Did you know? January is National Clean Out Your Closet Month!
Today, I want to suggest how to celebrate Clean Out Your Closet Month with some ad-ins that will keep your closet organized every day of the year! Check them out!
EVERY CLOSET NEEDS…
- A basket / bag for dirty laundry. This keeps random bits from piling up, and makes that
dirty laundry more like to get washed! - A basket / bag for regular trips to the dry-cleaners or tailor (optional). Ours dry-cleaner bag lives in our laundry room, and we have a
weekly errand for taking in and picking up. - A basket/ bag and a path for items to leave. Our home has a system for getting rid of no-longer-needed items. These items go into the dirty laundry basket with everything else and get laundered, then tucked in the “Donate” or “Off-To-Our-Cousin” baskets that live in our laundry room.
- A wastebasket. Rubbish needs a path and a receptacle to leave a space. Show me a closet littered with plastic dry cleaning bags, clothing tags, dirty tissues and general trash, and I’ll show you it lacks a wastebasket.
- Good hangers. I’m not suggesting you spend a fortune on your hangers, but invest in plastic or
felted hangers to take good care of your clothes and give your closet a tidier appearance. - A few extra hangers, but only a few. One of the first and easiest steps to making more room in a closet is to clear out all the empty hangers. Trust me, some have dozens taking up precious rod space! Once all your clothes are hung and the closet is organized, keep all but 3 or 4 of your empty hangers in your laundry room instead of in your closet.
- An Ish-Hook or 2. I have 3 hooks in my closet for clean-ISH clothes. Clean-ISH, that you plan to wear again soon. You know – the pajamas
you only wore once? or the track pants and sweat shirt you put on when you get home from work? Perhaps the jeans you wore for a little while but plan to wear again tomorrow. It’s not worth it to wash them all, or to hang them all up again, so we need a way to keep them close at hand but not strewn about your space! - A clear floor. Imagine with me: You’re standing in your closet, trying to get dressed in the morning. Or perhaps you have clean laundry to put away. Now imagine trying to do these regular tasks while stepping on clothes or shoes, or dodging shopping bags or neglected empty suitcases. Having those physical obstacles in the way will likely keep you from completing the simple maintenance tasks needed to make your closet work well for you.
- A plan! Every month or so, I get the itch to review my closet and drawers, straightening and purging as I go. I encourage my sons to do the same, at least a couple of times a year. This quick but regular maintenance keeps my clothes and closet organized and relatively clutter free all year long!
Spend some time taking care of your closet this week, and it will take care of you every day!
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and for the wrapping needs of anyone living in your house (they WILL be wrapping on Christmas Eve.)
most of these tasks are actually pretty short and to the point. So we assigned time estimates to them all, so we could be more objective.
coat closet, etc. However, many of us do not come and go from that front door. Last week, a friend asked if I could help with her new homes’ back door / drop zone / launch pad. In her words,
members can drop their bags as they come home. But they lack coat / accessory / bag storage.
for accessories and keys, and the lower set, installed 6-8 inches below the upper set, for coats, umbrellas or longer hanging items.
I detest errands and shopping. The expense, hassle and time spent. But, of course, there are items – food, clothing, supplies, etc. – that I need for my family, our home and my business. Errands and shopping are a necessary evil.
I have been pondering how to spend less time, money and hassle on running errands and shopping. I’ve talked to a lot of people also working on the same challenge, and we’ve learned a lot from each other!
it was my constant companion. Most days, amidst working and family and living our lives, I was also planning / orchestrating / cleaning or occasionally waiting for activities centered on the Kitchen, and by extension, my office. No summer va-ca for this girl.
track lighting. As soon as we stood at a counter to work on food prep or anything else, we would block our own task lighting. The under-cabinet lighting makes the whole kitchen GLOW, while providing task lighting any where we need it! This is a simple upgrade. You can purchase ropes of LED lighting that simply plug in at any home improvement store.
also beautiful, I am truly loath to leave anything on them. One of my favorite (and cheap) purchases to complete the project was this dish drain that fits over the smaller side sink and can be easily slid over or rolled away (Amazon.com, ILifetech Roll-Up Dish Drying Rack).
now have a breakfast station. My coffee maker lives on this small counter, along with the fresh fruit basket and napkins. In addition, the cabinet above houses breakfast bars and Pop Tarts (my sons’ quick breakfasts of choice), our daily vitamins and supplements, the toaster, and coffee / tea / hot chocolate supplies, etc.
The tops were dusty, and storing stuff up there looked cluttered, so we never used the space. If you don’t want to remodel, you can also re-imagine how you use your cabinets. Use the bottom shelf or 2 for daily use items, the middle shelf for items you use once a week, and the top shelves for items you use less often but would still like to keep accessible.
Fall is in the air.
hello boots and wellies. Toss the old or unmatched flip or flop, get rid of all but the last pair or two of sneakers (“Truly, dear, no one needs 4 pairs of old sneakers for ‘yard work.'” ). Take in any shoes in need of repair, and put away the rest. Then make space for the colder weather shoes and boots. Do the same with sport items. Play it Again Sports, anyone?
returned to a store? Stuff that belongs to other people? Take those piles / bags and boxes that are next to the door or already in the car, and get them Gone, gone, gone!!
First things first, purge the garbage / recycling / donations. And pull out the cars while you work!
boxes. I know, it’s tough to decide do we keep the box the vacuum / lamp / appliance came in or recycle it? However, we’ve discovered that if we do need to pack the item up or return it, we can find another box (more come all the time!) or return the item without it. If you just can’t part with the boxes, break them down and store them flat.
outgrown sports items, chose to leave the items there (instead of hassling with selling them on consignment), they cut me a check. Beautiful! Try listing outgrown bikes and scooters on Facebook sell pages, there is a market for such things! And, thinking vertically again – install some hooks on the walls or beams, to get those summer toys and bikes off the garage floor for winter!
how long to keep certain types of papers. One idea that I shared with the group was the idea of “20 Minutes or 20 Dollars”. A couple of people made a point to tell me that they really liked the idea, so I thought I would share.
20 Minutes: 
The black spaghetti mess of unmatched, unlabeled and unclaimed charging cords from ancient phones or digital cameras gone by? Look around. If what you use regularly already has a cord attached, you could probably purge all of those unclaimed cords and spend $20 someday on a replacement in the very remote chance you actually needed one of those random cords. Clear up a whole lot of space, and bank on the fact you don’t need what is in that THAT box!
Sombreros (or similar items, you get the idea!). Sombreros are big. Awkward to store. Not a commonly used items, let’s face it. If you EVER had a need for a sombrero – party, costume, school presentation – you could either spend the $20 to buy one at a party store or on-line, or better yet, ask 10 friends if anyone has a sombrero, and I bet someone does!
