Neat and Tidy

My closet is a hot mess. I don’t know about you, but when it’s in disarray, my mind is in disarray! It’s in this state because of my recent trip to Florida and the fact that I haven’t switched around winter with summer. I have sandals beside boots and sundresses hanging with wool dresses. To someone who has a slight neat and tidy obsession, this is all bad. My heart races as I enter the space and I hurriedly close the doors as I leave … without looking back. So, here I sit, writing about it instead of tackling it, because I know it’s going to take time. A lot of it. 

I know I’m not the only one suffering with this issue. I chatted with my mother-in-law just the other day. She too struggles to find something to wear because not only is her closet cluttered and needing the summer makeover, she also shares it with her clothes-loving hubby! That would be enough for me to go running for a new house ASAP! Don’t get me wrong, Geoff is neat and organized, but he has some habits that make me a little nuts, like hanging a pair of pants on the door. I don’t know if they are dirty, too small/big, need ironing or just hanging out until he (I) decides to hang them back in their proper spot. 

Today, I’m going in. If you don’t hear from me in a while, send Geoff or the kids to check on me. Here is the strategy I plan to use:

1. Time myself for 10 minutes. Take a garbage bag and grab every shoe that I no longer wear ( as in not worn in two years) and place it in the bag. Do the same with my hanging items. 
2. Next, pull out all the winter shoes and boots and place them in a pile. Fill in the gaps of my shoe rack with sandals all the while trying to put them together by heel height. If I’m feeling really inspired, I will also try to organize them by color. Don’t judge! I should add that I keep all out of season shoes on my highest shelves and even some in baskets. I then move the pile of shoes up high so I have my floorspace back.
3. I then go through my sneaker section. I assess which ones I wear most often in the summer months, usually the mostly white ones and place them at eye level. I put the more winterish styles toward the bottom of the rack. When I really feel inspired, I might take a wet wipe from my tool kit and wipe the leather sneakers, so they’re ready to go when I need them.
4. Pull down all the sweaters and sweatshirts. Refold, add some unworn ones to the donation bag and place on a higher shelf in the closet. 
5. Go through all the jeans, try them on, donate those that no longer fit or I’m sick of and replace on shelf.
6. Continue on with any other folded items.
7. Then I take sections, like my blouses. I keep them organized by color. Occasionally, I even keep them in order by sleeve length. I pull out any tops that are true winter, like leather/pleather and put them at the back of the rack, where they are somewhat hidden. 
8. Lastly, I go through my handbags. This is the hardest for me. I love a clutch. I love a tote bag. I have many, many variations of these. I try to donate all that I can, without crying. I also assess which are just blown out or too used to keep. I sort my clutches according to color and put the tote bags on a shelf where they are neat, straps aren’t hanging and I can see them easily when I need them.
9. If I”m not completely exhausted at this point, I will go through my jewelry too. I keep a lot in my closet, so I review and place what I don’t wear often back in my jewelry box in the bedroom. 
10. Walk out of the closet, pour a glass of wine and return. I take in my handiwork and  relax. Neat and tidy just feels good. My mind is finally at peace, until I look over at those pants hanging on Geoff’s door. 

Oh by the Way, below are a few tools l use to organize my closet. I also threw in a professional organizer for those of you who do not have the neat and tidy obsession. Additionally, if you haven’t watched or followed The Home Edit on Netflix, I included the link as well. I’m obsessed with the show!