The Great Closet Clean Out

 I mentioned about a week ago that I was going to begin a secret mission. I've been worried about my style choices, or lack there of lately, and I think it all had to do with the contents inside my closet. Most of the items, if not the majority, were geared toward a girl who used to work full-time in Corporate America. That girl doesn't exist anymore. Instead, she's running errands, taking her son to the park/farmstead/zoo, playing, going on the occasional lunch date with girlfriends, hanging out with friends for much needed mama nights, and not once wearing a pencil skirt or suit.

I decided it was time to truly go through the pieces I own and take a look at each one. Do I really need as many dresses as I have? No, but I do need a simple black sheath, a cute cotton dress for spring and summer outings, and some chic dresses for the times I do go out for fun events in town. I did this with suits, skirts, pants, tops, and blazers. And the result? A streamlined closet that works for play, date nights, and dressy occasions. And I am one happy girl!

It all started with a closet that looked like this. You can see why I was completely uninspired! I couldn't see my way through what I owned to put together anything cute.

I bought a rolling rack and literally took sections at a time out of the closet and looked at each piece one by one. I did this five times with a load like this each time! I made a consignment pile, a donation pile, and a maybe pile. I then weeded back through the maybe pile to see if I really wanted to keep it. From that pile, I think I might have kept three or four pieces. Not too shabby, if you ask me.

   

Then I got down to this. Once I got all the pieces back in the closet, I went through them again and organized them by groups. Starting with the far left it's pants and dresses from long to short. The middle is tops. It goes from sleeveless to long sleeve. Then shorts, short skirts, long skirts, vests, blazers, and leather jackets.

 

 

After all the hanging things were organized, I moved on to sweaters in the boxes below, scarves, the piles of unfolded sweatshirts and miscellaneous stuff on the sides of the jeans, and shoes. I am down to one sweater box, a few sweatshirts I actually wear, a few scarves that all fit on the scarf ring and not hanging over my beautiful shoes, and shoes are all in their respective boxes (if they have one). It's simply amazing and incredibly efficient!! See the results!

 Would I give anything to have a giant walk-in, yes! But, if I had that, I think my hoarding issue would be even worse! The 1960s closet works for me, now, because I'm trying to take an artful eye to my wardrobe and keep it to pieces that I will actually wear and can style for an easier lifestyle.

I challenge you to try it too! It truly does make you feel accomplished and I feel like I have a much better handle on my style! Now, if you are in the market for a cleaner closet, but feel you don't have the patience or haven't a clue where to start, call me! I am up for the challenge! And, while we're at it, I will make sure you have multiple looks when all is said and done!

I am one happy girl after a week of hard work! Up next, the big consignment sale!! Can't wait to see you all there!

Happy Friday!  

Keep, Toss or Giveaway?

My friend Tina started a blog, Tina's 100 Day Challenge, and I've been inspired! She is challenging herself to get rid of one item every day for the next 100 days. It might be a set of something but it is still considered one item for that day. As I look around my house, I see plenty that I can get rid of, starting with my bathroom! Now, this is just one cleanup effort of several, but its start!

My nail polish collection was running a muck! I love nail polish, but I needed to get real about the amount of polish I actually needed. See below the clutter that I was facing!

And then there was this drawer!! A drawer that I literally threw anything and everything into that I wasn't sure what to do with.  As you can see, it was just a tad cluttered. So, I pain painstakingly went through each item and made piles; keep, toss or giveaway. Because it's makeup, how could I possibly giveaway you ask? It was stuff I've never used! Lipsticks that were samples from bonus time giveaways that I knew wouldn't work on my skin tone. Lipglosses for the same reasons. And, all of the polish from above that never gets worn, or I had in similar colors, made the giveaway pile as well.

 

Below is the outcome. I took little baskets that were already under the counter and used them in the above drawer. I've dedicated this drawer to all nail polish and I've tried to organize it by color. Now, I can open my drawer, find the color I want, and apply. No more opening a cabinet door and prowling through endless bottles to find the one I want. I am super happy with the result.

And why stop at the bathroom clutter? I moved on to the jewelry drawer of my dresser. As you can see from the two photos below, I had a mess of jewels that I sort through on a daily basis. I'm often asked, "how do you remember what you have" and from the looks of things below I'm not sure either! I literally opened every black bag to find the piece I was looking for. Super inefficient!  I scoured the organization aisle at Target last weekend to see what I could find. And....

I found these awesome individual compartment dividers! I would have preferred to have them all in black, but I do love how the hot pink adds a little color each time I open the drawer. And now I can see everything I own! And, like in the bathroom, I've made my "giveaway" pile but this time I plan to consign. Why not make a little money off of my bling, right? (Side note: I have now dedicated two small drawers in my dresser to my jewelry. Once a sock drawer that was cleaned out and placed elsewhere, I have doubled my jewelry space.)

Have we inspired you to do the same? If so, let me know how you organized your things for a more functional you! Up next....the dreaded closet organization! I need an entire week to get that completed. I did, however, purchase new hangers. Stay tuned!