YOU GUYS!
I have to first apologize. I’m just now realizing that I promised weeks ago that I would share my “How To Organize The Closet From Hades” experience. I was flipping through my camera looking for a food pic, and I stumbled across all of my before and after closet cleaning pictures. So that’s what’s happening today. It just completely escaped my mind. To get the back story of my organization habits/check out part one of my reorganization rampage, click the link to read Organizing Part One//The Top Drawer. Showed ya my top drawer and then left ya high and dry…such a tease.
Sooooooo…this is about to get embarrassing. The good news is it ends well.
I used to take up every inch of my side of the closet, and not in a good way. If a stack of clothes got too high or out of reach, articles of clothing would get shoved into any nook and cranny I could find. I just had so much STUFF and not enough SPACE.
Now, I also want to be clear, let me emphasize the word STUFF. I don’t mean “I just had so much stuff” as in, “oh good heavens I love all of my fabulous clothes, they’re all so perfect, I just don’t have enough room for them, poor little old me”. No. I had a lot of stuff. Stuff I didn’t wear anymore. Stuff that didn’t fit me anymore. Stuff that I’ve somehow hoarded over the years because of that one off chance that I “might” wear it again.
Stuff. Say no to stuff.
I feel like a lot of us have this same problem. We have a lot of stuff, but not a closet of quality clothes that we treat well and get good use out of. As I get older, one thing I know I want is a more mature closet. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good deal and will bargain shop till I drop, and if no one is stopping me, I’m wearing yoga pants 24/7/365. However, it’s time to cleanse and work towards a lighter and more organized closet space. Declutter your closet, declutter your life, declutter your mind. So let’s go over the damage, and cover the rules.
The top half of the closet/most of what’s hanging up.
And what the bottom half used to look like at any given moment.
I know.. this ish was baaaaaaaad.
I spent a lot of time reviewing other articles and blogs and I made a few simple rules for myself. Since we’re dealing with clothing that’s not of the undergarment nature, unless what I decided not to keep was in rough shape, I either donated it or added it to my Poshmark account {more on that in a minute}.
Here are the rules:
1. If it doesn’t fit, get rid of it.
2. Okay so it fits, but do you REALLY like how you look in it? {I had a few things like this, I thought I liked the top in store, but then when I got home for whatever reason it didn’t fit the same way. Then I never wore it and it just took up space}
3. Even if it fits, have you worn it in the past 6 months {or last season depending on the time of year}? If the answer is no, get rid of it.
4. Does it fit the style that you’re going for these days? {i.e.– are you going for a more muted color look? Preppy? Boho-chic?} Whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish with your wardrobe, if it doesn’t fit the “idea” you have, get rid of it.
5. Take everything out and invest in quality hangers. {if your closet is anything like mine, you need to block off an entire evening or day where this is the only thing you focus your attention on.}
6. Also, buy wine. You’re going to need it.
As seen on Insta.
These velvet lined hangers are my go-to. I always buy 18 packs for like $10 at Marshall’s//T.J. Maxx. They keep your tops from slipping off, no matter how wide the neck line on the shirt. They’re all I use.
After going through everything, I had a huuuuuuge donation pile that I ended up taking to Goodwill the next day, and I also had a Poshmark pile. Poshmark is a great way to sell your clothes online, especially when they’re a little bit higher quality. To see my “closet” of what I’m selling online, click here. It’s a little bit of a process to build your closet, so I’m still adding a few things but you get the idea.
And now for the finished product:
I also nabbed a six dollar shoe rack from Target….
For the top of the closet, investing is some type of storage container is key. After taking measurements to make sure everything would fit, I headed to IKEA for the Tupperware bins.
I designated one bin strictly to sweaters, and the other to flannels, button ups, and jeans. When it comes to how to fold shirts and sweaters, you HAVE to start doing it this way…
and now for the t-shirt drawer…
Yes. I have a lot of Marshall t-shirts. This is actually not a lot compared to what it used to be.
I used to see this t-shirt folding method online and I ignorantly thought, “no, not for me”. Well, little did I know that this is the ONLY way you should be organizing tops you don’t hang. It saves much more space than you would think, and you’re able to actually see what your options are, rather than just what’s at the top of the stack.
When you’re reorganizing your closet or purging your clothes, keep those six rules above in mind. While at times it was difficult to part ways with some articles of clothing, being able to declutter that space felt so much better than hanging on to a couple shirts because I might wear them again some day. The time for spring cleaning is coming up fast, and I would definitely include closet cleaning on your list of things to spruce up.
Have you guys ever had a cleaned your closets like this? What were some of the rules you used?
Tags: closet cleaning, how to clean and organize your closet, drawer, folding, tips strategies, techniques, spring cleaning
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