Cleaning out my closet has been on my “to-do” list for almost 6 months now. My goal is to get rid of the excess and create a visually pleasing closet where I can easily see all my wardrobe options. Mostly, I hate that messy, crowded feeling when trying to find the right pair of shoes in the morning!
I kept putting off the Great Closet Clean Out because I wanted to lose weight to fit into some clothes that I couldn’t, things would pop up on the weekends that seemed more important, and mostly, I wanted to have time and a plan before I got started.
Last weekend, was the moment of truth. I spent three days sorting, tossing, saving, folding, organizing, and re-shelving my closet.
Here are a couple “before” photos:
Scott and I have separate walk-in closets. It is actually quite a bit of space for just me. Apparently, I just have too much clothing! Here are some of the big problems I needed to address:
- One side of my closet is full of suits that I hardly ever wear (they are from my former life as a television news reporter). They were taking up a lot of valuable space.
- My shoes were also presenting a big problem. I have some on a shelf, some on a hanging rack, and some on a floor rack. (I did count the number of shoes I own during this clean out… I had no idea I loved shoes so much!)
- Finally, I have a lot of odds and ends up high (tote bags, suitcases, random scrapbook items) that weren’t organized efficiently.
My first step was to pull almost EVERYTHING out of my closet. I vacuumed and dusted the shelves really well. It made my closet feel so much cleaner, and I could see what I had to work with.
I sorted things into three piles: 1) Things to Donate, 2) Things to Sell (which I’m working on selling through Facebook & Ebay… that might warrant another post!), and 3) Things to Keep.
I like things in my closet to be organized by color, so I sorted like-shoes (example: wedges, flats, heels) by color. I did the same with all my clothing.
Then came the process of putting everything back together again (sort of like Humpty Dumpty). This is what’s on my shopping list to get super organized:
- Baskets and Bins – to contain flip flops, camisoles, t-shirts, and closet odds and ends (like a lint brush, quick shoe polish sponges, Downy wrinkle releaser!)
- Matching Hangers - all the organizing advice I see says buy matching hangers. I found some great black, velvet covered ones at TJ Maxx and Big Lots, but I think it would still take nearly $100 to buy enough hangers! I will probably do this part gradually.
- Archive Storage Boxes & Tissue Paper - I have several garments from when I was Miss Oklahoma that I don’t wear, but I definitely want to save (think… an Armani suit and custom designed gowns!) I’ve done research on how to “preserve” them, and will need these boxes and archival quality tissue paper. I’m going with polypropylene boxes instead of cardboard. After my sister’s tornado experience, the items in a plastic bin sustained less damage than those in cardboard (think dust, insulation, water damage).
- Shoe Rack - I like the one I have… it expands and is stackable. I want 2-3 more so all of my shoes are stored similarly.
- Boot Boxes – I would like to organize my boots into clear boxes. Right now the mis-match of boot boxes is driving me crazy (see below)
I priced everything I “need” at the Container Store (and also checked out Target, TJ Maxx, Dollar General & Wal-Mart). It will cost at least $300 for all of it. Yikes! So, the finished product may take a little longer than I had originally planned.
But… I have moved everything back in and have a really good starting point. Those pictures and more closet clean out details coming up soon…
P.S. – I am needing a nickname for my hubby for my blog posts. Calling him Scott just seems so boring. Any suggestions?
EKS
