It's time to change out the clothes for the season in bedroom closets and I'm dreading this task. Mine is stuffed to capacity but I struggle with discarding any of my clothes and ... I love to shop. How can I tackle this to-do list and actually make a dent in my clothes-crammed closet?
"A functioning clothes closet is so important to our efficiency and even our sanity," says professional organizer Becca Clark, owner of Creative Convenience (convenientlyorganized.com) and Your Best Move, LLC. "It's usually the first thing we deal with every morning and you can set a pattern for your day depending upon how that interaction goes."
Clark adds that most people wear 20 percent of the clothes they own 80 percent of the time while the rest hang on racks undisturbed, just in case they are one day needed.
"Everything we have in our life either moves us toward our goals or farther away," she says.
To that end, she offers three key steps for dealing with clothes and closets:
1. Sort and purge
Pull out every garment and review it in bright light and then edit ruthlessly.
Don't put anything back in your closet that you don't love or that doesn't fit.
While sorting, ask yourself these questions of each item: Do I love it and feel great in it? Does it fit? If not, is it within a reasonable number of size ranges of my current body and was it expensive enough to justify keeping? Is it stained or worn, and how would I feel if I ran into a good friend/old flame/my mother/my boss while wearing it?
Keep in mind also that today's fashion is generally less formal than even a decade ago, with less need for business suits, Clark says. No one needs more than two outfits on hand for painting projects.
2. Organize
"Every closet and its contents are different and I always customize the plan for clients," Clark says. "Start by removing items that are not clothing-related if at all possible. Otherwise, closets can become places for old decor, holiday stuff, keepsakes and other distracting things [that] take over prime space."
Clark recommends hanging items first by type and then by sleeve length and color. Store coats and off-season items in a separate area.
"You only want to consider and make choices from a contained area of really useful stuff," Clark says. "This takes a bit longer up front, but is worth it in your daily hunt for the right outfit. Huggable Hangers are a great investment," she says, adding that "their attributes include that they are slim, nothing slips off, and they don't cause shoulder bumps even in most knits."
When it comes to drawer storage, Clark recommends a method suggested by Marie Kondo, author of the best-selling book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
"Fold items into a rectangular shape and stand them on end -- rather like a file drawer," Clark says. "You can easily view what you have and remove or replace items without disturbing everything else in the drawer," she says adding that she adopted this process years ago from a serious quilter who stored fabric this way. The value is obvious for T-shirts, shorts and pants, underwear, and other items often stored in flat inaccessible stacks.
3. Maintain
"Organizing is good; maintenance is harder but even more important," Clark says. It's best to start with a mental review of the cost of potential purchases (even the bargains) and consider how that money could be put toward something else like paying off debt or saving for a vacation.
Before buying something new ask yourself: How many do I already have? Where will I put it?
"Everything you buy has to be paid for, carried home and given a place. And eventually, you'll either put it in a bag and take it to the trash, a donation center, or pack it up and move it to a new place," she says. "It has a price far beyond what you pay in the store."
Once an orderly, easy-to-use-closet has been established, take the the following steps to keep it that way.
• Practice the "one in, one out" rule. Love that new sweater? Which one will move out to make a place for it?
• Keep a box or bag in the closet for anything that must be altered or needs special laundry attention. If not repaired in a month, it should be given away, she says.
Do you have a decorating or remodeling question? We'll get you an answer from an authority. Send your question to Linda S. Haymes, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203 or email:
lhaymes@arkansasonline.com
HomeStyle on 10/15/2016