It's that time of year when having the windows open becomes a small, yet amazing comfort in our day to day lives. It's the time when things start to feel a little cluttered, boring, or redundant, and we have every desire to start from scratch and rearrange our furniture.
Cory and I have been struggling with our home ever since we moved in. It is a 16th century home that has beautiful hardwood floors, but not a lot of natural lighting and not very wide rooms. It is railroad style (you must pass through one room to get to another) and because of that we always have to have sizable walkways that are passable for anyone who visits. Combining two homes has been a challenge, then organizing our wedding gifts, and I think are finally on the verge of turning this rental into a home.
Last weekend we began a month-long cleaning spurt. Each weekend we're tackling a different room or area and putting it into shape. Our first big task: the closet.
Older homes do no thave many closets for the simple fact that people did not own many outfits to store. So, believe it or not, for 2 people in a pretty sizable home, we have only ONE closet. Just one! Thank goodness it's a walk-in or we would really be up a river!
Cleaning out my closet always gives me a headache just thinking about it. I finally narrowed down why: I never want to toss out clothes that I love but don't fit anymore. It's an attack on my self-esteem and sometimes a motivator to hit up the gym. Realistically though, I never get back down to that orignial size. Somtimes, it's the dryer to blame, but bottom line, I'm probably not going to change enough to actually put those clothes back into their originial use.
5 Sanity Saving Tips for Closet Cleaning
1. Remove everything and wipe down your closet.
Be it the racks, hangers, floor, or carpet, your closet is probably the last place you imagine to hoard dirt and grime, but man it gets filthy! A good vaccuming, sweeping, or attack via Clorox wipe can really do wonders to perk up the smell and air quality!
2.Decide how you want to organize your clothing.
I organize mine by garment type. For example, my closet is in order by: dresses, skirts, tops, sweaters, cardigans, purses. This enables me to save time in the morning because I know what area of the closet to look first, depending on what I want to wear. I know some of my friends even go to the extent to organize their clothes in ROYGBIV order after they put their items in order by type.
3. As you re-hang items, be serious. Ask yourself these questions:
-When was the last time I wore this?
-Does it fit (honestly)?
-Does it match my current style?
I clean out my closet about once a season and toss out everything that doesn't match my current style. I keep a lot of staples (black dresses, formal attire, etc.), but if I have had a sundress for 3 or 4 years and it looks too "young" to me, I will just toss it into the donation box, because I know it will just take up space! The other nice realization is you'll never be stuck in the morning attempting to put on clothes that don't fit! Talk about wonders for your self-esteem! You're only surrounded by the clothes that you love and fit you--talk about a woman's dream closet!
4. Have a place to store items for donations/yard sales/trash.
It will be easier to get rid of items if you automatically put them somewhere.
5. Are you really going to wear those shoes again?
For the longest time I had a pair of bright blue BCBC stilletos. I loved them. I wore them all the time when I first got them, regardless if I was wearing a dress/skirt, or blue jeans. Times have changed and so has my style. Even though I have fond memories of those shoes, I knew there was no way I was going to be sliding them on any time soon, and after looking through the garments I decided to keep, I didn't really have an outfit they would match anyway! So I tossed them into the donation box as well. The same with purses. If I've worn it out or doesn't match, toss it! I have kept a few designer bags in hopes to consign them next weekend... but I know I won't need them anymore. It's just not who I am anymore!
I hope this helps you tackle your spring cleaning list! It made the world of difference for me to look through my wardrobe and have a realisitc talk with myself.
On a final note, I thought I would share a few closets that are oh-so-pretty (and also realistic!) to me right now :)
xo,
Liz
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