Closet Clutter

The Before Picture

Closets are always an easy spot to "shove things" and close the door, and go on with your day. I have helped many clients get different closets into shape. First I helped a woman with her walk in clothes closet. Lets start with her organization style- She took the quiz and discovered that she is "Precise". So she likes to see her belongings, and also wants them organized in a detailed way. She started with clutter in her closet they day she moved into her new house. She hadn't really taken the time to figure out where she wanted each item to go in her house. When it came time to moving day, she had movers helping her. She got overwhelmed and couldn't always answer where she really wanted it to go. So a lot of times the answer was "master bedroom closet." And then from there it just became too much to keep up with and she just left it there. 3 years later I was called in to help. She really was overwhelmed she was starting to store her clothes on chairs, nightstand tables, and her treadmill. Her hanging clothes were very organized, she had no problem with that because she knew what she wanted to do with them from the beginning. It's very important to think about how you want your organization to work for you before you start to put things in your space. It's kind of obvious for a closet that clothes will hang on the rods. How you then hang them is up to you. So because she had that system down we didn't take out the hanging clothes. I wanted to go through each item that was hanging, but she was very hesitant to do so, I had asked a few questions about why and discovered that she has been buying clothes for when she has the body she is happy in.

Donation Box started but never taken anywhere!

 There are a lot of emotions and psychology associated with organizing. I take pride in the fact that I don't just come into someones home and demand that they get rid of 75% of their belongings, and clean just for a pretty after picture. I want the person to really have the things they love and want to keep. I just want them to know what they have, where they have it and if they have room for more. So because her clothes weren't the problem and she wasn't quite ready to dive into the emotions regarding them, we moved on. We took everything out off the floor, mostly items that needed to be donated. She even had a box of donation stuff ready to go she just never took it out and dropped it off. That is another service I provide. I will take donation items to the drop off center for my clients. 1- I don't want to leave them with more work to do. 2- I don't want them going back through and taking things out thinking" I might need this sometime." Then we tackled the shelves. She was utilizing every space she had outside of her closet to set piles of clothes, but had just put stuff on her shelves in her closet to get them out of the way. As we took things out we organized them by Keep, Trash, Donate, and Move to another spot in the house, and Maybe. The maybe box is important because it helps the client stay  focused on going through their items and not getting hung up on one specific thing. I also always ask "where do you want to start?" This helps to make the process easy at first, when they are ok saying "donate" or "trash'' to things they don't have as many attachments to it makes them feel like they have the power and that its ok to say "I don't like that, or I don't need that" when it comes to the tough things because they have already started to learn what makes them happy, or feels good to keep. After everything was out and sorted, it was time to put things back in.

Before~ Shelf with no order

After ~
Clear tote instead of cardboard 

After~ Blankets kept in clear zipper pouches 

We had made a couple of changes with some of the things she wanted to keep and go through later by taking them out of a cardboard box, and putting them into a clear tote. This will help remind her she has books she wants to read one day, and to go through the books she has on her shelf to make room for her new books. She had one box of sentimental items that we didn't have a clear bin for, and because she doesn't need to see them exactly to know what they are, we kept them in the small cardboard box and labeled it and put it up on the shelf. We also put the items that she uses maybe once or twice a year up on that tall shelf. They were pillows, and heavy blankets- so we put them into clear zipper bags so she could see what they are and take them down when needed.

Before~
Shoe organizer

After~ work shoes,

plenty of room for summer shoes 

  Next was her shoes, she didn't really have a  system for her shoes, she did have an over  the door organizer but wasn't using it to its   best ability. So we went through all of her  shoes, she had the normal types of shoes- boots, work, summer, and vacation. but she had them all over the place. Together we came up with a plan; boots go on the bottom shelf in the closet, work and everyday shoes hang in the shoe organizer, and we would put summer and vacation shoes into a clear tote with a lid. She was hesitant with this at first, she really didn't want to put her shoes that she didn't wear often into a box. And while she was telling me this, I noticed she was dusting her vacation shoes, she had traveled all over her room to find all of her shoes, and I said "this will keep all of your shoes in one spot, and dust free." then it made sense to her. She liked the idea of being able to take the box out, trying on outfits with different shoes so she could pack for vacation and she liked the idea of them staying clean and ready to be packed and worn on her next trip. And in the summer time she will take out her flip flops and add then to her hanging organizer, where there is plenty of room. Next was to tackle her sweater situation.

Before~
Sweaters everywhere

Before~
another sweater pile

Before~ Top shelf

It is winter here in Co and everyone loves sweaters here, but we hate hanging them- they just don't hang well. Because we had rearranged her shelves and sentimental items we now had room on the shelf that she can reach without a step stool. So we folded them neatly and stacked them and used the shelf. We also had emptied a box of random things so we put her bags that she randomly uses and put them in there, so she can take it down and use them when she wants to. Now it was time to organize the open wire shelf that she had put into her closet hoping to make more space for her things.

After~ Sweaters folded on the shelf. Basket of bags also on the shelf.
the hanging shelf is a plan for her to put donation items there- as she toys things on and they don't fit. 

After~ Closed Baskets

 She already had the closed baskets and really wanted to see if she could make them work. We decided to put them on the lower shelves so she can see into them and see what's in them. I am curious to see if this will work for her. If not I will have to suggest she buys clear baskets and see if she can sell these or maybe use them somewhere else. Organizing is usually a work in progress in the beginning, and sometimes you have to use a system to see that it just doesn't work with your style. Back to the baskets, we designated them to hold different like things. She loves to give gifts to people just because, so we had one basket for the gifts she would like to be able to give away. Another one was for the random vacation stuff they use but didn't have a specific place for- camera, sunglasses case, sun screen ect... Then another was for her sample beauty supplies that she gets and doesn't use, but wants to let her grand daughters have a chance to go through and pick out special things. She had one just for the refills of the smelly plug-ins she loves. And she was so excited to go through and say- "yes now I can throw away the sample boxes and just put the stuff I won't use in here, and now I know exactly where I can go to get a random gift for, and here are all the things I know I need to pack for vacation!"

Before~ Jeans on Chair 

 The last thing we had to do was put her jeans and yoga pants inside her closet. She said she couldn't remember the last time her jeans weren't on the chair right next to the closet. We had 1 whole shelf open for just those two things!  Now she needs to book a vacation so she can try on her clothes and shoes, without making a huge mess.

After

She can now find a new book when she has read all of the ones on her shelf, grab a blanket when its an extra cold night and grab a gift for a friend just because. She made the most progress on letting things go. We didn't have to make room for things, we just had to make sense of the space she had for the things she had decided to put back into her closet. I do follow-ups 1 day, 1 week and 1 month later. And after checking in with her she is still loving her closet. She even has taken a trip and was able to try on all of her clothes and shoes, and put back the ones she didn't pack. And upon her return she was able to unpack, and knew exactly where her things went back. Her monthly beauty samples are coming in and she is throwing away the boxes right away! Her jeans haven't touched a chair except for when she is sitting down, and she is now using her treadmill for nice walks instead of a dresser for her sweaters! I feel the follow-ups are extremely important to make sure the can live a life that is Organized.Maintained.Enjoyed!