I was just going to post one tip today, but in thinking about my bedroom closet, I realized I have a few more I could share. But the first one is the BIG tip of the day:
* Keep a "donation bag" on the floor of your closet. A kitchen-sized trash bag works perfectly. When something doesn't fit right or you realize it's time to give it to Salvation Army or Good Will, put it in the bag. That way, when you get the little notification in the mail that they'll be in your neighborhood, you don't need to scour the house for items you need to get rid off. I use the bag in my closet for all donation items, not only clothes. There are shoes in there, a plastic tea pitcher, it all goes in the bag!
* Get rid of clothes that you haven't worn in the last year. (UNLESS you've been pregnant for the last year) Seriously people - by the time you fit back into "those pants," they'll be out of style. And when you DO lose the weight you gained during the Christmas of '06, you'll want to go shopping for things that fit your new, slim, everything-shifted-during-labor body anyway! Get rid of it - unless it fits and you love wearing it, it's clutter.
* When you put clothes away, put them where they belong. If you're in a hurry and you just shove a bunch of pants, shirts and sweaters in the wrong area, you will spend WAY too much time looking for them when you want to wear them. It's so not worth it! Take the extra 3 minutes and put the pants together, the skirts together, the sweaters together...you get the idea.
* Contain things in baskets. The types of things I'm talking about (aside from dirty clothes, of course) are:
- Dry cleaner items - Do you go to the dry cleaner often? Have a basket or handled bag to toss clothes that need to go to the cleaner.
- Clothes to be ironed - Somehow things always make it from the laundry room to my closet that have huge wrinkles in them.
- Stray shoes or socks - Sometimes the lost sock reappears after you've thrown away it's mate...how frustrating is that? Consider keeping it around for a few weeks to see if the pair shows up.
- Lingerie - It took me about a year to realize that I get dressed in my closet, but all of my underwear, socks and sports bras were in my dresser in my bedroom. Yet there was a perfectly handy, unused shelf between the top and bottom racks of my clothes; it just sat there collecting dust bunnies. So I bought some baskets and put my socks, bras, sports bras and underwear in them. Now all of my clothes are together - ingenius!
That's all I came up with for the closet. Do you have any brilliant ideas for keeping your closet tidy?
We hang-dry most of our clothes, especially shirts. Rather than putting them on a rack, then on a hanger, I put them on hangers straight from the washing machine, then hang the hangers on the rack (whether that's inside or out in the sun). Effortless transition to the closet, and things are more likely to get hung nicely rather than sloppily folded and shoved in a drawer.
ReplyDeleteFor shoes, the easiest way to keep them organized is to store them in their original boxes (helps keep them looking nice, too). If there's not enough room for that, hanging organizers save tons of space and make shoes immediately recognizable in the closet ... no more searching through mountainous piles on closet floors.
Two big separate hampers in the closet, so clothes are sorted immediately. I only do about 2 or 3loads of laundry a week, and it is always sorted and ready to go in the washer. And the reason I only do 2 or 3 loads of laundry a week, is because most of our clothes are re-worn a couple of times. So as soon as the work pants come off, they are back on their hanger before the sweat pants go on.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest things that have helped me in my closet are shoe organizers. I just have a couple of those plastic things you set your shoes on. It's low profile and keeps the bottom of the closet from looking like a train wreck!
ReplyDeleteFunny you should post on cleaning closets. That is what I spent my Saturday doing. What a pain. I love the idea of having a donation bag. That will really come in handy.
ReplyDeleteOne reason I don't have a dresser is because I get dressed in my closet.
ReplyDeleteI love the donation bad idea, it would make keeping up with everything so much easier.
Well those were some great tips : ). Thanks. Happy Valentines Day.
ReplyDeleteMy closet stays extra tidy because everything I own is always dirty or on the floor of another room.
ReplyDelete:)
And my shoes? Well, I have a two year old that comes and steals them, wears them around the house, and then deposits them where he sees fit...which is never back where they belong!
:)
So not an organized closet girl!