to be ruthless about getting rid of items that have outlived their usefulness. If you must, set a hard and fast rule for all but certain special-occasion items, for example, that anything you have not worn in the past 12 months must go, no exceptions.
Now that you are in the right frame of mind, you are ready to start to seriously declutter in seven easy steps.
1. Get five large bins, boxes, or bags. One will be for items to be kept, one for items to be stored, one for items to be donated or given away, one for items to be sold (through a consignment shop or auction site), and one for items to be thrown away.
2. Take everything out of the closet and sort it by category (shoes, handbags, hats, sweaters, and so on) and season.
3. Pick a category and separate the items in that category into the proper bins.
4. Return the items in the to-be-kept bin to the closet and organize them neatly in their proper place. Further sort within categories as desired. For example, you might want to sort shoes by style and function (athletic shoes, sandals, work shoes, etc.) or sweaters by color.
5. Repeat steps three and four until you have sorted and replaced all the items in your closet.
6. Pack up the items in the to-be-donated and to-be sold bins to be taken to their final destinations, put the items to be stored away, and put the items to be thrown away in the trash.
7. Step to the door of your closet and enjoy the view.
Sources:
Sheila Wilkinson, www.ehow.com, How to De-Clutter Your Closet
