Steps to take for a clothes closet you will LOVE, not fear!
You know that it is time to organize your bedroom closet when you keep the doors closed and you are afraid to open the doors. To stop this habit and fear, you want to get your closet organized for good.
January is "Clean Out Your Closet Month". Using this organizing holiday will help you get your bedroom closet decluttered and organized..
Step One: Plan
Decide that your bedroom closet is only going to be used to store your clothing. Don't use it to store equipment or seasonal items. Plan out what you are going to use each area of the closet for. For instance, the top shelf you're your closet can be for hats. Then you can hang your clothes by person, and then by use: formal, casual, work. Finally, if you don't have a shoe rack, get one so that your floor is clear and you won't tend to use it to just toss things.
Step Two: Choose a Starting Point
Decide where in the closet you want to start. This way you can have a mental picture of what you are trying to achieve.
Step Three: Preparing
The next step is to make an appointment with yourself to work on your closet. Setting aside a good two to three hours would be perfect. You can work in 15-minute increments if it is necessary to do so. After you write your appointment, in your planner, you need to get your supplies together.
Here is a list of supplies you can go by:
- Large boxes - One for returning items to their home when you are finished, and one to put items that you want to give away to friends, family, or charity.
- A good supply of garbage bags
- Cleaning supplies
- Vacuum cleaner
- Storage boxes or baskets - just enough, depending on your needs.
- Shelving units - for shoes, sweaters, and other items that you store in your closet.
Step Four: Declutter
Start from the top and work across from left to right. Just take everything down and put it in the appropriate box or the garbage bag or into a pile of items that you are going to keep.
When you are going through your closet, handle each item only once. Take the item down and decide if you really want it or need it. If you decide to toss it - get out the garbage bag. If you decide to give it away - put it in the "Give Away" box. If you decide to keep it, then decide where it is supposed to go. Should it go in another closet? Would it be better used in another room? Once you have sorted through all of the items in your closet and it is empty, it is time to clean it out with your cleaning supplies and vacuum cleaner.
Now that everything is sorted and cleaned out, it is time to set up the closet for how you want to use it. Will adding shelves improve the use of space? Do you have hooks to use to hang items, like purses, scarves, and ties? An added thought, there is sometimes wasted space in the top of a closet. That is a perfect spot for shelves to store items that you don't need frequently.
Step Five: Organize
It is time to put your items back into the closet. This is a crucial point in the organizing process. Why? In order to keep the closet organized, you have to put the items back in a way that will keep it organized.
Think about how you would normally go about putting things back into the closet. Arrange it that way so you put things back naturally. Use the shelves to store folded sweaters and sweatshirts - so that they aren't stealing space in your dresser. Use shoe racks to get your shoes off of the floor and keep them in pairs. Use baskets for scarves, gloves, and other accessories.
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Check out these closet systems:
Reach-In Closet Kits |
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Child's Closet Kit |
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Once you have it decorated and organized, all that is left is for you to stand back and admire the dream of a closet that was once a nightmare!
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Check out these cameras - perfect for before and after pictures!
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Hewlett Packard PhotoSmart 318 Digital Camera: Automatic, 1.75" preview , zoom, view battery level, number of pictures and flash settings, red-eye reduction and auto-flash! |
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Kodak DX3700 Zoom Digital Camera: This camera allows you to get up close and personal and has 8 MB of memory - so you never miss a shot! |
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iCam 3-in-1 Pocket Digital Camera: This little one is affordable and useful - Webcam, Digital Camera, and an Internet Video Camera. |
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