By Affiliate Tara Rudo
This is the time of year that the warm weather starts creeping in and everyone is trying to figure out how to fit both winter and summer clothes in the same closet. Now is the perfect time to spend an hour (or a couple) to spring clean your closet and drawers. You may want to do a swap with a friend to have them help you one day and you help them on another. It is great to have a second opinion so you can try on clothes and make sure they fit, are still in style and most importantly, make you look great!
Start by pulling all the clothes out of your closet, one at a time and place them in one of three piles.
PILE 1 – Clothes you wear all the time. You would never consider getting rid of these.
PILE 2 – Clothes you wear only on specific occasions: important business meetings, weddings, parties, holidays.
PILE 3 – Clothes you will only wear if you gain/lose 20 pounds or you can’t remember the last time you wore them. These are the clothes that you should either throw away or donate depending on their condition. Salvation Army, Goodwill and most local churches have donation facilities. Salvation Army will even pick up your donations at your home for free (800-229-7156). There is one exception to this rule: If you are pregnant or planning on having more children, put these clothes in a bin labeled by size for when you need them.
Now that we are down to two piles, it is time to put everything back in the closet. I recommend that you put the items back in your closet one at a time, dividing the items in sections as you go. Separate shirts, pants, suits, jackets, sweaters. Put the items you use every day in the most accessible spot. Put the items you only need once in a while in the harder to reach end sections of the closet. Or, consider putting those special occasion clothes in a guest room closet to free up additional space. If you want a really organized space, you could add clothing dividers to separate the categories of clothes. OR, if you are working on your kid’s closets, you can use them to separate sizes.
Now that you are on a roll, follow the same steps for your shoes and drawers.
Everyone feels better when they have done something to help someone else. By sorting through your winter clothes before adding in the summer ones, you serve a dual purpose: (1) you make more room in your drawers and closets; (2) you help someone in need.