A Wardrobe Consultant's Closet Confession

Messy Closet

See that picture of the messy closet above? Well, it’s a picture of MY CLOSET! 

Yes that’s right I, a wardrobe consultant, have a messy, unorganized and cluttered closet. There, I said it.

Now, my closet wasn't always this way. Honestly and truly I kept my closet clean and organized. But then, you know how it goes- life got crazy, I was travelling non-stop over the summer, work got super busy, dishwasher broke (so I spent a giggillion hours researching new appliances), back to school shopping, birthday planning for the little one and so on and so forth…

So last night when I went to put my clothes out for today (I at least keep up with this time saving ritual) I ended up wasting a lot of time searching for the shirt I wanted to wear and decided enough is enough! I slipped up, I owned it and now it's time to get back to a clean closet. Today begins the closet clean up. 

What's the big deal about a clean closet anyway?

I’ve blogged about closet organization before, but since we are starting a new season and well my closet’s a mess, I figured it was time to talk “Closet Re-Fresh” again.

So what’s the point of taking out the time and cleaning a closet? There are lots of benefits of a clean closet:

a) You can mix and match your clothes with ease.

b) Pick outfits quickly and get you out the door faster.

c) Make clothes shopping easier and faster- In other words, you’ll know what you own and therefore can assess what you need. So when you walk into a store (or go online) you don’t have to spend hours “just looking”. You go in, select the item you need, pay and you’re done!

d) Save you money- (See Pt. c) - You know what you own and you only buy what you need.

Just re-writing the benefits is therapy for me… I can’t believe I let my closet get to this point, but now I’m pumped and ready to clean!

Here's the step by step guide to an organized closet.

The one year rule- Go through your closet and pull out anything you have not worn in the past year. Then from that pile, pull out the basics, (i.e. - white button down shirts, navy blazers etc.). Try them on and make sure the fit!! I put these items back in my closet since they are timeless and can be worn regardless of fashion trends. However, if any of these items are pulled out the second go around, they don’t go back in the closet…

If it doesn't fit, you must… toss it…- No matter what your personal style, body shape, hair color, skin tone is, if you wear something that doesn't fit (either too small or too big) the item will not look good on you, so toss it. Now, if you’re on a real weight gain / loss program and you’re looking at these non-fitting items as motivation to get to a certain weight then yes, go ahead and keep them. If you’re not, chances are you won’t fit into these items again, so don’t let them create clutter your closet, get rid of them. And if by chance you do end up gaining / losing weight its all the more reason to go shop for new clothes :)

Sort the clothes by category- Now that you've tossed the unneeded items, it’s time to organize your closet. I like to organize mine by category- shirts, pants, blazers, etc. all separated so I can easily see what I own and can therefore mix and match to create many different outfits.

Assess your needs- Once you have your clothes organized you can then see what you need. Take an inventory of your basics (black pants, button down shirt, etc). Check to see if you have enough seasonal items- sweaters for winter, shorts for summer...

What to do with that pile of clothing on your closet floor- Now, for the stuff to get rid of… There are several organizations that take clothing donations. Plus, with the holidays coming around there are many more organizations that will be looking for clothing donations. There are also garage sales, clothing swaps, etc. Whichever option you chose, make sure you get rid of the clothes quickly otherwise they may lay around creating more clutter or end up going back in the closet and there goes all that hard work…

So there you have it- easy tips to re-fresh your closet. Do you have any other closet cleaning tips? I’d love to hear them!

OK, I’m off to start cleaning, are you?

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Tip Tuesday #4- Organize your Morning Clothing Routine at Night!

You’ve got a big presentation today and you overslept… “Junior” can’t find his book report, “Sally” is having a full blown melt down because her cheerios spilt, and “Daddy’s” out of town on a business trip… In your “super-Mom” ways you solve the book report and Cheerios crises. But now, you literally have 3 seconds to get ready. You throw on your go-to black suit, which has some sort of stain on it, and your slightly wrinkled blouse and head out the door. On your way to work you’re more focused on whether or not people will notice the “unknown stain” rather than thinking about your presentation.

This example may or may not have happened in your house, but it’s safe to say that mornings can be a hectic!!! So, what’s something you can do to make it less hectic? Start your morning the night before by organizing your clothes at night! It may sound weird but it works. I do this, almost, every weekday and it’s been a huge time saver. So much so that I have also started putting my daughter’s clothes out the night before...

Laying out your clothes the night before not only helps you save time but affords you the opportunity to mix and match your outfits so you’re not wearing the same thing over and over. You are also better able to plan your outfit for the day- whether you have a meeting, an average day at work, taking the kiddos on a play date, networking event, etc. Like in the above example, if you did have a huge presentation the next day you probably would have noticed the stain earlier and chosen a different outfit which would leave you more time to think more about your presentation, and no about the stain…

While this is a quick tip, it’s sure to save you lots of time!! Hope this helps!

Please note there will not be a Tip Tuesday post next week so we can all enjoy some family time before 2013 comes to an end... Thanks for reading and I wish you all a wonderful holiday season!