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This week we are organizing the master closet. Take a deep breath. During this process, we’re going to have to come to terms with some things that you may have been avoiding up until this point. But trust me, you will be so glad you did when you are finished.
Now is the time to be brutally honest with yourself.
Here is a big one for most women: You do NOT need three sizes of clothes. It can seem comforting to hold onto these “just in case” clothes, but they are just keeping you cluttered and stuck.
I also believe they’re holding you back to a past version of yourself and it’s hard to envision and live who and how you want to be if those “reminders” hanging in your closet.
We need to clear this clutter out. You can keep one “diet dress,” or special outfit that you are dying to wear, but NOT a whole wardrobe.
The next big thing to remember is to ruthlessly get rid of anything that is torn, stained, doesn’t fit or is out of style.
If you haven’t worn it, donate it. If you wore it in high school, donate it. If you still have pregnancy clothes and your baby has gone off to college, you know what to do.
OK, now that we covered a few big rules of thumb for this week’s challenge, let’s get into the step by step process of organizing your master closet.
How To Organize The Master Closet
Time needed: 8 hours
- Prepare
Set up bins, bags, or boxes labeled “toss” “donate” “keep” and u0022repairsu0022 to sort your items.
- Empty Your Closet
Next, let’s take everything out of the closet. Literally, EVERYTHING!
- Clean The Closet
Vacuum and wipe the closet, drawers, and shelves. You won’t see this space empty again soon, so take the time to spruce it up while you clean it out.
- Set A Vision
Before you start sorting, think about how you want to look and feel when you wear any of the items you own.
- Sort
Start sorting by looking at each item and decide what to keep. You only want to keep what matches your vision.
- Ask These Questions To Help You Sort
To help you be ruthless in this process, ask yourself: do I look good when I wear this? do I feel confident and comfortable when I wear it? More than asking u0022how many times have I worn this in the last year?u0022 I find that asking my clients if they feel confident, that they look good when they wear something helps them decide if they want to keep something or not. If you have a shirt or pair of pants that you take off as soon as you put on because it just doesn’t look or feel right, it is never going to. So get rid of it.
- You Can Also Use This Organizing Tip
Another way to do this is by using a numbered hanger method. Allow yourself a certain number of hangers for each type of clothing, such as 20 hangers for blouses, 10 hangers for dresses, 10 hangers for pants- you get the idea. Once you decide how many hangers you want for each category of item, you can begin to sort through your clothes and keep the number of clothing items in a category for the number of hangers you have allowed yourself. This method is one way to see what you really love in your master closet; you will have hung those items first.
- What To Keep?
Discard, donate or repair anything that is stained, torn, missing a button, or too small.
- Everybody Has a Family And Every Family Has a Home
Now, group like items together: t-shirts (tanks, spaghetti straps, short sleeves, long sleeves), sweaters and cardigans (thinner x thicker), shorts, pants, skirts and dresses, blazers, jackets, coats. As a general rule sort them by hanging, fold, casual, formal, warm weather, winter weather.
- Do You Have The Space?
Assess how much you have. Here is a good rule when organizing closets: you get to keep everything you love as long as it fits.
- Watch The Season
Keep in the closet only in-season clothing to make it very easy to spot what you have and use it. Remove out of season clothes and accessories and fold them neatly to be stored in bins or totes. Store them on the top shelves of the closet or under the bed, if needed.
- Donating For a Great Cause
If you have professional clothing that is in good condition, consider donating them to non-profit organizations like Dress For Success.
Wrapping It Up
You should now be able to see everything in your master closet and getting dressed int he morning should be a breeze now that you only have your very favorite things to choose from. Getting dressed each day will no longer be a stress point for you know that you have a closet full of only your most loved clothes.
I’d love to see your before and after pictures of your master closet challenge, please share them with #apochallenge
