It’s cold, rainy and gray out; totally miserable and inhospitable for civilized folk. So why not spend a cozy afternoon organizing your closet? Clearing out the clutter in your closet also clears out the clutter in your mind simultaneously. Check out these great tips to get it done now before it gets hot and the beach calls your name like some ancient sea siren.

 

1. Donate the things you don’t wear anymore: Take all of your clothes out of the closet; every single item, and separate them into 4 piles: winter, summer, give away, trash. If you are having trouble deciding what to keep and what to give away, you can use this rule of thumb: if you haven’t worn it in over a year, let it go. The chances of you wearing something you haven’t worn in over a year are slim. Even if it’s a totally cute piece, it’s probably time to send it to a better home and make room for something else in your wardrobe. And besides, those less fortunate could probably really use it. Use the same logic with your accessories like handbags, scarves and jewelry. For those items that are worn out, ripped or faded, it’s probably better to just throw them away. And don’t feel bad and keep something you never liked or used just because someone gave it to you as a gift. Re-gift it! 

 

2. Storage the Right Way: Get boxes or special clothing bags with zippers and put all your summer items inside along with a few mothballs or better yet, lavender sachets. While you’re at it throw in a few lavender sachets with your winter clothes too!

 

3. Finding the Right Space: Put your summer clothes boxes/bags in that one hard to reach closet that you haven’t even looked at all winter long. Let them sit there out of sight and out of mind until the sun returns to the north and you begin to hear the sirens’ beautiful song! As for your winter threads, organize them intuitively in your every day clothes closet and watch as it miraculously takes you half the time to get dressed in the morning.