Closets are one of the most powerful spaces we organize at UOL. Why?
As women, our bodies and personal style change often. We already have so many other decisions to make in the day… let your clothes be easy. Simplify your closet season-to-season.
Give your closet a spring refresh using Upstate Organized Living’s signature process: declutter, designate, refine.
BEFORE YOU GET STARTED
Ok, there are a few things I want you to keep in mind:
- Going through your closet will always take longer than you think. Set aside an afternoon and them some. Get some snacks. Plan to get dinner out.
- Also, don’t forget your why. Before you make decisions, step up to or into your closet. Breathe. How do you want to feel when this is all over? Write it down if you need to!
- For today, ignore your closet’s non-clothing items: linens, decor, gift wrap, etc. You can dream about other stuff later!
Above all, remember: Every closet has not-right-now clothes.
For special activities (like skiing), for weight loss or weight gain, for past jobs or future hopes. Refreshing your closet helps you keep those not-right-now items in their proper storage place. When they’re out of everyday decision making, the result is often higher self-esteem and lower stress (from clutter).
If you need help making emotional decisions about not-right-now clothes, contact us to schedule a consultation! If you’re short on time or space, we can help, too.
DECLUTTER
First, evaluate your winter clothes.
You’re going to make a few piles: keep/store, donate, sell, or trash.
- Have I worn this everyday item in the past two years?
- Does this fit?
- Does this item need significant repairs or drycleaning? If yes, does this item hold enough financial or emotional value for this investment? (This spring refresh is a great time to take care of all mending/laundering tasks that need to be done in one chunk!)
- Do I like the way I look in this?
- Does this fit the stage of my life I’m in now?
- Will this one day fit another stage of my life?
First round, DONE! Your winter items are in piles to keep, donate, sell, or trash.
Now you should be looking at your transitional pieces or spring/summer wardrobe staples. Bring out anything that’s in storage to go into your closet.
Ask yourself the same questions. You’re again deciding to keep, store, donate, trash, or sell.
DESIGNATE
Ok. You’re probably overwhelmed right now. There are clothes all over your room. You thought this would take two hours. It is hour five. You have tried on a lot of stuff, made way too many decisions, and you’re hungry.
TAKE A BREAK. Come back with a clear head. Because now it’s time to visualize how you’re going to put things back.
What space do you see now that you’ve missed before? Do you like how the space feels empty? Notice that and decide if you want to fill it back up.
Let’s talk storage solutions.
It’s time to dream about how to put things back. For all functional closets, we recommend adding baskets, trays, and hooks where you need them.
Add uniform hangers. Seriously. The overall peaceful effect is out of this world!!
Think: all wooden or all slim velvet. Higher quality, uniform hangers save space and preserve your garments (no weird shoulder puffs)! These black velvet hangers from Amazon are a great starting place.
In general, store your accessories/seasonal/not-right-now clothes higher up.
Keep everything you need this season at eye level.
This client was creative! She didn’t have all the same kind of hanger (plastic, wood, velvet, etc.) but she kept them in the same color family! Can you tell how this lets the clothes shine? Makes the space peaceful?
Now, go shopping for what you want!
REFINE
It’s time to put it all back together in a refined way.
Take joy in this. You have done the hard thing.
You know what’s in your wardrobe. You’ve chosen what you love or what has major use value to you right now. You have accomplished a MAJOR feat. It’s time to celebrate!
But as you use your new systems over the next few weeks, don’t get discouraged when it’s not sticking the way you want it to.
The last step in our process, refining, is always open-ended.
For example, maybe you kept one good pair of leggings because your other two were worn out. You thought you just needed one but you’re finding you’re washing them all. The. time.
Go buy some new leggings. Tweak your system to accommodate your new leggings.
You didn’t somehow fail at decluttering because you needed to add an item back!
Remember why we started this? One possible “why” was to reduce the stress that can come with choosing what to wear every morning. And the chaos of throwing clothes around at the end of the day.
You did it. Send me your after pictures!
If you’re stuck at ANY stage of this process (decluttering, dreaming of how to better use your space, or picking the right products), we are here to help! Contact us to schedule your consultation.
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