An Organized Closet is An Organized Mind

Every spring and fall I have to re-arrange, re-organize, and re-adjust my closet and drawers.  Living in the Northeast you have to have at least two sets of wardrobes.  Except for a few basics, you cannot wear the same clothes year round.  So unless you have a very large walk-in closet, there is a lot of packing away each season to make room for the current season of clothes.  I really don't have that many clothes compared to many people I know.  After I quit working a regular job every day I got rid of most of my work clothes, such as skirts, blouses and blazers.  And now that my boys are no longer living at home I have the upstairs guest room closet to store off season clothes in.  Having said all that, I still go through the twice a year routine of switching out the closet.  Of course, this is a perfect time to organize, throw away and donate.  Clean Sweep and Hoarding are two of my favorite shows.  There's just something about seeing a completely dirty and cluttered house or space being cleaned up, purged, organized and fixed up.  I'm of the mindset that there should be a place for everything and everything in it's place.  My only problem with this is that I am not a minimalist type of person.  I have a lot of stuff and collections.  My husband calls me an organized, clean, hoarder. 

Anyway, I got my closet and dresser drawers done for spring/summer.  We had two very cool and rainy days this week so it was a perfect inside project.  The timing was perfect because today is beautiful, hot and sunny and I'm wearing shorts and a tank top that were packed away in a Rubbermaid container.

This is where it starts.  I bring the two of these up from the storage closet in the basement.

Then I unpack it all, fold everything nice and neat in stacks, wash anything that looks dirty or too wrinkled, and sort out anything that no longer fits, is out of style, or I just don't wear and it goes into the Goodwill bag.

This is what I had for Goodwill when it was all done.  Got them dropped off today.  I always ask for a receipt so I can claim as a donation on our taxes.  Most everything is in excellent condition, but there just comes a point where I'm packing and unpacking some of the same things each season without ever putting it on.  Someone else may get some use out of it.

I also had two bags of garbage (smaller bags).  The garbage mostly came from my dresser drawers.  Old socks, underwear and "just junk that gets stuffed in a drawer because you don't know what else to do with it at the time but you're not sure you want to get rid of it" types of things.

I finally went through my hoarded stack of greeting cards.  For some reason I would save every birthday, mother's day, valentine's ,etc. card that I would get.  I broke down and went through each one. 

If there was something really special about it or something hand written inside by my kids, or husband, mom or dad, then I saved it.  Otherwise it went into the garbage bag.  Sometimes things are so hard for me to get rid of but there are very few occasions where I later miss it or wish I hadn't let it go.

Every time I watch "Hoarders" I think I should become a professional organizer.

Once I had my half of the walk in closet finished, I moved on to my dresser.  The off season t-shirts, pajamas and "stay home don't go in public" clothes are stored in boxes under my bed. 

 

There are four of them.  If I find I have too much to fit into these, then they go to the "garbage" bag or the "Goodwill" bag.

So here's the finished result of my closet for Spring .

The cubbies and the hanging bags are from Lowe's closet organizing section.  I love that section.  I'm always looking at Wal-Mart and Lowe's for any new organization container that I might be able to use.

The sweaters and shirts are grouped according to sleeveless, short sleeve or tank top, so this hanging shelf works great.  Then another one for casual shoes.  The good shoes and heels are stacked in plastic see-through shoe boxes.

I keep winter sweaters folded and stacked on the shelf and in the stacked boxes on the shelf are purses.  A lot of purses went in the Goodwill bag this time.  I hate switching purses.  I pretty much use one per season.  It's just too much trouble switching all that stuff around and then going through the trouble of re-organizing a different purse.  More of them could probably be donated, but I'll decide that in the Fall.

In these baskets are scarves on the left and hats and gloves on the right. 

Here's a peek at one of my dresser drawers.  The one with T-shirts.  I didn't figure I needed to show underwear and socks, but I will say I got rid of a lot of junk from those two drawers and now they are very neat and organized, too.

And again, sleeveless on the left, short sleeves in the middle and long sleeves on the right. 

Now my mind feels so clear and organized and it really motivates you to keep it that way once it's done.  I know, my OCD is showing.  And really, this is my dream closet.

(Photo by California Closets)

I would love this, with a bench and mirrors and a chandelier right in the middle.  And it would be about the size that  my bedroom is now.  But until then, my Closet By Nina will do just fine.