Closet Reorganization

During my staycation a couple weeks ago, I gave myself a few projects for the week.  One of the biggest was a major closet overhaul.  My goal for the week was to only do a little bit of work each day and to wrap up when the week was over.  I knew whatever was not completed by the time I went back to work was note likely to be accomplished any time soon.

My closet was a disaster.  It is another area of the house that never was put together correctly when we bought it three years ago.  Since then, it has only become worse.  In addition to clothes that did not fit and poorly designed storage options, it had become a dump spot for household items that had no other home.  I could barely reach half the clothes in my closet, tripped over stuff on the floor all the time, and truthfully did not even remember what all I had in there.

Here is what my closet looked like at the beginning of the project. (1 - My side, 2 - Husband's side, 3 - Top shelf)

  

Day 1:  The first day I just pulled stuff from the closet.  I separated out all the things that did not belong in an upstairs closet and relocated them to another part of the house (sadly most are not in a permanent home yet).  I went through all my clothes.  Items I wore regularly I put back into the closet.  Things I had not touched in a while went into two boxes for further scrutiny.  I also made myself pare down on the little boxes and bags I have collected.  I do use some of these at times (traveling, storage, etc.), but I had more than I can feasibly put to use.

(1 - Stuff that does not belong in closet, 2 - Clothes I need to sort through, 3 - Bags & boxes, purge on left, keep on right)

  

Day 2:  The second day I made my first trip to The Container Store where I bought a case of shoe boxes and several sweater boxes.  Additionally, I went through all of the clothes I pulled the first day, evaluating condition and trying them on for size.  I separated out the many items that did not work for me anymore into trash and donate piles.  I found a few forgotten things that fit and were usable which went back into the closet.  I also boxed up a small (I swear small) amount of things that I love but do not quite fit with the hope that I can wear them again someday.  I also saved one dress that really is a stretch to think I will wear it again, but I just could not part with it.

(1 - New containers, 2 - Clothes I sorted through, back keep, front purge, 3 - Dress I cannot bear to give up even though it does not fit)

  

Day 3:  On Day 3, I pulled everything off the top shelf and sorted through it.  I managed to part with a few things that I no longer use, but most of this stuff went right back onto the shelf.  It is mostly bags I rotate through, summer clothes that I purged when I was switching my drawers out last fall, and memorabilia that I want to keep.  I wanted my husband to purge clothes from his side of the closet too, but he is resistant to this process.  I decided small chunks at a time might be more obtainable that trying to get him to sort through it all at once.  To start the process, I pulled the T-shirts out of the basket on his side.  He sorted them into two piles, get rid of and keep but does not currently fit.

(1 - Top shelf, left keep, right purge, 2 - Husband's shirts, left keep, right purge)

  

Day 4:  Day 4 found me making a trip to drop off boxes at Goodwill.  I also hit up The Container Store for another case of shoe boxes, and Target where I bought some nicer hangers.  I went through all of my shoes, but only tossed three pairs.  Truthfully, I wear all my shoes regularly according to season with the exception of a couple fancy shoes that I only pull out for weddings/parties.  I continued the process of purging my husband’s side by asking him to go through all the pants in the basket on the floor.  Again we split them into two piles, get rid of and keep but does not currently fit.

(1 - All my shoes from the closet, 2 - The three pair I am tossing, 3 - Husband's pants, left keep, right purge)

  

Day 5:  The big project for Day 5 was to buy a box, pack up my wedding dress, and ship it to Brides for a Cause.  Although it was a little sad, the truth is I am never wearing that dress again.  It seems like a much better fate to let someone else enjoy it, than to let it waste away in my closet forever.  I also moved my clothes from the old hangers to the new ones.

(1 - Wedding dress, 2 - See all my new hangers)

  

Day 6:  The final day is here.  I made my last trip to The Container Store where I bought two big storage boxes and a few more sweater boxes.  I had my husband do his final sorting of all the accessories and random stuff in the basket.  Although he kept things I do not think he uses, he did at least get rid of all the old, ugly baseball caps.  He also went through the hanging shirts, although most of those are worn on a regular basis.  The rest of the day I sorted clothes into their new homes.  I took the clothes out of the one thin box on the top shelf and put them into a big storage box.  Both thin boxes I relocated to under our bed.  I got rid of the hanging storage and replaced it with the sweater boxes.  I also migrated some of the shirts/sweaters out of my dresser into the sweater boxes.  My husband’s "keep but does not fit" pile went from the basket into the other large storage box I bought.

(1 - Husband's random accessories, left keep, right purge, 2 - New boxes on the top shelf)

  

I am quite proud of the work I managed to accomplish in a week.  For a final recap, here are my before and after pictures.  Now I have space to shop for new clothes.

(1st pair - My side, before & after, 2nd pair - Husband's side, before & after, 3rd pair - Top shelf, before & after)

  

  

  

These types of projects always seem overwhelming to me.  I found that doing it during my staycation was helpful.  I was not stressed out by work, other chores, and daily distractions.  I also had a finite amount of time to accomplish what I could, so it would not loom into infinity.  It might not be perfection, and I probably will continue to tinker with it over time, but it is a huge improvement over the unmanageable situation I had before.  Hopefully my journey inspires you to tackle your own scary space.

See you next week!