slides: 8 Steps To An Organized Closet

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Kristin MacRae, GoLocalWorcester Organizing Expert

Do you know what is lurking in the back corners of your clothes closet? When was the last time you took everything out of your clothes closets? If it has been over a year, that is way too long. Here are 8 tips to get your clothes closets organized.

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Step 1

Start with a new plan

Make a plan to rotate your closet twice a year, Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter. You will never know what you have or have been missing if you don’t empty the closet.

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Step 2

Empty it out

Take everything out of your clothes closets, EVERYTHING. You can do it! Make 5 piles. Toss, Donate, Sell, Keep, and Maybe. Throw out anything with stains or holes or recycle them and use them as rags. Take any clothes that are gently worn and still in good condition to the consignment store or have a yard sale. Donate anything you think the consignment store won’t accept.

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Step 3

Choose a secondary storage area

Don’t have room to store seasonal clothes? Keep in vacuumed sealed space bags (www.spacebag.com) or in under the bed containers (www.sterilite.com). Be sure your clothes are clean before you store them.

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Step 4

Rebuild the system

Take a look at your empty closet. Create a vision of what you want your closet to look like. Put the clothes you are keeping into categories, i.e, suits, dresses, pants, skirts, dress shirts, etc. Organize back into closet by color, style and category.

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Step 5

Combine accessories

Keep all accessories such as belts, scarves, hats and gloves organized and together. Hang them or keep them in organizing bins.

Photo: lilblueboo.com

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Step 6

Master the drawers

Have drawer organizers in all your drawers. Keep underwear, bras, and socks stored in drawer organizers. This will maximize your space and create more room in the drawer. They will also fit better if you fold them nicely.

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Step 7

Make a shoe system

Have a system for storing your shoes. Don’t let your shoes pile up on the bottom of the closet. How many times have you been late for an event because you couldn’t find a match to a shoe?

Photo: The Container Store

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Step 8

Don't leave the room

Try to stay in the closet area when organizing. Realize something needs to move to another room? Start a pile for those items. Once you are done organizing the closet you can put things away that need to go into other rooms.

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Future payoffs

It’s ok if you have a week when the closet might end up a mess. When you have your systems in place and everything has a home, straightening the closet is going to be a breeze!

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Stay focused!

Remember, stay focused and limit your distractions when tackling this project. When your closet is organized, you will be able to see everything you own. You will know what you have and what you need to buy. I can’t tell you how many times when working with clients they say, “I was looking for that” or “I forgot I had that”. Get organized and you will never speak those words again. You will save money, have more free time, less stress and more structure just because your closet is organized. Who knew? Organize! Energize!

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Get Organized Month

January is National Get Organized Month. On January 22, Kristin will be hosting a Girl’s Night Out at Village at Waterman Lake. More details on the Events page at www.organizinginri.com or on Facebook Organizing In RI.

Kristin Carcieri-MacRae, the founder and owner of Organizing in RI, has always enjoyed finding creative ways to streamline the environment around her. Through her organizing ability and her passion for motivating others to achieve their goals, Kristin created Organizing in RI. Kristin has appeared on air on www.talkstreamradio.com and Patricia Raskin's Positive Business Radio.