I have no problem having “stuff” as long as it has a place. Things tend to accumulate in certain locations in a person’s home… particularly in the closet. Closets are incredible things, you put your stuff in there, close the door, and bam! Out of sight, out of mind! Let me tell you though, having a clean and organized closet will not only make it easier to find things, it will also make cleaning up and putting away clean clothes significantly easier!
I have attempted to simplify the closet cleaning process into four steps. These steps may not be all inclusive for you, but it’s a starting point. From here you can develop your own routine to cleaning out your closets! 🙂
1. Clothes
The first step to cleaning your closet is going through your clothes. Marie Condo recommends taking all of your clothes and piling them on the bed to go through. This can be extremely helpful and it is what I personally do ever since watching her show “Tidying Up” on Netflix.
Make two piles: one to donate and one to throw. Items in the throw pile can be reused as rags or shop cloths! Now, go through your clothes, getting rid of anything that you don’t like, no longer wear, and what doesn’t fit. Put your items you intend to get rid of into one of the two piles, depending on their condition. Only put items you intend to keep back into the closet.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you don’t keep clothes that don’t fit. There are so many people who save a pair of jeans that are a few sizes too small hoping to fit into them again. I was one of those people for a long time and for me personally, it just made me feel fat every time I saw them sitting there in my closet. That is not healthy and it’s not fun. There is no reason to make yourself feel bad about your body. Instead, think “if I lose or gain weight (depending on your goals), I can reward myself by buying new clothes.” I seriously cannot stress this enough. Get rid of what doesn’t fit.
2. Shoes
Okay… this is likely a tricky one for many people. I have never been a “shoes” person. I don’t need multiple pairs of black dress shoes and to be honest, I prefer flip flops or tennis shoes whenever possible. Regardless, many people have shoes in their closet so take the time to go through them and get rid of the ones that you don’t wear or are falling apart. You might also want to consider how many you have in a certain style and only keep a few favorites. Consider getting shoe racks to store those you want to keep. We have one in our entryway closet and it triples the space available for shoes!
3. Seasonal
Take the time to separate any seasonal items. Right now, it is spring in Minnesota. Spring can be tricky because here it can be warm and sunny with puddles one day and snowing the next, so it’s difficult to pack away any winter gear. When you are able to, consider a coatrack in storage or a tub for all your winter coats, hats, mittens, and snow pants for during the warmer months. Pro tip: Switch out your winter stuff with your summer stuff, then it can be stored in the same places and just alternate location according to the current seasons! Consider washing and donating items you and your family no longer use to the school… especially winter stuff! I’m a teacher’s kid… there are many students that either don’t have or forget proper winter gear at home.
4. “Stuff”
Different people have different things they keep in their closet. I have a tub with beach stuff, random wall decor, and a bunch of empty shoe boxes. Shoe boxes can be great for organizing and storing things, but having multiple empty ones is likely unnecessary. Donate or recycle excess boxes. Other random stuff in your closet should be gone through to determine if it something you want or will want/use in the future. If not, get rid of it.
Tubs are a great way to organize a space and they are generally stackable! If I am cleaning out my closet, I might organize my “stuff” into categories and separate each category into a different tub. If I already have things in tubs, now is the time to make sure I still want to keep everything in the tub. For example, I would go through swimsuits in my beach stuff tub and get rid of any that don’t fit. If you have a storage room, it would be easy to store a beach tub in there during the off-season, clearing up space in your closet. I’m going to preach this one more time… when it comes to swimsuits… if you aren’t comfortable in it or it doesn’t fit… GET RID OF IT. There are plenty of other options out there that you will feel better in.
In Conclusion
I realize that this guide is very general, but like I mentioned in the beginning of this post, the point is to give you a starting point when it comes to cleaning out your closets. Start here, and see where it takes you! The important thing is that you take the time to clean out your closets so you can more efficiently run your home (like putting away things, finding things, etc.). Happy Cleaning! 🙂
Life on Lady Slipper Lane 