With Summer clothes neatly stored out of sight (???), you are eager to dive into your Fall/Winter wear and cozy into your favorite black cashmere sweater. However, you quickly ask yourself, “where is that sweater?” Sounds like your closet is suffering from CM (closet mayhem). Here are a few steps to heal your closet and regain order:
- NO WIRE or STORE HANGERS EVER! Wooden or felt covered hangers are the trend guaranteed never to go out of style. These hangers help your clothes maintain their shape, uniformly maximize space and create a unified appearance which is pleasing to the eye when looking into your closet.
- Toss all store shoe boxes. Replace with clear plastic shoe bins which stack neatly and enable you to easily see what’s inside.
- Sort clothing by season. Group together Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter. Better yet, if you have the room, store off-season clothes out of sight.
- Group clothing by type (all pants, shirts, skirts and blouses), by use (work clothes, casual clothes, formal wear), by tone (light to dark) or by color. Choose a sorting system that fits your lifestyle and is easy to maintain.
- Do not intermingle his and her clothing. One has the top bar, the other the bottom. One has the left side, the other the right. Or if space is tight, use dividers to keep items separate. You don’t shop in a men’s store for women’s clothing and vis versa. Why should your closet be any different?
- Keep a laundry basket or hamper in or near the closet to keep dirty clothes off the floor.
- If space is limited, follow the “one in, one out” rule. For every item of clothing or shoes you buy, donate another to charity. This will maintain closet equilibrium.
- Follow the 80:20 rule We wear 20 percent of our wardrobe 80 percent of the item. If you haven’t worn it or missed it this season, donate it. End of story.
- Designate an accessory area for scarves, handbags, belts and ties. This is best located near the shoes to make completing an outfit a snap.
- Hang a hook behind the closet door or on a wall in the closet. Use this as your “mannequin” space. Don’t waste time in the morning struggling to find something to wear. With your closet now looking like a boutique, you can easily pull items together and hang on the hook ready to wear the next day.
Enjoy your closet this Winter and everything you have in it! Next month…Ten ways to get through the holidays stress free. Well, almost.
Donna's Place For Everything 