Tackle Your Bedroom Closet
Is your bedroom closet a disorganized and cluttered nightmare? Symptoms include having “nothing to wear” despite giant piles of clothes in every corner of the bedroom and on the bed, bags of randomness on the closet floor, empty hangers sticking out at odd angles, clothes that are far from brand new but still have tags on them, and your three favorite outfits hung over the back of your bedroom chair.
All of this disorder is costing you. You’re stressed and avoid opening the closet door (that’s if it can even be closed with all the clutter on the floor), you can’t get dressed easily in the mornings, you have no idea where your good shirts are so you are forced to buy new ones, designer bags are squished beneath suitcases, your sleep is disturbed, and you risk tripping every time you get out of bed.
If you’re convinced that this is not a sustainable situation, it’s time to schedule one or two 4-hour sessions to tackle your bedroom closet.
Step-by-Step:
Decluttering and Organizing Your Closet
Step 1: Empty It Out
Yes, everything. As things come out, pile them by categories: shirts, pants, purses, shoes, etc. Now isn’t the time to get into the weeds on the mixed item bags and boxes, so just make that a category to deal with in step 5. Make sure to include items that are in your random piles throughout the room, clothes that are lingering in the laundry room, and clothes and shoes from any other areas of the house.
Step 2: Clean and Assess
Drag out your vacuum and cleaning products and get to work clearing cobwebs, dust, and pet fur. If shelves or hanging rods are loose, tighten them up now. Look for opportunities to use empty space. Can you add a shelf? How about some hooks or a back-of-the-door organizer?
Step 3: Sorting and Declutter
Have bags ready for donation and trash, and boxes or bins for items that “go elsewhere”. Establish some ground rules, such as only keeping items that fit (even if you plan to gain or lose weight), donating anything that is more than 3 months old and still has the tag on, and throwing away anything that is torn or stained. One category at a time, decide on each item, using your ground rules as a guide. Be realistic about how many of each type of item you can and will realistically use and let the rest go so that someone else can use them. For items that you decide to keep, return them to the closet once you finish that category, using the next step.
Step 4: Organize by Category and Frequency
Don’t just toss items back into the closet in a hurry or you’ll end up in a mess all over again. Group similar items together, with frequently used items given a prominent and easily accessible location. Sort first by type, then by use, and finally by style or color. For example, hang shirts together, then sort by sleeve length, then by pattern and/or color. Do your best to organize so that nothing is stored on the floor (except maybe suitcases) so that regular cleaning will be possible. Put items that are seldom used (such as extra handbags, hats, and sentimental items) up high since you won’t need to access them often.
Step 5: Deal With the Hard Stuff
Now is the time to break into those boxes and bags of random items. Take everything out and sort items into categories. Then follow the same process you did for the other closet items. Most of the time, the items you are dealing with here will be trash or they belong elsewhere. The decisions are usually easy, but it can feel overwhelming because there are often many small items. When doing this step, it can be helpful to call in a buddy to help or for moral support.
Step 6: Distribute The Rest
Take your “goes elsewhere” category and bring those items to where they belong. If you have a spot for each item, great! If not, get it to where you think the final location will be, and you can deal with it when you organize that space. Do your best to get everything to its proper home or as close as possible to where its home will be, and avoid just shoving things in a new miscellaneous spot. Gather up the trash bags and take them outside to the bins. Put the donation bags straight into the car and make an appointment with yourself to drop them off (or better yet, do it right now).
Decluttering and organizing your closet is a big project, but once you are done, you’ll be able to sleep better, you won’t have “nothing to wear”, you’ll save money by not having to buy extras to replace lost items, and putting laundry away will take minutes.
