Tag: National Clean Out Your Closet Week

Organize Your Closet Week: the “Three Month” Question and Your Habits

Show of hands, who has a huge closet with unlimited space?  AND can always find what they’re looking for and look fabulous?

Well, if your hand is still up, this article may not be for you.  For the rest of us, though… we with small closets and no build-out option, or who aren’t effortlessly stylish… this article is for you.  (A caveat – I am not the person to give fashion advice.)

Today is the first day of Spring, and this is National Organize Your Closets Week.  Let’s spend time in our closets so they will serve us well!

First, grab 2 garbage bags – one for wire hangers to go back to the cleaners, and one for actual rubbish – and fill them up! Next, bundle up the dirty laundry and get it out of your way.

If your space is limited and the closet is looking crowded, make some decisions.  For example, yesterday I started swapping out cold weather clothes for some lighter fabrics and lighter colors.  Let’s face it –  we are probably ready to move into Spring, even if the weather isn’t ready!

“Three Months” is 1 Season.  I kept repeating “Three Months.”   Think about it – a season lasts three (ish) months.  Here in Chicago, the weather can change 30 degrees in a few hours, but Spring is Spring.  I have dark, heavy clothes that I won’t wear again until Fall, regardless of how cold the weather gets.  If I need to make room in my closet, I can hang just the items I’ll wear in the next three months, storing colder weather clothes and really hot weather clothes on a high shelf or under the bed.

“Three Months” is 1 size.  “Three Months” also works for sizes. I have clients with multiple sizes of clothes cluttering their closets.  Again, ask the “three month” question.  Do the math – a healthy weight loss strategy suggests losing a pound a week.  In three months, that would be an amazing 12 pounds!  12 Pounds may move you up or down one size from your current size, but only one. If you want to keep your much-smaller clothes, go for it, but don’t store them in your closet if you don’t have room.  And purge the too-big stuff, so you’re not tempted to backslide!

“Three Months” also works if stuff just isn’t working.  I re-tried a few items that I didn’t wear at all this winter, and nope – I just don’t like them anymore.  Gone, gone, gone.

Ok!  With these decisions made, I bet your closet is feeling more spacious! Let’s set it up to work for us!

Think about your habits:

Start with what you use every day.  My day- to-day clothes, sturdy pieces for working with clients and running around, are straightforward and conveniently stored (first thing I see when I open my closet).  Think Levi’s and Land End. I know, not exciting.  I told you not to take fashion advice from me.  But they work.

What isn’t working?  Where I stumble is getting ready for presentations and professional music events (did you know?  I’m also a liturgical musician).  Short of Garanimals for adults, I need to organize my closet to make the matching of neutral, professional skirts with a layer, a jacket or sweater and probably a scarf.

Solve the Problem. To help me put together outfits, I grouped my items by category (skirts and pants, jackets, sweaters, shells, etc.) then by color.  I hung up my favorite drapey sweaters instead of folding them up so I can find them quicker.   And I brought the Fabulous to the front to make them easier to see. Meaning:  Fellas?  Ties.  Ladies? Scarves.

Finally, I’ve been pondering how to remember a great outfit when I manage to put one together, for reference when I am looking for inspiration.  Smartphone? Print them? IPad? Still thinking about that one.

Spend some quality time in your closet this week, make some space and then make the closet work for you!

To:

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National Clean Out Your Closet Week: What’s In Your Suitcase?

Did you know?  The 3rd week of March is National Clean Out Your Closet Week.  Here are simple questions to ask and an easy activity to help you clear your closet clutter!

I have been thinking a lot about closets today.

I spent some time in a closet this afternoon (I love saying that), offering suggestions on how to put it back together after a recent paint job.  My client and her husband have a good selection of clothes but not too much, so we didn’t have to talk about clearing clutter.  We could focus on solving storage challenges (more shelves, higher closet rod so we can double hang one side of the closet, etc.), instead of trying to stuff too much in too small of a space.  It was a pleasure!

This morning’s client has been traveling a lot these last 6 months.  And I am sure that there are clothes in her closet that have not traveled with her on her recent adventures.  So, the question is – does she really need those left-behind items at all?  Her travels remind me of a decision tool I’ve used with clients:

  • Imagine you are packing for a 2 week trip.  Perhaps a new outfit every day, but re-use favorite items if you’d like?
  • Pile up all the items that you would take with you. Then..
  • Look at what is left in your closet   Perhaps there is A LOT left in your closet?

Perhaps it is time to clear some closet clutter?

Let’s look at those items that aren’t going with you.  Ask the question of each piece:  Why wouldn’t it make the trip?

Too formal:  Keep a few, of course – we do need at least some dressy clothing.  But, not too much.  Unless we wear really dressy clothes all the time, the selection should not outnumber or overcrowd the other items in your closet.

Too casual:  We don’t need too many of these, either!  A client had an entire pile of worn out t-shirts for “walking the dog or washing the car”, which is a great idea, but  – a Whole Pile of beat up t-shirts?  We reviewed the pile, kept the best 5 or 6 and freed up shelf space for more important items.

Uniforms or specifically work clothes:  True, work clothes may not go on vacation with you, but we can still look objectively at our work clothes, and recognize how much is enough and how many is too many.  30 pairs of pants?  42 dress shirts?  Too many.

Wrong season?   These can stay, but perhaps it’s time to swap out your closet seasonally, to create more space for moving around and using your day to day wardrobe.  I took my big Irish sweater off the shelf today – I only wear it for St. Patrick’s Day, so now is the time to put it away for the season!

Needs repaired, but I still love it: The answer, of course, is to get it repaired.  In the past 6 months, I have had a skirt shortened, shoes fixed and a leather backpack repaired.  Invest a little time and money in your favorites, and put them back to work!

Needs repaired, but I don’t care about it much anymore:  donate, sell, toss. Don’t let it occupy another minute of your time and attention, let it go.

Stained?  Old?  Scratchy?  No longer stylish?  You will NEVER choose these items as you get dressed in the morning.  Let them go.

I have no feelings for the item, one way or the other:  If you are battling clutter or looking for more room in your closet, you may want to go ahead and donate / sell  / purge your ambivalent items.  Using the Vacation analogy, it is highly unlikely that those uninspiring items will be your choice as you get dressed in the morning, either!  These items will never make the cut, which means they should not stay.

Spend a little quality time in your closet this week and play this game to make decisions easier!