Lori in South Carolina called and asked me for help
with organizing her clothes closet. She sent me photos so I could get an idea of her situation. It was a small walk-in closet that both she and her husband shared.
The first question she
asked was, "What organizing tools should I buy before I begin?"
I quickly responded, "None. Don't buy anything just yet."
If you've been reading my newsletter for awhile, you know that I always recommend, before beginning any decluttering project, to not buy anything for the area you're organizing until you've said goodbye to whatever it is in that area that you don't
need.
Lori was surprised when I told her that people typically only wear 20% of what is in their closet. The other 80% just hangs there (or sits on a closet shelf) gathering
dust.
Her assigned mission was to determine the clothes she would be keeping. For the next 21 days, her goal was to choose an outfit in her closet and wear it. Once it was worn and
laundered, it was to be placed in a designated (temporary) "Keepers Section" of her closet.
When she reached the 17 day point, she called and said, "I had to wear an outfit today from my
'Keepers Section.' I had nothing else in the closet I liked."
Great. So, now we knew that Lori had 17 days worth of outfits that she would definitely wear in the future.
That was when I had her look at the clothing that was not in her Keepers Section. She ended up putting nearly all of it in a Donation box, except for a special occasion dress she said she
loved and would wear for a shower or evening out.
When she was done decluttering she said, "Now it looks so empty in there!" She had a bit of worry in her voice.
I said, "Relax and enjoy the breathing room. You now are only taking up precious space with clothing that's actually being worn. You can always add to what you have if you wish, but try to be truly mindful
before you buy. Any clothing you bring home from today forward should meet these four criteria:
a. It makes you feel good when you wear it
b. It makes you feel confident when you wear it
c. It's appropriate for your needs (work, athletic, etc.)
d. It's comfortable
On our next call, I asked Lori about
her husband's side of the closet and if he has been weeding out. She said, "Oh, John doesn't need to weed out. He's been wearing the same 6 outfits since 2003."
Although that was a
bit of an exaggeration, I have to admit that made me laugh. I could almost say this about my own husband.
Lori then told me she vacuumed out the closet and dusted off all the shelves. She
said it felt clean and fresh in there...and she had not felt the need to go shopping for anything else.
I could tell she was becoming more comfortable with the empty space.
Now we were at the point at which Lori and John felt they needed a few closet organizers to make the space stay organized and look nice. Here's what she acquired:
Because Lori had more closet space now, she decided to transfer her sweaters from her dresser to her closet. We found these super-cool trunk organizers. They're collapsible and have a unique "front door." She just loves them for storing her sweaters.
She prefers to hang her jeans, rather than fold them, so she decided to get trouser hangers. Now, all of her jeans and slacks are visible at-a-glance and easily accessible.
She decided on wooden hangers for the rest of her
clothing....and her husband's as well. This gave their shared closet a nice, consistent look.
Lori still has to go through her shoes to decide which to keep and which to donate. That's her
project for next week. She is only allowing herself as many pairs as will fit on the shoe rack she bought to keep the volume under
control.
Lori had a wooden shelf in her closet that was pretty disorganized with purses. So I recommended her to get acrylic shelf dividers to keep them upright and sorted. She said that was exactly what was needed to get her purses organized into categories, like special occasion, everyday, and tote bags.
If you get these, by the way, be sure to measure the lip of your shelf to be sure the shelf will fit over it. There are various sizes available.
John requested a simple tie organizer. Lori wanted to get him a fancy, motorized one. But John nixed that idea right away and said that was unnecessary for his
needs...so the basic one worked out just fine.
That's about it. After getting rid of unwanted clothing items, cleaning up a bit, and adding a few cool closet organizers, Lori and John ended
up very happy with their clothes closet and now feel they have more space that's being utilized well. They can also find what they need very quickly, without stress.
