Linking up with Shay for Let’s Look At…
Back in 2016, my closet was a hot mess. I was not utilizing it to its fullest and I needed help. After teaming up with Lindsey Jane, an organizer, to talk about how to tackle the mess in my closet in what I called Project Organization, I was able to find inspiration on Pinterest and then have my dad help me execute it almost exactly. You can read about how we did it in Tackling the Mess.
In the beginning of the month, I felt like I needed a refresh with my closet again. I have been using the same organization systems in place BUT the items in my closet were all just messy. I needed to go through them all, take out the items that I have been hoarding and not wearing and then organize them so I can actually see what I have. Sounds easy right?
For starters, this is what my closet looked like at the beginning of this project…
Yup, that is real life. Looking at this photo now, it looks the closet threw up my clothes and shoes. HA! Am I proud that I let it get this bad? NO but sometimes things get pushed to the side and you forget to finish them. #reallife
My first task was to take a look at my shoes.The middle section, the very top section and the bottom left section are are all shoes. I rotate them out depending on the season and while some shoes are easy to store than others (I’m looking at you Boots!). I also went through and took out the shoes I haven’t worn, the shoes that hurt my feet but look cute and the ones I should have retired a long time ago. I made three piles- sell, donate and throw away. You can see the donate pile in the foreground with the yellow and green heels (I haven’t worn either of those since 2011!)
After taking out the ones I wasn’t wearing, I was able to organize my shoes in the middle section much easier. The shoes I wear most often are the easiest to reach and the other wear once in a while shoes either on the below or above them. My boots and cold weather shoes are stored on the top until that season comes.
Next was to take a look at the clothes. I have my shirts on a bar on the top left, my pants and skirts on a bar on the bottom left and on the right I have all my dresses and coats. The bottom right area is for my purses and tote bags.
I went through each shirt and took out anything I haven’t worn this summer/season; I also took out anything that I really dislike and avoid wearing. (You know those kind of shirts!) After editing what I had, I then organized the shirt styles from Long sleeves on the left to three quarter sleeves to short sleeves and then finally sleeveless. I find separating each style helps me find it quicker.
I moved on to the pants and skirts. Again, I edited anything I didn’t wear this season and if I avoided anything either. I put my wintry skirts (and my princess skirt) to the left then worked my way from black dress pants, navy dress pants, colored pants and then finally jeans. I found a few pairs of pants that I need to hem that I put aside.
My dresses and coats were next. I keep my everyday dresses and my fancy dresses separate. I do not want to be tempted to wear a fancy dress one day to work. HA! Again, I organize my dresses from thin straps to thicker to long sleeve. I keep my blazers together along with my everyday lighter jackets.
My last stop on my closet tour is my purses and tote bags. There were a few bags that I was holding on to because they were sentimental but literally falling apart. I had to finally part with them and remember that they had a great life and I have the memories with them. I put the bags that I use the most towards the front and the bigger tote bags on the bottom.
After all of that, I felt like I have some sort of organization back in my closet. I took a step back to look at it and I breathed a sign of relief, I can finally see everything and it looked so much more organized and easier to deal with.
Here is the after photo:
If you are wondering about the clothes hanging on the left side of the door…. in a typical Type A fashion, I get my outfits together and iron them all and then hang them in the closet according to what day I want to wear them on. I have been getting together 2 weeks of outfits at a time to make it easier for me. Getting dressed in the mornings have been a breeze!
