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Time to Tackle Your Closet
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Spring Cleaning - Time to Tackle Your Closet
by Susanne Myers
Spring is on its way and even though it may already be tempting to
spend the day outside, take a few hours to clean out your closet. You’ll
be glad you did when it is finally time to dig out those t-shirts and
shorts.
Before you start:
Try to have all your clothes washed and in your closet before you
start, so you have a good idea of what you actually own at this point. Wear
some comfortable cloths and turn on some up beat music. Grab a couple
of rags and some all-purpose cleaner to wipe off shelves and rods in
your closet. Grab a couple of large trash bags and a few empty laundry
baskets.
Start out by sorting everything into three piles.
1. Things you will throw away or use as rags.
2. Things you will give away.
3. Things to keep.
Make these piles outside of your closet. With the closet empty, take
some time to wipe all the shelves off with a rag and some all-purpose
cleaner or some soapy water. If you have wooden shelves, use a dusting
spray or a barely damp cloth. If you’re not sure what you can use on your
shelves, just give it a good dusting.
Take some time to sweep or vacuum the floor as well. Don’t forget to
wipe the rods and clothes hangers as well.
Take a look at your three piles. If you are anything like me, pile 1
and 2 are probably pretty small and almost everything in your closet ends
up in pile 3.
Time to go over the pile again. Here are a few “rules” to help you
figure out what’s worth keeping:
If you haven’t worn something in 9-12 months it is probably not worth
hanging on to. You may like the looks of a particular sweater, but end
up not wearing it because it itches. Or you found a blouse you love, but
haven’t been able to find anything to go with it. If you don’t have a
very good reason to keep it, give it away or toss it.
Do you have a pair of pants or a dress that is several sizes to small,
but you keep telling yourself that you will fit in it one of these
days? I know this is hard, but be honest with yourself. Are you going to
lose enough weight in the near future to fit in it? If you think you
will, give yourself 6 months to fit into those cloths. Put them in a bag
with a dated note. Set yourself an email reminder, or keep a note on your
fridge to check back 6 months from now. If the cloths still don’t fit,
toss them or give them away.
Look over your keeps pile again. Do you notice several similar items?
Do you have 6 pairs of black dress slacks, 3 pink sweaters etc? Do you
really need 6 pairs of black pants? Pick 2 or 3 of your favorites, or
the ones that are in best shape and toss the rest. Do the same with the
sweaters. Pick one to keep.
Don’t forget to look through your socks and undergarments as well. Get
rid of anything you wouldn’t want to be seen in. Spend a few dollars on
some new items if you don’t have much left when you are done.
Now it is time to put your keepers back in the closet. Take a few
minutes to figure out what goes where best. Divide your clothes by season
and keep them together accordingly. It will make it easy to switch your
spring and summer items to the back of the closet in the fall.
A few last tips for those of us tempted to pull stuff back out of the
do-not-keep piles. If you are planning on using some items as rags, go
ahead and cut them up now. You can keep them in a plastic bag or small
cardboard box in your cleaning supply closet.
Take the bags to be thrown away or given to charity as soon as
possible. The longer they sit around the house, the more tempted you will be to
dig something back out.
That’s it. With a little luck you’ll have enough room in your walk in
closet to actually walk into it at this point. You may have found
clothes you forgot you had and you should have a much better idea of what’s
actually in your closet.
Give yourself a pat on the shoulder for a job well done and go enjoy
the first spring days outside.
Susanne Myers is the founder of http://www.kinderinfo.com, the one-stop online
children's resource center. Here you will find all kinds of answers to
help you with your family, including information on child care options
and locations, educational resources, sports and recreation, home-based
activities, party and event planning, even quick and easy recipes. We
seek to answer all kid-related questions!
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