The Cluttered Closet

 

When you step into your walk-in closet, do you feel inundated with  clothes that you no longer wear?

Stress no more. It is possible to make your closet organized and tidy. All you need is a plan.

Fact:

Most people wear only 10 percent of the clothes in their closet.  But, yet, when they walk into their closet, they exclaim, “I have nothing to wear!”

Here’s how to clear out the clutter:

• Go through your clothing and pull out any items that you have not  worn in the past three years or longer. Put them in piles, i.e., “slacks,” “skirts,” “sweaters,” Jackets,” etc. Don’t fret — you don’t need to get rid of them. Box them up and store them in the attic or up in the garage rafters. Later, if you are feeling ambitious, you can take down the boxes of unworn clothing and shoes, sort through them, and determine the wearability of each item of clothing.

Example:

You may find that the suit you loved 10 years ago is completely out  of style now. It will be easier for you to part with that item of clothing. This two-step method of weeding out unworn clothing makes it quite painless:

1) First store them;

2) Later, take down your boxes — one at a time — and sort through them.

Now back to your closet:

• Before resuming your closet organization, purchase a wonder hanger. Each 20 wonder hanger box contains five to eight hangers that will hold up to 10 items 20 of clothing each.
• Hang items of clothing on the wonder hanger. Then, unhook one end of the holder, and — voila! — the hangers will compact to the width of one hanger. You may want to hang one heavy item with several light-weight items. It’s up to you.
• Store your shoes in see-through plastic boxes. These are less than $1.00 each at WalMart.

Seasonal Clothing:

If you have a large volume of clothing that you regularly wear, box it up according to seasons. So, if it’s spring, your spring clothing is in your closet. Store summer, fall and winter clothing in under-bed boxes. You can pick them up inexpensively at WalMart or Big Lots. By keeping clothing for only one season in your closet, you will feel more organized, and it will be easier to switch clothes when the weather changes.

The main thing to remember when de-cluttering your closet is that less is better. This way when you walk into your closet, your wardrobe options will be20 obvious and available.