Closet Makeover

After

Before

In trying to stick to my resolution to de-clutter the house, I tackled the master bedroom closet. It is one of the first places I go to during my morning routine, but I could never find anything in there. It was an embarrassing mess. I had things stored in there that had no reason to be in there simply because I didn’t know where to put it. I also had clothes hanging that I didn’t know the last time I had worn. My husband’s side was even worse than mine.

Like most of my posts, we are going to do this as a step by step. I really like lists. It helps me to keep things organized.

First, take everything out of the closet. EVERYTHING. There is no way to organize it if you don’t know what is in there. (There is where my husband got a little annoyed because everything ended up on the bed or around it.)

Next clean that sucker! If your closet has baseboards, you may have forgotten to dust those during your weekly (monthly?) dusting chore. I did. I was grossed out. Wipe the baseboards down with a dryer sheet and it will help to repel dust for a little bit longer. Vacuum the floor. Wipe of the shelves. Clean it well. I was surprise by how much dust was in the closet.

Now, if you have a big enough closet, give it a fresh coat of paint. You will likely see marks on the wall where hangers have scratched or where dirty shoes hit the wall. Don’t forget to clean the wall off and lightly sand any rough parts before you paint. And, if you have never painted a room before, don’t forget to use painters tape around the baseboards, ceiling, shelves, or outlets. When it comes to the paint color, keep it bright and within a neutral tone. Trust me, when you look in the mirror, it will make a differences in what you see.

While your paint is drying, use this time to go through your clothes. Really consider the clothes before you sort them into three piles: keep, donate, not sure. If the item is something you wear frequently or a staple fashion piece, keep it. If you don’t know the last time you wore it, donate it. If you are like me and wanting to get back into some clothes that might be a bit too snug now, use the third pile. If it has sentimental value but you don’t wear it, put it in the third pile for now.  If it is something that you have been meaning to hem or fix in some way, put it in that third pile as well.

Box up donation items but don't take them just yet. We have another pile to get through. You may be adding more to this box(es).

The third pile has an assortment of items. Things that are sentimental, things to fix, and our “goal” clothing. Let’s start with the sentimental items. Find a plastic tote and place the items in. If you cannot part with it, place it somewhere that will not clutter space you use every day. If you know how to sew and have lots of sentimental shirts, try your hand at making a shirt quilt. But get those items out of your usable space. Next, the items to fix.This can also be a good time to fix it since it is in your hand and you are thinking about it. But, how long has it been that you’ve needed to fix it? More than a month? Then you can probably get rid of it since it has clearly not been a priority. 

Lastly, the “goal” clothing. I understand having goals to lose weight. I have those goals too

. But, I also know that it is going to take time. I suggest keeping only two outfits that make up your “goals” because we don’t want to take up space that we need for what we are wearing now. Also, by the time you get to your goal, how many of the items will still be in season or style? Fashion changes so quickly that you don’t want a three year old outfit to be your reveal outfit when you reach your goal. You will probably want a brand new outfit to show off your new look!

When it comes to putting the clothes back in the closet, you have a few options on how to organize the clothes – by color, by season, by style. I chose by color. To me this is easier for putting outfits together. Here is a little trick to see what clothes you really need to keep. Hang the hanger backwards. If at the end of a season, you have not worn something in the closet, get rid of it. It has either gone out of fashion, doesn’t fit well, or you just don’t like it.

That took care of the clothes, but there are still belts, hats, purses, and shoes. This is where spending comes in. I don’t like spending. However, to get my shoes under control, I had to have a shoe organizer. I had one already but it was not organized and not all my shoes fit. So, I got rid of what I didn’t wear. Since I teach, I only kept the shoes that were reasonable for standing in all day. Good-bye high, high heels. I also made a simple change. I turned the shoe rack on its side so it wasn’t as tall and knocking into my clothes.

I also bought a few canvas pop-up bins to help organize my purses and hats and belts. Now, I have a purse problem so I had some bad emotions about purging my collection. However, I generally do not change purse unless mine is falling apart or it is a special occasion. So I toughed it out and donated quite a few. I did end up keeping all the belts I have because I don’t have many. Going through my hats, I also kept most of them since I don’t have too many.

For the finishing touches of the closet make-over, I added a storage ottoman for hangers when they aren’t in use and a vinyl decal to the wall. I am looking for a clock to match the color scheme in my bedroom to add above the white bar.  I already had a mirror hanging on the door and all I did was hot glue the bottom of it to the door to keep it from warping. It was cheap, but it does what I need it too.

If you'd like your own vinyl decal, you can head over to my Etsy shop for the download file. (Also, I'm pretty new at selling vinyl files, so if you have issues, just send me a message and we can troubleshoot it!)