Hey all,
I’m doing something a little different today in lieu of the projects I’ve been working on before school starts again on the fifth.
I am TERRIBLE at keeping my clothing organized and it doesn’t help that we live in a (tiny) one-hundred year old mill house with limited storage and the weirdest small closet in the world. This means that I have to put all of my clothing (except special items) in drawers and I have never been able to figure out a system that works for this until (hopefully) now.
I am notoriously hard on clothing. This worked out really well for me, actually, as a teenager when I was the poster child for crust punk but hasn’t served me as well lately. This means I have a laundry basket full of clothing that needs patching or mending (no matter how hard I try I can’t ditch those band patches).
I also am sure that many of you got clothes or gift cards you intend to use to buy more clothes and that usually involves some closet wrangling (or, in my case, drawer wrangling).
So below I have made a list of tips for cleaning out your closet for the new year! I hope they help and PLEASE feel free to add your own in the comments!
1. Group like pieces together. But don’t assign one drawer per group unless you can fill the drawer. I have my skirts and leggings sharing a drawer, because I don’t have enough of either to fill one. However, my regular pants get their own drawer.
2. Roll your pants! Pants are so hard to get to fit anywhere, but if you roll them up it will increase your storage area.
3. When reorganizing, put the items you wear the most on top. I think one of the biggest reasons I make such a mess of my clothes is that I get an idea in my head of what I want to wear and then dig for that item. Put your favorites on top and make a rule that you have to select your clothes from the top layer.
4. Make an accessory drawer (if you have enough drawers). I put my hats, belts, and scarves in one drawer. Inside that drawer, all of my belts and belt buckles are inside a shoebox. This keeps everything from getting all mussed up and looking cluttered.
5. Store your off season clothes. This mostly only works for me during summer, because I love to layer. I take all my thick wool sweaters and the like and store them away so I can access the things I’ll wear more frequently. Also, it feels like you’re getting new clothes again when the season changes!
6. Mend your clothes. But only if they are worth the struggle. If your leggings are holier than Swiss cheese, it’s not really worth your time, is it? I mend what I can, but throw out what isn’t working out for me. Do one project a day as it won’t build up! Once your mend pile is no longer a mountainous eyesore, store it in a place you have to look at it. This way it is less likely to pile up.
7. Resew your blouse buttons! I have truckasaurus hands (I’m on my fifth inside car door handle) and so I am hard on buttons. Most blouses that you purchase do not have their buttons sewn on well, so I just reinforce those stitches with my own, better stitches.
8. If you have a piece of clothing that you kept for sentimentality or because someone gave it to you, but you never wear it take a picture of it and get rid of it! You’ll still have the picture to remember the item, but it will no longer clutter up your space. The person who gave it to you cares enough about you to get you something! They wouldn’t want you holding onto something that takes up space if you don’t use it. Also, someone else out there could maybe use it or appreciate it. Give that shirt/hat/dress a better life in a better home: get rid of it!
9. Where to get rid of clothes You have a few options. You can take them to a resale place like (Buffalo Exchange or Plato’s Closet) or a consignment store. In my experience, neither of these options have ever really worked out for me. Resale places have some sort of system I can never figure out and consignment stores usually require more time checking back in and picking up money than you really make selling your items. I prefer to donate clothes and there are a few places that I choose to donate things to: women’s crisis shelters, homeless shelters, thrift stores run by no-kill animal shelters, and things like that.
10. Shoes. This is the most difficult thing for me to organize. I recommend getting one of those over-the-door shoe holders. I use this for my sandals, sneakers, flats and heels. My boots I sort of line up in front of this weird built-in drawer. Someday my mom is supposed to weld me some sort of shoe organizer. She is not only a fantastic jewelry maker, but she also welds. She’s made a frame for my husband’s speedbag, a gate, and a cat’s tail out of old saw blades that she keeps in the hitch for her car (the bumper on the front of her car is a cat’s face). Sorry, I digress!
Thank you all for taking the time to read my unsolicited advice! I hope at least some of it proves helpful to you. If you have any other tips or advice please leave them in the comments section! I would love to hear them!
0 comentários:
Postar um comentário