Tag: organizing clothes

Categories
Let's Look

Let’s Look: How We Clean Our Closets

Hello all and Happy Wednesday!

I hope your week is off to a great start. 

Once again, I’m linking up this year with Shay and Erika for Let’s Look as we look at different areas of our lives. I love getting glimpses into how other people do things and what works well for them and I love to share my life hacks too, whether they are exciting or not.

Here’s all the prompts for this year if you want to follow along or join in.

This month’s prompt is how we clean our closets. 

I have a pretty small closet (my dream is to have a walk-in closet one day, where clothes aren’t crammed and shoes aren’t on top of one another), with that in mind, I try my best to maximize the space I have with racks and clear containers to keep things in order. Because it’s a small space, I do what I can to keep it clean and organized and not too crammed. I also try to keep it functional for my needs every day.

My top two shelves have my good purses (mostly designer purses and ones that I want kept out of reach from others) and special memorabilia in keepsake boxes. My closet also has a weird ceiling which cuts into my storage space too.

I keep bulky items like sweatshirts, sweatpants, and winter items (matching gloves, hats, scarves, etc) on my second shelf. Some things go in clear bins for easy access and others are just folded, nothing too fancy.

Back in November I cleaned a big closet clean-out and got rid of a lot of things I outgrew or wasn’t wearing anymore. I got rid of old homecoming dresses and put a few special dresses or outfits with special memories in storage. Now, I only keep things that I love and wear consistently in my closet. If I’m on the fence about choosing to keep something or get rid of it, I give myself a year to see if I will actually wear it, if I do, I keep it, if I don’t, it gets donated.

As far as how I organize my clothes, I have found the best way to keep things organized for me in a small space is by color, so I have all my clothes that are hanging up organized from light to dark. We start with whites and creams on the left side and then go into yellow, orange, pink, red, purple, we go into blues, greens, and then browns and blacks. I find it easiest to plan and pick out outfits when I can see them all in one spot, even though I have seasonal clothes mixed together, my brain works best with my color.

On the floor, I have all the shoes. I keep dress shoes on the racks in the back of the closet that I may not wear as frequently, but in the front, I keep the shoes I wear every day, work shoes, flats, sneakers, slippers etc. I do swap out summer and winter shoes from back to front based on the season, just to make it a bit easier. 

Since I have a smaller closet, I don’t have too hard of a time keeping it clean. I also have drawers that I keep all my other clothes in, basically anything that doesn’t need hung up. 

I also plan out my work outfits each week and keep them hung up so I can see what I’m wearing and can adjust for weather or other things that may pop up. 

I have followed advice from Emily Ley by only keeping the best, my favorite and necessary. This really helps when it comes to making decisions. 

That’s a look into my closet, nothing too exciting and it’s what’s to be expected for most closets. I am always open to different ways to organize spaces. If you have a small space or closet, how do you organize it? Let me know in the comments below!

Have a great week!

Categories
Fashion Fun Ways to Organize

Transitioning Your Wardrobe

Hi everyone!

Happy Wednesday and more importantly, happy May! May is one of my favorite months of the year. I love the season change from spring to summer and the possibilities of a warmer month ahead. There’s nothing better than fresh flowers for a new month.

Speaking of the changing of seasons, now that we are finally into consistent warm weather, it’s time to change wardrobes from winter and spring to spring and summer. There’s a variety of ways to organize or switch over your clothes. Some do it by season, others do it by colors, a few may do it by what’s worn most to what’s worn the least.

If you are planning on making the switch from heavy clothes to light clothes, here’s a few ideas. This works for both girls and guys.

I organize my clothes by color. In my closet, I have all my hanging clothes situated from light to dark. I start with white (on the left side) then go yellow, pink, red, purple, blue, green, brown and black (to the far right). These are all dresses, blouses, sweaters, and light jackets or blazers (I keep heavy coats in a coat closet downstairs). This is a mix of long and short sleeve dresses (for all seasons). I like keep all my tops and dresses in one area. I don’t rotate them out for the season and here’s why: There are random days in March or April where you could have 75-degree day. Rather than having to dig through clothes in storage, I like to keep them all in one spot. Behind my black dresses, I have any pants and formal dresses. 

A look into my closet, it’s small but does the job. Hanging clothes on the bottom. Hoodies and hats and scarves on the shelves in clear bins so I can see everything.

As far as drawers go, I have one drawer with winter tops (turtlenecks, heavy sweaters, long sleeve tops), then a second drawer with shorts, short sleeve tops). This is in addition to pajamas, workout clothes, bathing suits etc. in other drawers.  Having warm and cold clothes in separate drawers helps me be mindful or what I’m wearing when. It also saves me times when I am looking for more relaxed clothes, I’m only looking in one drawer in the colder months and another drawer in the warmer months.

Whenever we switch seasons, I always take the time to do a quick try-on and sorting of clothes. This doesn’t have to take too long, just set aside time and make it a point to sort, (I do this between winter and spring and then summer and fall). I’ll go through my closet and see what I’ve worn recently and what I haven’t worn, what fits and what doesn’t fit.

I always hope there’s things I can get rid of and donate to others. I did a big sort through a few months back and go rid of so many shoes too, some I hadn’t worn in years but kept holding onto just in case (we’ll get more to this later on). When I sort through clothes and shoes, it also allows me to see what things I’m in need of too. Why keep an old white t-shirt that doesn’t fit or that’s stained and taking up space when I can get rid of it and buy a fresh one that first better?

Here’s a few other tips that may work for you when it comes to transitioning your wardrobe:

-If you don’t love how you feel in it, don’t keep it. Why hold onto something you don’t feel your best in?

-If you haven’t worn it in the past year, make a point to wear it in the next six months, if you don’t wear it then, it’s time to say goodbye.

-Keep a running list on your phone of things that are must needs for your wardrobe, this is especially helpful when you get rid of things and you are looking to replenish.

These are just a few tricks that have worked well for me when it comes to the changing seasons for clothes. None of these are life changing hacks, but it works for me and maybe they will help you out.

I’m always open to new hacks for organization. What are your favorite ways to switch out your wardrobe between seasons?

Let me know below!