A little while back, I talked about pulling everything out of a small space as you work on it. This applies to that entire closet of clothes – whether the front hall closet with the jackets or your bedroom closet. Dealing with clothes in general can be a challenge, who really wants to face those things we no longer fit into, or the things we bought with the best of intentions yet still have the tags hanging off them? Imagine though, opening the closet next week and seeing only things that fit and you actually wear. It makes life so much simpler and even happier!
Choose the closet you will dig into. Open the door, reach in, and pull out an item. Look at it and decide whether it’s something you want to keep. Hopefully you’ll already have some containers ready for trash and donating – and you can put it into one of those right now if you’re not keeping it. If you are keeping it, set it aside, into a pile of the things you want to keep.
Reach into the closet again and pull out the next item. Make a decision of where it will go. Continue this with each item in the closet. I’d start with the hanging items and clear the entire rod. Then move onto any other items living in the closet. Pick it up and decide whether you are keeping it or letting it move on.
You might see that you’re avoiding certain items, you see it, but you repeatedly grab something else. There is no problem doing that, as long as you deal with it by the end. The idea is that the entire closet will be empty at one point. This is a great time to clean it – vacuum the floor and wipe any shelving down.
If you have the space, you could make piles of similar types of clothes with the ones you’ve decided to keep. One of the guiding principles of organizing is to keep like things together. Now, you can see if you have 8 black sweaters that meet the same need. Or 9 black pants. Or whatever.
As you pick up each item to put it back into the closet, evaluate it again. Yes, again. Consider whether you’re making up reasons to keep it. If you’re simply attached, but never wear it, make a special box where you keep those precious items. I don’t believe you have to part with everything, but keep the space in the closet for things that you use regularly.
If you’re like most people, you’ll find some random things from emptying out your closet. Some of these might end up with those other odds and ends from drawers and shelves. As you examine the various items figure out where the really need to be kept – storing them close to where you use them. I’ll address those odds and ends in a future post. For the time being, put away what you can. Find a place to store those things that are pending.
When you pull everything out of the closet before you are done, you’ll have to look at everything. It’s too easy to skip things when you just pull things out willy-nilly! It’s simple to avoid those items we dread unless we aim to get everything out before we’re done.
Dig in and have fun! Enjoy the happiness of going to your closet and only finding what you enjoy wearing, since it fits and you like it.
