Organizing a closet, drawer and cabinet -

Isn't it wonderful, when you walk into a closet and can see everything ever so perfectly so that you can make a clear and quick decision as to what you want to wear at that particular moment? Here are some tips on how we accomplish having an organized closet.

1. Take everything out and start from scratch. Sounds daunting, but that is the best way to start, begin section by section. Before you putting anything back, sit down with a piece of paper and pen and design what items you want to keep in this closet and how you want them placed. Pretend you are the architect and designer hired to make this closet beautiful and functional. Go through everything you have and see if you actually have used it in the last 5 years. The likelihood is that there will be many things in your closet that you didn't even remember you had because it has been way too long since you last used it.

2. Let's assume you are a woman with many necessary things to make you look fabulous: shoes, handbags, dresses, skirts, pants, blouses, sweaters, tops, gym wear, shorts.....and then there are the undergarments and accessories. We need a place for our underwear, bras, stockings, socks, shawls & scarfs, bathing suits, and jewelry. Not everyone has enough room to neatly place everything in its separate compartment. We may find it necessary to consolidate things. That is why having a plan on paper is a good way to start. Put things in an order so that you are making the best use of space. Place together the things that you rarely use on the bottom drawers and shelves with the most frequently used things more reachable. Everyone's plan will be slightly different.

3. Be sure to use the right hangers for everything. Getting the cushioned hangers for sweaters and dresses is best. Use wood hangers instead of wire. Invest in a great set of hangers and use the same ones for each section of your clothes. It makes the clothes look better in the closet and protects the clothes from having funny hanger marks. If you are concerned about moths, get moth balls and place them in strategic places in the closet. Try not to keep your clothes in plastic since the oil in it tends to damage the clothes over time. If you want to cover your clothes, use cloth covers.

4. Beginning with my favorite thing of all "shoes & handbags": you can place shoes in their boxes and label them according to style, color and whether you would wear them in a more formal or casual setting. You could also take them out of their original shoe boxes and put them in new plastic clear boxes so you can see what is in there. You can also take them out and show their beauty in full form by placing them on a shelf or shoe rack - which makes it the easiest way to choose what you want to wear at that moment. Handbags like shoes are used with specific dresses, on specific days, depending on the mood, the weather, the event, the need. Oh it gets so complicated when it comes to handbags, there just aren't enough of them. So what do you do with all of these purses that you can't let go of under any circumstances. Begin with the ones you use only in the evening with formal attire and place them together on the higher shelf in soft handbag covers. Try to keep the covers for every handbag since each will serve as a label for the bag. Put the bags you use most often together. If you prefer keeping your bags out the handbag covers, then color coordinate the bags and/or put them along side each other according to size or style.

5. If you love dresses like I do, you may have as many as you do pants. I like to keep my evening dresses separated from those I wear to work in the daytime. If you can, try separating your dresses between those you wear during the Spring and Summer months from those you wear in the Fall and Winter.

6. Skirts should be in their own section or along side dresses all together, always separating them by color, fabric and style. Blouses can be kept close by to the skirts so that you can see which ones go best. Put the blouses in order of fabric, short vs. long sleeves and casual vs. formal.

7. Pants like jeans can be folded 3-ways like they do ever so neatly in the stores, or you can hang them up along side your other types of pants. Again, color-coordinating them is always a good idea. You may also want to hang your sweats all together or fold them up.

8. Tops and sweaters need their own domain according to style and color. Keep your heavier Winter sweaters either in separate sweater boxes up on top of the closet and exchange them for your Summer sweaters depending on the time of the year. Tops may be used more readily all throughout the year so keep them handy and color coordinated. I like to hang my cardigans on cushioned hangers in a separate section with other short jackets and zip up sweat tops.

9. Neatly fold your bras and underwear according to color and mood. Oh yes, ladies there are those sexier ones, and then there are those comfortable ones. Whatever you do, make sure that your drawers have both!!

10. Remember, you don't want clothes and things that you don't use taking up space. Take out and give away anything that hasn't been used in at least a year unless you promise to use it within the next 6 months. Coordinate things by matching fabrics and styles and colors so that you can see everything easily and choose what to wear quickly. Keeping things in order means putting everything back where you found it each and every time. If things tend to get messy over time, take an hour or two and re-organize and fold everything to make it look perfect.

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