Spring is finally here. Days are warmer, longer and everybody I talk to is feeling a bit sunnier. It is a good time to review what you did and didn’t wear this winter and to refresh your memory of your spring and summer wardrobe. Grab some give-away bags and some dry cleaning hangers for things you want to sell and give the closet an organizational refresh for the season.
Take out one category at a time to sort it somewhere close by that has good lighting. Usually, the bed is a good place to work, and if you have a rolling clothes rack that you can set up, that’s the best way to look at and sort hanging items. For women, I like to start with dresses and skirts because they are often items purchased for an occasion and not worn on a weekly basis. This makes them a little easier to judge as “keep” or “let go.”
Once you sort out the keeps, organize them by color and put them back in the closet, Be sure to wipe off the closet rail and surrounding areas where those items lived before putting them back. Just a simple, slightly damp dust rag is best for this task.
I like to do all of the hanging items first because if you do nothing else, your closet should look astonishingly better after sorting and colorizing just this portion. I get rid of dry cleaning bags on all but the dressiest, least worn items.
Now is the time to get all the hangers to match if possible. Try to keep it to one style and one color. There are pros and cons to every type of hanger. The thin velvet covered hangers are great space savers, but people complain that they stretch out the shoulders of blouses and sweaters just as badly as wire hangers do.
Wooden and padded hangers are better, but they take up a huge amount of space and, truth be told, anything you don’t wear that often will eventually stretch in the shoulders if it is left on any hanger too long. Also, if there is dust on the shoulders of a garment, or moth holes, that is a sign the item hasn’t been disturbed (worn) in quite a while and you can probably live without it.
Another benefit of velvet hangers is that garments don’t slip off of them easily, which is important for slippery items, like camisoles. However, for golf shirts and t-shirts (which I like to hang if there is space), this is a negative because you can’t pull the garment off the hanger with ease. Think about what you are hanging and decide which hanger is appropriate. For golf or sports shirts and t-shirts, smooth plastic tubular hangers are great. They aren’t beautiful, but they are super functional and inexpensive.
After going through the hanging clothing, tackle the shoes and wipe the floor. Then look at anything on the upper shelves. Does it really belong in the closet? Most people have memorabilia up there, costumes, camera equipment, luggage, etc. It’s not easy space to access, so you don’t want to store anything you use on a regular basis up high. It’s still nice to use the space for something related to clothing, like costumes or keepsake clothing that should not be mixed in with your regular wardrobe.
Get into the drawers and shelves next and keep taking it one category at a time. If you have a lot of slippery items, like scarves, consider putting them in a bin or basket on a shelf. Struggling with folding everything perfectly is usually a waste of time and hard to keep up over the long term.
After a good purge you will probably have cleared some hanging space. Is there something clogging the drawers that could be hung? Or have you cleared more shelf space and now have room to store something easily folded, like jeans, or display something attractive, like handbags? Another good use of cleared space is to bring in items that had to be stashed in other closets in the house that really belong in this particular closet.
A beautifully organized closet is its own reward, so try not to rush out and shop. You should find that less is more and it is much easier to put together outfits and get dressed with ease in clothes that fit and flatter.