The Closet: Pictorial Finale Tips




Our front door is red-y

     Getting red-y for Thanksgiving company has included major hustle, including two, years-begging-to-be-tackled, projects (painting the front door and organizing the closet). Today's post, The Closet: Finale (Part IV of IV) reveals MY side of our walk-in closet (October blogs reveal my angst about closet organization and contain photos of husband's side of the closet). 

      I'm embarrassed to admit that for 8 years our roomy closet has felt crowded. Now, with a logical set-up and tools, my father-in-law's favorite motto is fulfilled: A place for everything, and for everything a place. I now manage my clothing. Purging and re-surging were also beneficial (I actually found a couple of valuable pieces of lost clothing).

     This closet finale is like reality TV & National Treasure, combined. Reality because it is not perfect, but the tools were affordable and it is good enough, using items I already owned OR purchased at garage sales or thrift stores. A treasure because of unexpected, reasonable finds to creatively store our clothing. Here is a pictorial reveal, to possibly inspire other "closeteers":

 

Red & brown bins store t-shirts, rolled. Belts hang from a belt hanger.
The stool and counter-top help when dressing & to fold clothes.
Dress pants hang strategically folded above the counter
(pants to the right hang unfolded).

 

Occasional dress-up purses, binned




Garage sale medical cabinet's
counter top & 5 drawers...



...well worth $50 to neatly store socks & undies
(With shallow drawers, no digging through piles!)

     Now, for my scary, but now contained, REALITY side of the closet...please turn left...



 What's with women & shoes?
I could only part with 10 pairs, so viewable storage creates voila!



Yes, more shoes!

Side pocket lights illuminate
 high- & low-rise racks of shoes.
Thrifty CD high-risers, re-surged!!




 

Casual & long-sleeve workout shirts, rolled, are readily spotted.
Garage sale plastic shoulder covers appear professional, anyway.

 





Inexpensive, re-surged Wal-Mart dorm bookcase, lays sideways
for visible shelf storage of slippery work-out wear (pants, t-shirts, shorts)

 

     As promised in a previous blog, The Closet: Tips:  http://deovolente55.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-closet-tips.html  simply click the yellow link to view a gadget we use, the FlipFold. It neatly folds sweaters, shirts, and t-shirts: FlipFold's official ad demonstrates its benefits...(FYI we don't fold sheets with it)  .

 

Ikea's hanging storage for scarves is a bit
obsessive...with 28 scarf holes! Yowza!

The Closet: TIPS

The Closet (Blog #3)

Hubby's stations & rolled t-shirts in bins

     The following are some helpful organizing and cleaning tips learned thus far in my closet-organizing... adventure (see disclaimer below):

• Have a plan. Give time for ideas to germinate and evolve (isn't that perfect justification for why I didn't rush into this project?)

• Invest. It is worthwhile to spend the money for the right tools (shoe organizers, baskets).

• Cover your nose. If you have dust allergies, wear a dust mask. Vacuuming as much as possible before moving the clothes and shoes will alleviate allergies (I ended up sneezing with a stuffy nose).

• Promote visibility with lighting. To prevent the clothes-hiding factor, and to speed up your clothing and shoe searches, it is imperative to clearly see. I upped the wattage in my closet's bulbs; or, buy a few battery-operated dome lights, and place them on the inside walls.

• Provide clothing stations. My husband's workout/casual wear is now in one station (shoes, shirts, and pants), and his work clothes are in another station.

• File, file, file. As you hang your clothing, treat it like a filing system. Place your dresses together, your pants together, and so on. Within each section, align items by color, on color-coordinated hangers (c.-c. hangers are a dream idea from a website... it's not necessary, but certainly sounds professional).

• Store to save space. To save closet rod space, hang pants lengthwise (don't fold them in half--that bulks them up and encourages unsightly knee creases). Use hangers that have grips.

• Store for practicality. Sweaters and heavy knits keep their shape better when kept folded on a shelf. (If sweaters end up a bit wrinkled as you dress, use a water sprayer for wrinkles.)

• Roll with the flow. I rolled my husband's t-shirts (he has millions of them) for storage into handy bins pictured above. It is now easy to see his array of t-shirt options and quickly grab.

     Two additional notes:

1. Upcoming closet attractions: A helpful folding tool for t-shirts will be pictured in the finale Part IV of this series of blogs. Miscellaneous and jewelry organizing ideas will also be shown in future blogs.
2. Previous closet attractions: The Closet: GOIN' IN and STIRRIN' UP DUST... a/k/a... uncensored and sensory "pre-game" huddles to prepare for closet organizing... adventures. The upper right-hand column of this page lists these two introductory closet blogs. To view, simply click.

Synchronized Take-away: 1) Don't be penny-wise and dollar foolish, and 2) It is robbing yourself to buy something never worn.

Disclaimer: The size and shape of every clothes closet is unique. Mine tends to be... somewhat generous. However, most of the tips in this blog could work in conjunction with a closet/dresser combo.

The Closet: STIRRIN' UP DUST!

"The Closet," Blog #2's background: The following is a condensed, bulleted version of the spousal interaction which occurred on a Friday, AFTER my husband's always-busy workday and its collision with my  5  hours of closet organizing:

• Husband: What do you think about changing the location of the laundry baskets?
• Me: Actually, I like them where they are.
• Husband: OK.
• Caution:  TROUBLE is brewing! After applying make-up for our Friday evening Wendy's meal, I turn to annoyingly catch my husband doing... whaaaat? He's changing the location of the laundry baskets!
• Me: I've been working all day long organizing the closet and want the laundry baskets where I put them. I already tried them there and didn't like it. I turn my back and you change the set-up! without including me!... and yada, yoda.

 


Today's donation pile excludes the round pillow

     I now realize the physical and intangible dust that closet-cleaning stirs up. Wardrobe decisions include emotions. But chaos will be worthwhile for all, in the long run. Here is a re-cap of the beginnings of order (presented in the chronological order I performed them--Sensory Processing Disorder or HAMS doesn't necessarily allow me to work in an orderly fashion):

     First, it helps to allot a few days for this challenge AND purchase a few inspirational tools beforehand: Two random thrift store purchases birth in my mind the beginnings of order... a 4-tiered, sturdy shoe rack that holds 15 pairs of shoes and a storage basket. It's like Christmas in October.

• The huddled self-cheers begin: Start somewhere!! Just begin, with any step, to motivate myself.
• Store the ironing board. It takes up space and can be easily set up when needed. It is a magnet for strewn clothing. 
• Wade through zillions of dusty shoes. Some are ancient! The new shoe rack and arranging my shoes differently really helps, as well as getting rid of at least 10 pairs.

     To delay additional unsettling clothing decisions, I sensory react and distract, to the testosterone-laden portion of the closet. What was I thinking diving into that chaotic danger zone, attempting to create a semblance of order? This ultimately stirs up the emotions I shared in the beginning of this blog and includes these ??harmless?? actions:

• Create logical stations: Hubby's work shirts and pants are miles from each other. His exercise wear is equally scattered. His side of the closet begs for logical stations.
• Create a large shoe-purging heap: Hubby's work/casual shoes could fill a large bathtub, and he wears less than 6 of the pairs.

• Be storage-creative and re-use: I roll into the closet from another room, a mildly-used, small oak TV stand/storage unit. First, it needed to be cleaned out. I position it with the laundry baskets.

  
      It is now 4:30 p.m., and I know that my husband becomes uncharacteristically disturbed, with process chaos. He will hate the donation pile in the bedroom and the shoe-purging heap in the closet, but surely the day's productive accomplishments and closet-vacuuming will override the chaos.

    I re-position the laundry baskets and tweak a few more items, and then enjoy a much-needed shower. My husband will LOVE my work. NOT!

    Enough of the dusty mess. I stirred up both dust and thunder clouds, with allergy-sneezing and hairs standing on end. Click this blue link to read:   Round #1's GO-IN' IN!! -- MY WAY! MY WAY! MY WAY!

     My closet now has two beneficial seeds: 1) It has the beginnings of organized, and 2) it is manageable. Round two, done. Round three will be shared in my next blog.

The Closet: GO-IN' IN!

     Attempting to corral my disorderly clothes closet has been an unaccomplished goal for over 18 months. This to-do bullet has been erased and replaced, many times over. My closet is like the chaotic aftermath of a tornado... with endless, dusty debris. Bringing order and manageability to the beast seems like a dangerous duel. I'll sneeze from dust sensitivities, scale mountains of shoes, and unearth shocking surprises.

     I creatively procrastinate, finding thousands of other things to tackle. Interestingly, every other area of our home has been overhauled, except for under the kitchen sink (hmmm, maybe that HAS been re-organized).

     Why do I bristle at this looming project? After all, organization is one of my strengths. Maybe because of its dynamic nature, and feeling small, as portrayed in this entertaining 20-second video...

My Way! My Way! My Way!

 

  

     The closet and its contents are large, unruly employees who will not, most likely, easily submit to "My Way." Seasons, temperatures, styles, sizes and ultimately wardrobe changes nurture a mind-of-its own monstrosity: If I donate to charity this shirt that seems too loose now, WHAT-IF styles change? I like this skirt and paid lots of money for it, but... Oh, to have my daughter's intuitive fashion-sense.

     On the other hand, who knows what muck will be uncovered? There might even be a skeleton or two. Creepy!!

     Writing will therapeutically help me through this task. I will sensory blog the experience for accountability. I can make it through this... adventure! After consuming 2 days worth of mind-bending dark chocolate, I take the first step... GO-IN' IN!... to the (dim and dusty) closet.