How many times have we said that, or “I have nothing to wear”, “I’m bored”, or a plethora of other complaints. We act as if the Closet did it to us versus us doing it to the closet. Is your closet a boutique or a hamper, is it organized and well lit, are your clothes cared for hung properly and ready for action? No – I am not at all surprised. Talk to professional organizers, and they will tell you closets are characteristically a catch all, not just your personal wardrobe closet… ANY closet. You can close the door and forget about it for a while.
“Closet organization statistics reveal that disorganization, not lack of space, is the primary cause of clutter in most homes, with 80% of items in closets going unused. A study from Soap and Detergent Association found that getting rid of clutter could eliminate 40% of housework. Furthermore, Americans spend a significant amount of time and money searching for misplaced items, with some spending up to $50 annually replacing lost items.”
Those are hefty stats, reducing housework caught my eye!! Seriously what’s the big deal about managing that real estate anyway. Having recently done a major purge, cleanout, scrub of the base boards and vacuum the corners closet job for myself, it is a big deal. It took me several days to do it to my standards, and ingenuity. Using closet space wisely is like playing Tetris. I’m going to give you 5 simple actions to entice you into taking charge of your closet and stop rubbing salt in the wound.
- Clean out your closet – purchase, borrow or improvise a clothing rack. Take sections of clothing out at a time, and organize into color and items groups, try stuff on, and heave ho items that are is no longer useful. Do not pile up mountains on your bed – it only makes the job bigger and worse.
Buy yourself new hangers if you don’t already have the skinny felt hangers. Pick a color you really like, and then transfer all your garments onto the new hangers. That alone should bring you joy through uniformity and free up significant hanging space.
Buy yourself new hangers if you don’t already have the skinny felt hangers. Pick a color you really like, and then transfer all your garments onto the new hangers. That alone should bring you joy through uniformity and free up significant hanging space.- Check the lighting. Is it dark in there? Brighten it up. Either change out all the bulbs currently in use or get a new fixture, be it LED, stick on motion lights or hardwired; shedding light on the situation is transformative.
- Paint a wall, ceiling, door or shelf, something that you see immediately when opening the door. OR add a mirror. Nothing like catching a glimpse of yourself when tossing things in randomly to keep you on your game. In the photo, you might be able to see that the wall with mirror is painted sage green which is the main room color so it makes the closet part of the room rather than an appendage.
- Get as much off the floor as you can. Elevate, which will give you a spaciousness as well as create extra space by layering. Use Hooks!!! The hooks I use are amazing, super strong and flat to the surface, they are a total game changer. You can buy them at Ikea, 3 in package.
All the photos included are from my closets, yes multiples – empty nester privilege. Enjoy and send me before and after photos!
Dress for the day you want – NOT – the day you are given.
Be well, Be Stylish, Be Kind as you Glow with me.