A Peek in My Closet…and Spring Cleaning

I can’t believe I’m showing you these pictures but, hey, I’ll be real.  At least for today.  I’m definitely one of those people who wants people to think that my house is absolutely perfect all the time…even when it’s not. 

But anyway, I’ve been doing a little spring cleaning in preparation for Baby B’s arrival in a few months.  Now, I like things to be organized.  I get a rush from cleaning out things and making them neat.  Only problem is, in real life, the organized state doesn’t last long.  Hence, my closet.  Besides its cluttered state, I really needed to switch out winter and summer clothes, as well as get my maternity clothes a tad more organized. 

First, here’s my closet before.  Yes, I do have a whole walk-in closet to myself.  No, I don’t have a dresser, so all of my belongings have to fit in this closet.

As you can see, it really wasn’t that bad…except for the pile of clothes and shoes on the ground.  Step one was to organize those shoes.  I have a hanging shoe organizer, which is nice, so some of these just had to be put back into their place.

Believe it or not, I had gone through my shoes fairly recently, so I really do wear everything you see.  Until Wednesday, I also hadn’t bought any new shoes in a long time, so I was doing pretty good.  But, out with the old, in with the new, right?  There actually was one pair of shoes that I’ve agonized about for years.  I never wear them, although they’re nice and I could always wear them.  But, since I bought a new pair of shoes, I decided it was time to finally get rid of them.  Bye-bye, shoes!

Any shoes that don’t fit in the shoe thing (boots, tennis shoes, etc.), I just organize on the floor.  Once my shoes were ready to go (and the piles of everything else was thrown onto my bed), my closet was already starting to look better.

Next, I pulled out all of my winter clothes that I won’t be wearing for awhile.  I left a few light sweaters in, just in case, but I took out everything else.  Then I neatly folded them in my off-season box (I’d already pulled out most of my summer clothes a few weeks ago) to put on the top shelf.  If I decide to go to Antarctica this summer, I’ll know where to find them.  But, for now, my closet is a lot less cluttered with them out of the way.  If you don’t have room to store your off-season clothes, just hang them farthest from reach, or put them in a bottom drawer. 

Look how much empty space that gave me!

I did keep out all of my cardigans and cover-ups…they’re still useful right now!

Then I started to go through all of my summer blouses (which were already hanging up).  I like to hang them up by color.  It’s just a nit-picky thing of mine.  I will say that it makes things much easier to find and makes my closet look that much neater.

Don’t just hang your clothes up, though…analyze them.  For me, there were several shirts that were not long enough for my growing belly, so I decided to pack them away.  There were also a few shirts that I was holding onto for silly reasons.  I never wear them, but I have a hard time getting rid of them because there’s nothing wrong with them.  Find yourself in the same dilemma?  Ask yourself these questions:

1. Have I worn it in the past year?
2. Does it still fit?
3. Does it have sentimental value?

If you answered “no” to question one, chuck it (the exception would be formal dresses that you need on occasion).  It may be hard, but I promise you you won’t miss it.  Question two depends on your state in life.  For me, there’s lots of clothes I plan on wearing again…my preggo state just prevents me from this.  For a situation like this, pack it away.  If you’ll never honestly be that size again, get rid of it…it’s just baggage from the past. 

Finally, question three can be tricky too.  I have lots of shirts I’ve kept because they were souvenirs from trips or past activities.  I have one shirt in particular that I got in Paris.  It’s faded around the collar, so I literally haven’t worn it in years.  And yet, I’ve dragged it around everywhere I went because it was a “memory”.  Yesterday, though, I evaluated it honestly.  It benefits me nothing and, I realized, even has pit stains.  GROSS!  I have enough pictures and memories from that trip…I don’t need a stained shirt to remember it.  So, after years of “holding on” it went in the trash.  And you know what?  It felt good!


There’s a few things, however, I did choose to keep.  They’re still in good condition, and it would be fun to give them to my kids someday.  Just make sure you’re not holding on to useless baggage!    

So, anyways, after sorting my shirts I carefully analyzed my camisoles, pants, and skirts in the same way.  For now, anything I was packing away or getting rid of I threw on my bed…to be sorted later.  Be sure to pull out any unused or no longer used hangers.  Also, make sure that you leave a hanger for anything you're wearing or is in the wash!

Yes, just being real here!

I also sorted through all of my undergarments.  Anything that had holes, stains, or no longer fit I tossed.  A few things I packed away…again because they don’t work in my current pregnant state.  Because I don’t have a dresser, I use shoe boxes to organize my undergarments.  Socks and stockings go in one, underwear and slips in the other.  All of my bathing suits I conveniently keep in a wet bag.

Then I tackled the box of “miscellany”. 

This contained all of my work shirts, workout outfits, winter socks, and leggings.  I first pulled everything out and sorted it.  All of my winter socks were packed away.  Then I sorted the rest into piles of paint clothes, tshirts, and workout clothes.  A few shirts that I never wear I did get rid of, but for the most part everything just needed to be organized.  This is how it looked after:

Nice, huh?  The things I use the least I put on the bottom and the things I use the most I put on top.  No brainer there!

I next sorted everything onto by bed into neat piles (which included my skirts and pants, which I had yet to put back).  This helps so you can visualize how much space you need for everything.

This is also the time to sort everything into piles to pack away, trash, donate, or consign.  I’ve never really consigned anything before, but I had a few things that are nice and just don’t work for me anymore, so I may try that.  Anything still wearable I usually donate, and anything that’s stained, ripped, or faded I trash. 

Next I hung up my skirts.  I packed away one that won’t work for my pregnant self, and got rid of a few.  I have a lot of skirts from my past life.  The few frumpy ones (from thinking that’s what homeschool boys liked), I got rid of.  There are a few I use for teaching, which I kept.  No, after August I won’t be teaching anymore, but for the time being I’m still subbing.  Finally, I have some nicer black skirts I used to wear from my orchestra-dork days.  They were perfect for playing the violin, but not good for much else.  I keep them, though, because, sadly, they’re very appropriate for funerals.

I like to hang two skirts on the same hanger, to save space.  Also, be sure to hang heavier skirts on heavy-duty hangers so they don’t sag!

Haha…I didn’t realize when I took the picture that you could see me!  Like my new maternity shorts, by the way?

Next was pants.  I really don’t have too many of these, so they were easy.  Except for my slacks (which I always hang up), I usually fold them.  But, since I had space and extra hangers, I hung my jeans up too.

  

My capris and shorts I folded on the shelf.  Also, I pulled out a few things that needed to be hemmed, but left a hanger or for them.

As you can see from the picture above, I keep all of my pajamas and lingerie in a tote bag on the floor.  This keeps them organized and saves space!

Finally, I made a few extra changes, since I had the space.  I moved my summer dresses around a bit.  Look how nice everything looks!

I had an extra tote bag after cleaning everything out, so everything else I needed to pack away I put in that.  They fit great!

  

Belts I just hang on a nail, and my hats and smaller purses I keep on my nifty little corner unit.

                

And there you have it, my nice, organized closet!

How does your closet look?  When’s the last time your organized it?