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Step 1
Sort through the clutter. Seperate items into four catagories:
1.Keep - These are clothes you ACTUALLY WEAR. Not that pair of impossibly tight jeans that someday you might fit in to. These are clothes that fit you, and free of holes and rips. If you find something you want to keep but it's ripped, fix it RIGHT NOW! Don't wait until the next time you reach for that shirt, because you'll forget. If you know you're never gonna sew the tear in that dress, it may be time to let go of it.
2. Store - These are things like jackets, hats, cocktail dresses - special occaion or seasonal items.
3. Give - It can be difficult to throw things we no longer need away. Be honest with yourself about what you actually need. Having a 'give' pile it a way to purge your closets without that wasteful feeling of just throwing still decent clothing away. Besides, there are people out there who could really benefit from your donation.
4. Toss - That old flannel shirt, the one with the ketchup stains and the thumb-holes ripped in the sleeves (a tribute to your old punker days)....yeah, throw that thing away. You're not gonna wear it, and no one else is going to want to wear your old grungy shirt either.
Once you have everything sorted, you can see what exactly needs to be stored away. -
Step 2
Maximize your space. You should have at least one top shelf - this would be a great place for all those "Store" items.
If your closet doesn't already have one, install a bar for hangers. These can be bought in kits and are very easy to install.
Space-saving tierd and belt hangers keep pants, skirts and accessories at eye level, so you can see what you've got to work with when getting dressed.
Hanging your "keeper" clothes by color lets you automatically know where where a particular item will be found. -
Step 3
Add more light. Think of going through your closets as a shopping experience; you can't shop in the dark. Installing an over head light is an easy way to brighten the space, and it's another quick fix you can do with a kit from the hardwear store. Look for a light with a motion sensor, that way, it'll only turn on when you need, so you won't be wasting power.
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Step 4
Get a shoe rack. I like to keep a cute box on the floor of the closet, so I can easily kick off my everyday shoes. All other shoes are stored on the back of the door where they are matched, and I don't trip on them while looking for other things.
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Step 5
Add a drawer unit. Drawers can be used to hold jewelry, hosiery, lingerie and socks, letting you pull together an entire ensemble right there without having to root around for anything.
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Step 6
Give it some color. Getting dressed should be fun! Spruce up your closet with a fresh coat of paint in an eye catching color, or a quirky wallpaper. Add a mirror onto the front of the closet door so you can quickly decide if you really want to wear that sweater with those jeans, or if the turtleneck would look better (I'd go with the sweater, but that's just me).
Comments
crgibs said
on 11/12/2009 Great advice! 5*
e-Rambler said
on 11/6/2009 Great tips on improving (increasing) closet usage space and organizing it. 5*
MrBB said
on 11/5/2009 A shoe rack on the door definitely helps and it doesn't take up much space. Don't forget you can use old T-shirts for car waxing.
sonni57 said
on 11/5/2009 Great info for getting closet space.
ourlastchance said
on 11/4/2009 I really need to work on this catch all I call a closet. Thanks for the great tips to improve the functionality of my closet space. 5* and recommend