How to Organize and Customize Your Closet

This time you mean it. You are going to tackle your closet! To really clean out your closet and get rid of the clothes you don't wear so you can see what you have and get dressed faster, try using the 6-box method. Pick a day when you'll have a block of uninterrupted time. Make sure you sort warm weather clothes in warm weather, and cold weather clothes when it's chilly out. You may feel differently about an item when it's in season, and less connected to it when it's not.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 6 boxes

1. Get 6 big boxes. Label them "Keep," "Donate," "Dump," "Fix," "Maybe," and, if you're the sentimental type, a box labeled "Archive."

2. Start with jackets, suits and separates. Keep your essentials, the clothes that make you feel good, the clothes that have worked for you over and over as long as they're in good condition, still fit and don't look dated.

3. If you're the same size and haven't worn something in a year or more (some recommend 6 months), plan to give it away unless it's evening wear. An evening outfit or separates that look and feel great can be worn for years. A trick to knowing which pieces you wear most is facing all of your clothes hangers the same way. When you wear an item, flip the hanger around. The backwards hangers will be your most popular pieces

4. Throw out clothes that aren't fit to donate. Keep a few things for dirty jobs like gardening, painting and store them with your tools.

5. Put anything that needs a hem, button, alteration or cleaning into the "Fix" box. Once everything else is organized, come back to this box and get to work. For things you can't fix yourself, go to the dry cleaner or tailor (every woman needs a good tailor--if you don't have one, ask your friends and acquaintances for recommendations).

6. If you're not wearing an item but want to save it, it shouldn't be in your closet. Gather anything you want to save for sentimental reasons and put it in the "Archive" box. Make sure these clothes are clean, and pack them away in archival quality boxes with layers of tissue paper and cedar blocks or chips. Store the box in a cool, dry place to protect your clothes.

7. This is the fun part! Make a list of things you need, like a new shell for a favorite suit, or a new white shirt to replace the 4 with yellowing you just got rid of. Put the keepers back in your closet and revel in all your new space--and in being able to see your clothes. And enjoy getting dressed the next day; it'll be so much easier and faster and now you get to go shopping!

[bethany1202]

on 9/15/2009 Great tips for cleaning out the closet.