Hello, friends! We are starting Day 12 of “Organize Your Entire Home in 20 Days!”
So far we have moved through your kitchen, dining room, living room, and your children’s room, so now, we move into your room!
Today we will be organizing your dresser and your closet! I hope you're ready to go through some clothing!
We're going to take your closet from looking like the picture on the left to looking like the picture on the right!
Start by bringing all of the clothes out from their spots. Pull out all of the clothing items, shoes, bags/purses and accessories as well.
There should be nothing left in the dresser or closet after you have pulled everything out.
By bringing out all of the clothing, shoes, and accessories, you will be able to see all of the items that you own and will help make the next steps easier.
The next thing to do is start categorizing all of your items.
The more in depth you categorize, the better your dresser and closet will look at the end.
Start by sorting together all of the like items; clothes with clothes, shoes with shoes, hats with hats, scarves with scarves and so on until everything from your dresser and closet are in groups together.
Next, go a step further and start categorizing within the broad groups.
For clothing, put all of the different articles of clothing in groups with similar items, all the shirts with other shirts, all the shorts with other shorts, all the pants together, all the jackets together and so on until all of the different articles of clothing are grouped together.
After your clothing is sorted by what it is, sort them by occasion.
Put your nice blouses together, old T-shirts together, leggings together, slacks together, athletic shorts together, jean shorts together and so on until all of the items are in very specific groups.
Finish going through the clothes by going into each separate group and then sorting them by color and pattern.
This may seem tedious, but the end result will be so worth it!
Then, back to your shoes; start sorting those into groups based on what type of shoes they are. Put all of the sneakers together, sandals together, heels together, boots together and so on until all of the shoes are in groups.
Once the shoes are in their own groups, separate them by color too.
Keep doing that with all of the items that came out of the dresser and closet (hats, scarves, bags, jewelry, whatever you had in your closet) until everything is divided into very specific and detailed groups.
Once you have put everything into categories, its time to make decisions on the items. There are only three options to all of these items: keep, donate, or trash.
Things that you want to keep are those that you wear regularly, still fit, use often and serve a specific purpose for your wardrobe.
Items that needs to be donated are ones that you haven’t worn/used within the last 6 months, no longer fit, or that you have an excess of.
Things that is trash are items that are torn or have stains on them.
Many people believe the more clothing, shoes and accessories you have, the better. In reality though, the more items in your closet the more you’re going to feel cluttered and disorganized.
It’s not about the quantity of clothes that you own, it’s about the quality and function of them. You don’t need four different pairs of sneakers all in the same color. You want them.
By having unnecessary amounts of all of these items, you are continuing to add to the clutter.
If you are having difficulty deciding on what items should be kept or donated, ask yourself questions such as, when was the last time I wore/used this item? Does this item still fit the way it should on me? Do I enjoy this item when I'm wearing it? Does this item still serve its original purpose for me? How many of this one item do I have and is more than one really necessary? Would someone else better benefit from having this item than I would?
By asking yourself these questions about items you aren’t sure if you should get rid, you are opening your mind and being honest with yourself.
Any items that you keep but you don’t need, will continue to add to the clutter in your closet for no reason. By giving away these items you are not only clearing the mess from your closet, you are also allowing someone else to use these items that may need them more than you.
Once you made the decisions about all of the clothing, shoes and accessories, take a pause from it and focus on the dresser and closet themselves. It's time to clean those spaces.
Starting in the dresser, wipe down the inside of the drawers and the outside surfaces as well. Then, move onto your closet. Dust/wipe all of the flat surfaces and vacuum the floor.
After you've cleaned the spaces, its time to start putting everything away. As you're putting the clothing back, keep them in the same categories of occasion and color you previously sorted them in.
Start with the clothing that you want to hang in your closet. These should be articles of clothing that are nicer and can't be folded (nice blouses, slacks, jeans, blazers, jackets).
Put the clothes that are worn more often in the most accessible place in your closet and store those less commonly worn items in the back.
If you have two levels of racks, hang your shirts and jackets on the top rack and pants on the bottom rack.
Pro tip: an easy way to make your closet look like the ones from Pinterest, invest in matching velvet hangers to step up your closet display. Having the same hangers throughout your closet will make it look so much more appealing to the eyes.
After you have finished hanging all of the clothes in the closet, move to the clothing that you want folded in your dresser. Designate one drawer for each of the categories you previously made.
Then, check out this video that will keep your clothes folded neatly in the drawers and easy to find. File folding, as shown in the video, is great for storing your clothing. This method makes it easier to see all of the items and then pull from the drawer without moving everything.
Once the clothes are put away, let's move along to the shoes, bags and other accessories.
Store your shoes in a shoe organization of some type. If you don’t already have one, check out these ones.
Having a specific spot to keep your shoes will help keep them organized and from getting lost on the floor.
For larger bags and purses, stuff packing paper in them so they are displayed nicely and stay true to their shape.
Hang up scarves and belts so they are easy to see and easy to get to.
Use small bins to store beanie hats, ball caps, small hand clutches, robes or other items that wouldn’t fit in your dresser or closet. Designate one bin for each of those categories.
Place the bins on the shelf and label them!
If horizontal space is limited, don't forget to take advantage of wall space! Hang nails for hats to rest on or hang shelves for clutches and purses.
By having a specific spot for all of the items in your closet, you will be able to find things faster and maintain the organization easier.
Remember this system doesn't have to look like the closets you see on Pinterest, it just needs to work for you and make your life easier!
After you have all of your clothes, shoes and accessories put away, it's time to deal with any items that are leftover. These are going to be any items that were in your dresser and closet at the beginning of today’s process but don’t actually belong there. Take the time now to place those items in your house where they really belong.
Your closet should be a place in your home that you step into and feel a sense of tranquility. It should be pleasing to look at, easy to navigate, and bring a sense of pride.
This is where you prepare yourself for the day and transform yourself into who you want to be, so make sure its a place you enjoy being in.
If you don’t feel this way when looking in your closet and would like help getting there, check out our other blog that talks about even more closet hacks.
Or please reach out to the Clutterless Home Solutions Team.
Talk soon,
Clutterless Home Solutions