The Honest Guide to Organizing Your Closet: Part 1

This week I wanted to offer a different type of insight to organizing your closet.  Pick up any home magazine or click through tons of organizing blogs, you’ll find this topic is saturated.  Standard tips like get rid of clothes you don't wear, swap out seasonal clothes, etc. endlessly repeat themselves. But honestly if it was that easy why can it seem like the hardest thing to do?

So I was thinking about what I offer my clients as a professional organizer when working one-one-one with them to organize their closet. One of the biggest benefits is that I help them change their mindset...about their clothes, themselves, and their space.

I always start the session by sitting down and having a very honest conversation. During this we set some Ground Rules. This helps with making decisions when we actually start to go through their clothes. It’s this decision making process that most people get hung up on (yes that was a closet pun.)

Some examples of Ground Rules are:

• If it has stains, holes, missing buttons, broken zippers, etc it can go.
• If it is 2 sizes too small or too big it can be donated.
• If you haven't worn it in a year it can be donated.
• If you bought the item on sale because it was a good price, but haven't worn it, it can be donated (yes even if the tag is still attached!)
• If it is itchy, awkward looking, too sheer...anything that makes you uncomfortable, it can be donated.

The key is staying honest to the Ground Rules as you start to sort through your clothes.  I have found it can be helpful to write them down and post it on your closet door. That way if you get stuck making a decision you have a visual reminder of your goals. Ground Rules also support two philosophies that I strive for my clients to adapt to their lifestyle and wardrobe. 1) Be Kind to Yourself and 2) Set Yourself Up to Put Your Best Foot Forward

 1)Be Kind To Yourself

This specifically addresses clothes client's keep that are either too big or too small for them. My personal experience was with my favorite jeans from my pre-baby days. I kept telling myself I was going to get back into them one day.  Even several years later when I was back to my normal weight, healthy, and exercising, those jeans still didn't fit! And every time I looked at them I felt bad about myself. I should eat less, I should work out more! One day I decided I was going to be kind to myself and accept the body I have now. Everything else in my life changed when my son was born...why would my body be any different.

When you stare at a closet full of clothes every day that remind you of a body you once had, it is hard to not judge yourself on a daily basis. That is not being kind.

For bigger clothes that people cling too with the worry that they might gain weight again and need those clothes to fit in. That’s not honoring all their hard work to lose that weight. Not believing in themselves that they can keep that weight off...and that is not being kind to yourself. 

By letting go of these clothes we let go of the daily opportunity to be unkind and judgmental to ourselves.  

 2)Set Yourself Up to Put Your Best Foot Forward

Our wardrobes can assist us with first impressions, whether for a job interview, first date, or even working out at the gym...hey you never know who your going to meet! However, if your favorite gym shirt is falling apart at the seams you are not putting your best foot forward.  

I remember the first chaotic months when my son was born. The last thing on my mind was what I looked like. But sometimes I found myself staring enviously at the woman in line next to me at Starbucks with her trendy outfit and flawless hair, remembering the days when that used to be me. I had fallen into a trap where even when I wanted to look like that again, my closet had become over run with sweat pants and t-shirts.  

When working with clients on this philosophy I play the Numbers Game.  If you have 10 pairs of sweat pants and 10 pairs of jeans, scale down the sweat pants so you are "forced" to choose your jeans.  Sweat pants are reserved for sleeping and working out. And take a look at those sweat pants by the way...do they have holes or stains? Have you had them since Jr. High? (true client story) Then they need to go! By eliminating clothes from your closet that your don't feel your best in, you set yourself up to put your best foot forward!

 Having this very honest conversation with yourself BEFORE you start the organizing process of your closet is very important. It is this step that will help insure the longevity of your new found organization, because it's not just about cleaning up, it's about changing your point of view and lifestyle.

Next week Part 2...In the Trenches: The Step-by Step Legisitcs to Organizing Your Closet

Coriann Bright operates Bright Living Organization + Design