~5 easy steps - in one day ~
Summer is a great time to refresh your wardrobe. You’ve brought your summer clothes out of hiding and are ready to put the sweaters and long sleeve tee shirts away for the season. (Yes, once we’ve adapted to Arizona climate, we pull out the sweaters when it drops down to the 50s!)
The closet in your bedroom is “prime real estate”. It should hold only the clothes that fit you and your current lifestyle. And fit the season.
1. First, Empty the closet and put all the contents on the bed. Add to the pile, clothes from your drawers, under the bed containers, and any other places you are storing clothes so you have the full impact of how much you have of each item.
2. Second, set aside what you didn’t wear last season before packing away or moving off-season clothes to the back of the closet. The best time to sort clothes is at the end of the season. It is still fresh in thought what you didn’t wear, what didn’t fit right, or what just looks tired. Time to pull those clothes from the starting line-up rather than packing them away for another season.
Sort clothes into bags marked: “Keep”, “donate” or “trash”. If undecided, put a “maybe” bag
in the garage to see if you really miss any of those items in the coming months.
Notice buttons missing? A broken zipper or a seam that needs sewing? A stubborn stain on one of your favorites that you plan to keep? Then set a time limit - 30 days - in which to get it taken care of at the local dry cleaners. And shoes that are scuffed, a purse that needs a strap sewn? Put them in a bag for the shoe repair. Take 5 minutes to put these items to your car so you can drop them off while you are out running errands. If you don’t get these items repaired within 30 days, place them in a donate bag and let them go. Having unfinished projects taking up space in your house or car can be heavy reminders of what you didn’t accomplish.
3. Consider a number of great charities like Dress for Success,
Hope’s Closet, or New Life Center in Goodyear that could make
good use of your donations!
4. Wipe down the shelves and clothes rod; clean the floor space in the closet. If you have considered buying containers for off-season clothes or shoes or you need new hangers, this is the best time to buy them or to install a closet system now that you have a better idea of the shoes and clothes you are keeping. An empty closet is a blank slate and a template for planning the most efficient use of your space.
5. Put back in the closet only what you will
wear, keeping in mind: Fit, Function, and
the Fabulous Feeling you experience when
you put those clothes on!