What do you have in your closet and in how many different sizes?
Can you readily get your hands on exactly what you want to wear every morning? Sounds nice doesn’t it?
More than likely the morning goes something more like this. You hit snooze one time too many. You quickly grab a cup of coffee, throw your body through the shower and come out looking for something to wear. Maybe you even have to step over clothing on the floor just to get to the closet. You stand there wrapped in a towel or maybe an old robe, blankly staring at the jumble before you. Out of this jumble you must assemble some type of coordinated outfit and get out the door.
As you pull out multiple shirts and pants trying to find something good, the pile on the floor and the bed grows larger with the discards. All this stuff, but nothing to wear! In the end, you wear the same pair of black pants you wore two days ago paired with a shirt with a small stain on the front that you hope no one will notice. It is a comfortable shirt though.
This is just the first part of your day, wouldn’t it be nice to start it off on a better note?
Well, I’m going to give you step-by-step instructions on how to tackle your clothing, tackle your closet and make getting dressed in the morning a breeze! Maybe you can even add breakfast with that coffee now!
You don’t have to have a fancy closet system. If you want to be the proud owner of a fancy closet set-up, great, go for it! But before you can have that fancy system, you still need to get your clothing down to what you really want to keep. That way you will know what your needs are for that great new system.
So, did you know that statistics show we wear 20% of our clothing 80% of the time? WHAT? That means in that packed closet of ‘nothing to wear’ you are basically wearing the same clothes over and over and the other 80% just sits there takin’ up valuable closet space!
So, let’s start with a little visualization.
Picture getting out of the shower and standing in front of your newly organized closet. You can see all your clothing at once. There are no piles at your feet. You are confident that you can reach in and choose anything before you and create an outfit you like. You get dressed, look in the mirror and start your day looking good, feeling confident.
Well, let’s make that happen!
Let me start by sharing my goal for you. Here it is:
You will create a closet filled with clothes that fit, make you look good and feel good!
Why would you want to have clothes in your closet that didn’t do that?
Now let me share the steps that will make that happen.
STEP # 1
Bring labeled boxes or bags into the area where you will be sorting your clothing.
Examples of labels: Garbage, Donation, A specific person’s name if you have someone you are giving your clothing to.
STEP # 2
Write down a criteria for yourself to know what you will part with.
Here are my suggestions, feel free to add your own:
- Part with clothing that is ripped, torn or stained. EVEN if it is comfortable!
- Part with clothing that does not fit. Store future sizes somewhere else.
- Part with clothing that does not look good on you. If you aren’t sure, put it on and get yourself in front of a mirror or an honest friend!
- Part with clothing you do not like. Let it go-you don’t even like it!
- Part with clothing that is out of style. NO, do not wait for it to come back in style-let it go!
STEP # 3
Create a staging area where you can sort your clothing.
This may be on the bed. It can be on sheets on the floor. It can be in another room if needed.
STEP # 4
Remove all clothing from the closet, the bed, the floor.
Place “like” items together in the staging area so you can see how much of each item you have. It will really help you know what you have enough of and what you can part with.
- Jeans with jeans
- Slacks with slacks
- Skirts with skirts
- Dresses with dresses
- Short-sleeve shirts with short-sleeve shirts
- Long-sleeve shirts with long-sleeve shirts
- Hats with hats
- Belts with belts
You get the idea!
STEP # 5
Use your criteria list as you look at each item and make a decision.
Are you going to part with it or keep it? Really be honest with yourself.
Here are a few tips:
- If you haven’t worn it in a year, you probably won’t. (Exception-formal wear that still fits and is in style).
- Even if it cost you a lot of money, the item is not holding it’s value if you aren’t wearing it and loving it. Donate it, sell it, give it a new home.
- You aren’t going to miss it. Why? Because you weren’t wearing it anyway; there’s no way you will give away your coolest jeans that fit great on accident!
STEP # 6
Return clothing that you are keeping to the closet with “like” items together.
I personally do not separate by color, but that is a personal choice. I can find what I need by separating into basic categories: jeans, slacks, skirts/dresses, long-sleeve shirts, short-sleeve shirts.
It really looks great if you can invest in matching clothes hangers. Of course the wooden hangers look beautiful, but any matching hangers you like are fine. I would really encourage you to get rid of wire hangers though!
Here’s a great little trick I use myself when I hang my clothes up. Take all your clothing on the hangers and turn the hangers the opposite direction so the hanger is facing you instead of away from you.
After you wear and wash an item, face the hanger the way you would normally hang it. At the end of the season, look at the clothing that was never turned the correct way. That means you never wore that item and it is time to say bye bye!
TIPS
- Keep a box or bag in the closet so you can toss in donations as you come across them in the future. Over time you will continue to find items that you are ready to part with.
- If you realize you made a mistake with a purchase don’t feel guilty, let it go and make room for something you love.
- If you need more space, store off-season clothing somewhere else.
- If you are saving clothing of another size, remove it from the closet until you are ready to wear that size. Make sure that what is in your closet at your fingertips fits you now. Consider whether or not what you are storing for the future will still be in style when it does fit.
Get your closet down to the clothing that fits, makes you look good and feel good and you can leave your house each day feeling confident!
