Minimize the Clutter

from: Fresh Home Magazine

Here’s our four-part plan for organizing your stuff:

1. Prune Your Possessions
o It’s simple physics: If you add stuff to your closet without removing anything, it becomes an overcrowded mess. So once or twice a year, do a little weeding and pruning, says organizing expert Harriet Schechter, author of Let Go of Clutter. If you can’t remember the last time you wore or used an item, remove it from your closet and either store or give it away. Once you’ve pruned your possessions down, keep doing it: never add something to your closet – whether it’s a coat, new blouse or pair of shoes – without first getting rid of something of equal or greater size.

2. And That Includes the “Someday” Stuff
o The biggest closet space-hogs are all well intentioned “someday” items we hold onto: the clothes that don’t fit right now, the accessories that aren’t quite in style anymore, the shoes and other items that need fixing or altering. “If you kept only what works, what fits, what makes you look and feel good right now, closet clutter would be a thing of the past,” says Creel. If you’re serious about the “someday” part, pack the items up and put into storage somewhere out of the way.
3. Empty It Completely
o You can’t improve your closet when it’s filled. So empty it – completely. Hauling everything out serves three purposes: it give you a good look at the actual space and storage – rods, shelves and so forth – you have to work with. Second, it gives you a chance to clean a space that rarely gets cleaned. Third, once your stuff is spread out on the floor or bed, it’s easier to do the first two tips and indentify items you no longer want or need.

4. Organize Precisely
o As you gaze at your empty closet, think about how to organize it around the specifics of your possessions. “Closets are like puzzles: If you want to solve the puzzle, find a place for every piece,” says Scott Roewer of Solutions by Scott and creator of the organizing blog declutteryou.com. Divide your closet however you like – office clothes on the top left rack, party clothes on the back, shoes here, umbrellas there. Just have specific spaces for specific items.