Having An Organized Closet


I love clothes. What girl doesn’t? I have clothes that have never seen the light of day with the tags still on. Maybe that’s a sign I should find the receipt, take them back, and buy something new?


It’s not that I shop frivolously but there are times when I just can’t pass up a good deal. You know when they have stores like TJ Maxx and Ross just about everywhere, it’s easy to do.

As another point of fact – I will most often return the clothes; new, still in the bag, price tags still on, because I need to clean the closet and get some serious organizing go on.

If you’re like me, read on and see if our suggestions help you out of a pile of clothes or two.

Ready, Set, Time to Go

Alright then, one of the first things is to have a go time. Pick a day when you don’t have anything going on. A not so perfect day always works best for me, this help me from getting side tracked.

Plan on the afternoon or possibly longer, depending how badly in need of organizing and cleaning needs to be done.

Take Everything Out of the Closet

Now take everything out of the closet. Clothes, shoes, boxes, purses, whatever it is you keep in your closet.

Try Them On

Try on anything that looks like it might not fit or that you may not want anymore (because it’s no longer in style), including the shoes. Take a good look in the mirror: Do they fit? Are they still in style? Do you really like it? These are just some of the things to ask yourself.

You can do this part before or after. I personally like it while I’m taking stuff out because I’m doing so one at a time. So why not just try them on now instead of later and make your piles.

Give the Closet a Good Cleaning and Make it Smell Good

While everything is out of the closet, wipe down the shelves, walls, and vacuum good. Then take a little time to put something together to make your closet smell good. Depending on your likes, here’s a few suggestions.

•    In a nylon or mesh bag, add some cedar chips and hang it in the back of the closet. I love this woodsy scent.
•    Dryer sheets come in a variety of smells, pick what you like and put them on a wall hook or hangers before adding clothes, accessories, etc.
•    Essential oils are also a great way to keep your closet smelling fresh and clean. In a small glass jar; like one of the larger baby food jars, a pickle or olive jar, whatever you have handy.

Poke holes in the lid, soak cotton balls in your favorite scent, add them to the jar, and put the lid back on. Change every two to three weeks.

Some fragrances you may be interested in trying are Lavender, Sweet Orange, Rose, Cedar/Pine, Vanilla and the list is longer. Some are stronger than others, so it may take a few try’s before you get the exact strength you’re looking for.
•    If you’re looking to remove bad smells add a box of baking soda, put cat litter in a nylon stocking, when the smell is gone try one of the other suggestions above to keep it smelling good.

You keep a little, you give a little

After you have tried on whatever needed to be tried on, put the keep pile in one area of the room and the giveaway pile in another part of the room. No commingling allowed. We’re organizing remember?

If there are any clothing items that are not in good shape, not good enough for the thrift store; toss them out.

Or if you’re like me, recycle what you can, like cutting the pockets out of a pair of jeans for a craft project.
This goes for both shoes and your clothes.

Be Serious and Honest with your Decisions

If you’re like me, it’s hard to let go. If you haven’t worn something in more than six months or if you’re hanging on to a pair of bell bottomed pants that haven’t been worn in over a decade; what are the chances you might wear them anytime soon?

Putting Things Back

Everyone has their own way of organizing a closet that works for them. You ask one friend and it will be different from another friend. It really boils down to what works best for you. Here are some of the things that others do:

•    Sort your things by color.
•    Organize your clothes by color coordinating or matched outfits on a hanger. This can work well for those that may be color-blind.
•    Sort clothes by work clothes, play clothes, party clothes, holiday clothes, etc.
•    You can sort by sweaters, dresses, pants, blouses, every day wear, etc.
•    Shoes can be organized much in the same way as your clothes. They can be stored in the boxes they came in at the back of the closet, on a shoe rack, or behind the door storage.

Store Away when Needed

If your closet space is limited, store off season clothes in space saver bags. You can pack a bunch in them; they are bug free, and will protect items until you open them up. Store them under the bed to create more room.

Closet Organizers

Closet organizers are great for creating a nice, clean space. There are many available to suit your needs. Other options are wall hooks or under shelf hooks, behind the door shoe storage, hangers that hold multiple pairs of clothes. The options are only limited by your imagination.

Revisit Organizing your Closet

I like to buy new things with each new season. We all have our favorite things we like to wear. I can wear down my favorite summer tank tops easily. So, yeah, I gotta go shopping - right?

At a minimum, you should give your closet a good cleaning at least twice a year. I do a little with each season when I do my new clothes shopping. I give to charity what is in good shape and toss the rest.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

7 Steps to Cleaning Your Vacuum

Image
  Cleaning the Vacuum Cleaner We try to clean our home and keep up with the housework on a regular basis. Maybe it’s every few days, once a week, or less often? But how often do we think to clean the vacuum cleaner? No matter what kind of vacuum you use, I’m pretty sure it’s a veritable work horse with all the dirt, debris, hair and who knows what else we have it suck up. Sometimes it truly amazes me mine runs as long as it does, especially when my younger kids are vacuuming. So treating your vacuum and the accessories that came with it, to a good cleaning on a somewhat regular basis can’t hurt. It’s not a time consuming job and something that can be done when the weather’s keeping you indoors. Step 1: Be sure the vacuum is unplugged. I’m sure this bit of instruction isn’t necessary but you never know. Step 2: If parts need to be removed, make sure you know how to put it back together by taking pictures or labeling. Step 3: Use mild soap and water to clean the accessories and ...
Read more

Cleaning Around the House with White Vinegar

Image
I know you see posts all the time about the using white vinegar to clean around the house and I as well post about the many uses. These are some of the questions we get asked often by our clients. You may not realize it, but white vinegar is environmentally friendly, it’s a germ fighter and you probably have it on a kitchen shelf already as you may use it to cook with time and again for tenderizing meats, pickling your garden veggies and bringing out the flavor of some foods. I have to say, I think my bottle of white vinegar is used more for cleaning around the house than for using in my recipes. You can use it to sanitize the washing machine, make your own window cleaner and so much more. Vinegar can be used all around the house, from the kitchen to the bathrooms and even used to clean certain types of floors.  Vinegar is quite effective for killing household germs, bacteria, and killing most molds due to its acidic nature. However, because of its acidic nature it will damag...
Read more

Got A Grass Stain?

Image
Are you looking for ways to get grass stains out of clothing? Grass stains happen! What do you do? When your kids are playing in the yard or you’re on your knees doing yard work, it can be quite common to get grass stains on the knees of our pants. The problem with grass stains is they can be mixed with more than just grass. There may be some mud and other things in the mix but when you need to get the stain out, concentrate on the grass part of the stain first. Simple Cleaning Solution This is a non-toxic way to clean the grass stain. • Go to your local health food store or pharmacy and purchase a supplemental, digestive enzyme in powder or pill form. • Use 1 teaspoon of the powder and add a little water to make a paste. • Apply the paste to the grass stain, covering the entire area and let sit for one hour. • Wash as you normally would but don’t put it in the dryer yet. Let it air dry to make sure the stain is gone. Dry Cleaning Solvent Test in an inconspicuous spot first then fo...
Read more