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How to Clean Out Your Closet offers tips, tricks and advice on how to organize messy closets.
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How to Clean Out Your Closet offers tips, tricks and advice on how to organize a messy closet.
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Introduction
- Not sure what's hanging out in the depths of your closet? Maybe R. Kelly? If the thought of your closet stresses you out, it might be time to clean it out. Despite what you see on home improvement shows like Clean House and Trading Spaces, you don't have to install a thousand dollar customized closet system to get organized. All it takes is a willingness to purge and a few inexpensive and innovative space-saving tools.
Step 1: Purge
- Purging is the key to getting organized, but it's also the hardest part for die-hard pack rats. People invest inanimate objects (including their clothes) with sentimental value. But now is not the time to get weepy over a jacket you've never worn. Now is the time to get tough. It's time for some hardcore purging.
- Take everything out of the closet. That's right. You heard me. Everything.
- Sort through your clothing, shoes and whatever else has been lurking in your closet's murky depths. Put them into one of three piles:
- Keep: You wear it nearly everyday. It fits. It's timeless. (If you're being honest with yourself, this will be roughly only 20% of your closet's contents.)
- Dump: Anything that is stained, smelly, ripped or stretched-out. You won't clean it. You won't repair it. You will never wear it, and neither will anyone else. Toss it.
- Donate: Anything that you haven't worn in a year, is a tired trend or doesn't fit. If you're not sure if it fits or not, try it on. Be honest with yourself. If you're a size 10 and it's a size 6, it's gone.
- When you're done sorting, go through your "keep" pile again. Does any of this need to go in the "dump" or "donate" piles? Remember that it's just stuff. You don't need it if you don't use it.
- Throw out your "dump" pile, and consider doing one of the following with your "donate" pile:
- Sell on eBay: Auction your clothes on eBay, or sell them at your resident consignment shop.
- Donate to Charity: Drop them off at Goodwill, Salvation Army or a local thrift shop.
- Host a Clothes Swap: Get new clothes that you'll actually wear for free. Invite your other purge-happy friends over for a clothes swap. Everyone who brings a pile of clothes gets to take from everyone else's stash.
What You'll Need
- '''Slide N Stax''': If you keep your sweaters or other items in stacked piles, these devices will keep them from falling over and becoming a jumbled mess.
- '''Shoe Organizer''': There are a number of inexpensive alternatives to keeping your shoes organized, accessible and in a good shape.
- '''Double Rods''': Double your closet's hanging space instantly and without great expense.
- '''Hooks''' and '''Over-the-Door Organizers''': Use every inch of your closet's space including the back of the door.
- '''Spacebag''': Great for collapsing and storing your winter clothes under the bed or in any other available space.
- What you need to organize your closet will be based on what you plan on storing as well as the kind of space you have available. While you can invest a lot of money in full-size closet organization systems, you don't need to. The following space-saving al
- '''See-Through Bins''': You'll feel much more organized if you can see what you're looking for.
- '''Wooden or Plastic Hangers''': Keep your clothes in good shape by using wooden, padded or plastic hangers.
- '''Tie Organizer''': Keep ties organized and out of the way.
Step 3: Keep It That Way
- Breathe a sigh of relief. Your work here is done... for the moment. If you don't want your closet to slowly devolve back into its disorganized state, you'll have to commit to keeping it clean all year round. Fortunately, keeping your closet under control is just a matter of following a few simple rules:
- If you purchase one new article of clothing, one old article of clothing hits the skids. Even better, make it two old items in exchange for the new one.
- Keep all of your hangers facing one direction. Every time you wear something, turn the hanger in the opposite direction. At the end of the year, take every item you haven't worn and donate it to charity.
- Respect your stuff. Keep your closet clean and illuminated; keep your clothes on nice hangers.
- Create a spot in your closet to dump stuff that needs to be repaired. If you don't take those items to the tailor within two week of setting them aside, then they should go.
- Periodically assess your needs. Do a light reorganization job every few months so things never get as out of hand as they were before you got your closet act together.
Resources for How to Clean Out Your Closet
- RealSimple.com: Organize Your Closets
- myLifetime.com: Maximize Storage in Your Closets
- SoYouWanna.com: SoYouWanna Organize Your Closet?
- HGTV: Cleaning Your Closet
- About.com: Clean Out Your Closet
WARNING: Pop-ups - AOL Style Blog: Clean Out Your Closet (December 19, 2006)
- eHow.com: How to Clean Out a Closet
- MSNBC.com: Get Organized Today: De-clutter Your Closet
- wikiHow: How to Clean Out Your Closet
- MarthaStewart.com: Golden Rules of Closet Efficiency - Organizing a Closet
- DoItYourself.com: Build Closet Shelving
- LifeOrganizers.com: 10 Steps to a Happy Closet
- Oprah.com: The Urge to Purge
- Think Simple Now: Cleaning Our Your Life: One Closet at a Time (October 29, 2007)
- Reader's Digest: Spring Closet Cleaning: 14 Ideas from Professional Organizers
