Congratulations, you made it to Day 2 of our Organize Your Entire Home in 20 Days series!
I hope you are just as excited as we are to continue working through your home and clearing out all of the clutter!
For Day 2, we are going to be focusing on the coat closet. Like the entryway, the coat closet serves an important role for your family as they enter and leave your house.
Coat closets are easy to get cluttered because they are frequently visited throughout the day but only for a few moments at a time so you never actually have to look at the damage inside.
No worries though, organizing coat closets is one of our favorites!
Start by pulling everything out. Pull out all of the coats, the boots, the umbrellas; absolutely nothing stays in the space during the organization process.
When you pull out of the items from the space, it makes it easier for you to see what items really belong in the closet and what items are just adding to the clutter.
After all of the items are out of the coat closet, categorize everything into groups with similar items, throwing away any trash as you go. Make groups of coats, shoes, backpacks, mittens, beanies and anything else that's in the closet.
Grouping together like items will help you make decisions about what you want to keep, donate, or trash because you will easily be able to see what items your family still regularly uses and what items your family no longer needs.
Items you want to keep should be things that serve your family a purpose and you definitely will be using in the future. These are going to be items that are still being used like coats that still fit, gloves that have a match, umbrellas or scarves.
Items that need to be donated are things that are still in good condition but no longer serve a purpose for your family. These are going to be items like coats that won't fit anyone in your family, boots you no longer wear or scarves that are out of style.
Items that are trash are things that don’t serve your family any further purpose and wouldn’t serve anyone else purpose either. This could be a glove that doesn’t have a match, a backpack that won’t zip up or a coat that has a stain or tear.
If you are having difficulty deciding on what items should be kept or donated, ask yourself questions such as, when was the last time someone in my family used/wore this item? 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?
Asking yourself these questions about items you aren’t sure if you should get rid of, you are opening your mind and being honest with yourself about the needs of your family. Any items that you keep but you don’t need, will continue to add to the clutter around your house for no reason.
By giving away these items you're clearing the mess from your house and allowing someone else to use them, someone who may need them more than you.
Once everything has been categorized and you've made decisions on all of the items, take a step back from all of the items and focus on just the space. Now is the perfect time to clean this area!
Since there is nothing in the coat closet, cleaning will be super easy. Wipe and dust off any top shelves, wipe down the door handles (those can get pretty dirty!), and sweep or vacuum the floor.
Once the closet it cleaned, it's time to put the categorized items into containers and label them.
For your coat closet, you want to make sure the items are easy to access for you and your family. It’s important everything stored in the coat closet has a "home" -- any item that doesn’t have a home needs to find a new place to reside in your house.
Start by giving each family member their own basket for all of their small items like hats, scarves and mittens. Or you can give each item its own bin if your family shares all of the items. Remember its all about finding a system that works best for you!
Target has a wide variety of baskets ranging from different sizes and colors so you are guaranteed to find some you like!
If space is limited in the closet, take advantage of vertical spaces. Any wall space and on the backside of the door is great for additional storage.
Doors are perfect for hanging baskets to keep your smaller items organized. You can also use the door for hanging hooks for bags and purses.
If you have children, over the door organizers are a great solution for your kids to store items. These offer low spaces so kids can easily reach for and put away items on their own.
Finish up by hanging the coats by who it belongs to.
Place the kids’ coats on a bottom rack and the adults’ coats on the top rack. If there is only one rack, put the kids’ coats in the easiest accessible part of the closet and the rest behind them.
Store only heavy boots and "mailbox" shoes in the coat closet, any other shoe needs to go in the room of who it belongs to.
By only keeping a few pairs of shoes in the closet and the rest in bedrooms, you are keeping unnecessary clutter out of the closet.
Only keep items you'll need when you are away from your house in the coat closet. You want to keep this space clear so your family can move through it easily and quickly.
Finish up by dealing with the leftover items. These are the items that were in the closet at the start of today's process but don't actually belong there.
If you are still feeling overwhelmed with the organizing or would like extra help, please reach out to the Clutterless Home Solutions Team.
Talk soon,
Clutterless Home Solutions