Clean & OrganizedNovember 2022

Home organization is once again top of mind (thanks Joanna & Clea). And while the end result makes all of us smile, the thought of tackling some projects can be daunting. We’re looking at you closet clean-out; a task that many of us (hand raised) postpone time and time again.

At a minimum, you should declutter your clutter (& your social media accounts) twice per year. The easiest way to remember when to tackle your closet clean-out is when the seasons change or time changes (sorry Hawaii and Arizona).

So, lets fall back (or spring forward) into some different ways to clean-out your closet!

Option #1: Empty your closet (& your weekend social calendar).

Not my personal preferred method but one that many find effective yet can be time consuming.

  1. Take every item, including hangers, out of your closet and place them on your bed.
  2. Sort clothing into piles. Without too much thought, make piles for items to Keep/Donate/Trash.
  3. KEEP only items that spark joy! Thanks to Marie Kondo for helping us all to declutter our lives by asking this simple question.
  4. DONATE items that still have some life left in them but that suck the life out of you! (HA!)

    5. {CLOSET CLEAN-OUT TIP} Don’t haul your donate pile to the nearest donation drop site just yet. One more time go through this pile and separate it into two new piles: Donate/Sell. I’m not talking about selling those items that are teetering on TRASH, but those items that may have only had one or two wears or that were a splurge item you had to have. Now don’t expect to recoup your full spend, but with the right description and good photography you would be surprised how quickly you can build up your splurge fund to buy that next must have item! We love how Money Crashers breaks down 10 Best Places to Sell Clothing Online.

  5. TRASH everything else. No seriously. I know you loved that shirt, and it looked so good with that pair of pants, and you received so many compliments the first night you wore it. But listen, it’s faded, stained (thanks ballpark frank overflowing with ketchup and mustard, but was oh so good), and no longer sparks joy!
  6. Re-entry! It’s now time to rehome your most loved possessions. Keep reading below for a few tips and tricks to organizing the closet of your dreams.

    7. {CLOSET CLEAN-OUT TIP} BEFORE you put any items back into your closet, give it a good dusting and scrub it down. A magic eraser, some Clorox wipes, a vacuum, and 5 minutes of hard work go a long way to giving your new closet a blank, clean canvas to start with.

Option #2: Closet Clean-Out with Color Scents (looks good & smells great)

Yeah, you read that right. Use trash bags. No, silly, not to donate or to trash, but to organize (and not have a complete mess all over your bed at midnight when you are ready to snooze!) Let’s break it down…
Our closets can be broken down into categories: tops (shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts), bottoms (shorts, skirts, pants, jeans), shoes, and outerwear (get your outwear, outta there), and sections (hanging, folded on shelf, in a drawer).

{CLOSET CLEAN-OUT TIP} Store outerwear in a hall or spare bedroom closet. It is often bulky and not worn every day. This clears up space so you can see what you are working with at 6 am on an early Monday morning before you have had your coffee…

The goal is still to remove every item from your closet but instead of putting it on your bed you are going to use trash bags (we fancy Color Scents, bet you did not see that one coming) to organize in case the task, which probably will, takes longer than your social calendar allows.

  1. Remove items from your closet in categories/sections and place directly into labeled trash bag. Example. Start with sweatshirts. Remove all sweatshirts from your closet and place in trash bag labeled sweatshirts. Doesn’t matter if it is hanging or folded, they all go. Be sure to remove from hanger first!

    2. {CLOSET CLEAN-OUT TIP} This may seem silly but trust the process. Just like your outfit when you leave the house, your hangers should all match. They don’t need to be fancy, plastic hangers get the job done. It’s time to toss the freebee wire hangers from the overpriced dry cleaners and the mismatched hangers you’ve collected over the years. White, black, blue, pink, what every color you fancy…and you know we fancy color!

  2. Repeat until your closet is empty. Categories can be broken down based on your personal inventory. Not a lot of sweatshirts.? Combine them with sweaters. The goal is to fill, not overfill the trash bag.

As you look around you probably have filled up somewhere between 10 to 100 (no judging) trash bags. Next up, dig in. Choose a category to begin with, open the bag and let’s spark some joy, one bag at a time. It’s like Christmas morning, only better! Get to what you can today and when it’s time to sleep, your bed isn’t covered in clothing! Boom!

  1. Keep/Donate/Trash your items.
  2. Once you make the decision on what to keep, you are not done yet. Almost. You must then decide where you want your items to go in your closet. Organization is key. Do you want to organize by category? By color (there go Joanna & Clea again)? By outfit? Do you hang? Or fold? Or throw in a ball on the floor just shy of your laundry basket?

    3. {CLOSET CLEAN-OUT TIP} To hang or to fold? That is the question. The answer is personal preference and driven by space. Lots of drawers and shelf space, fold your jeans and your sweatshirts. Have room for a basket on shelf? If you don’t have any drawers, a basket is an excellent choice for organizing your shorts Hang: shirts, skirts, pants. Fold: Shelf space priority #1 goes to your sweaters. To help keep shape and give a longer life, a sweater is best folded and placed on a shelf. BONUS TIP: Short on shelf and drawer space? Out of sight out of mind on the ever-changing denim trends and if you still have skinny jeans in your closet (they are here to stay folks), use shower hooks and hang your jeans by the belt loop. Viola!

    <<PRO TIP>> Hang your hangers backwards. If in 6 months, at your next closet clean-out the hanger is still backwards, it goes directly to the donate/trash pile.

There you have it. The Color Scents method to a successful closet clean-out. Congratulations on a job well done! Hopefully, you have a better sense of what sparks joy in your closet so you can use your selling earnings to go fill your closet back up! Brb…time to shop!