4 Easy Steps to Getting Your Closet Summer Ready

April 2020
Edition 4
​
So between going through organizing withdrawals and Phoenix weather deciding to turn up the heat. It was time to tackle my closet. I love my clothes and shoes but it was once again time to do some purging and reorganizing. This is what I consider a good time but I know I am not the norm. Keep reading for a step by step process to getting the closet summer ready. In order to help you guys through the summer closet cleaning process, here are some steps to make de-cluttering your closet easier.
The first step in organizing is cleaning out the items that are simply taking up space. So many of us have trouble getting rid of belongings because we feel that we will wear them sometime in the future. Or the clothing holds some sentimental reasons. It's okay to let it go!!!

1. FIND AN EMPTY AREA & TAKE EVERYTHING OUT OF YOUR CLOSET
You will take everything out of your closet and that clothes need to go somewhere, so find an empty area where you’ll put the clothes.
This also means taking out the items that don’t really belong in your closet! If you really want to know how to organize your closet you’re going to have to get rid of some bad habits, like stuffing everything that we don’t want to see in the closet!
Divide your items by season.It can be pretty overwhelming to sort through every article of clothing all at once, so make things easier by dividing your clothes into three piles by season: winter, summer and fall/spring. This way, you can focus on smaller groupings of items instead of trying to tackle your closet as a whole all at once.

2. LOOK AT EACH PIECE OF CLOTHING OBJECTIVELY. Now, here comes the fun part going through each item and deciding what to keep and what to toss. 
There are certain qualities the clothing piece must have to pass the test for the keep pile. In order to keep yourself objective, ask yourself the following questions:
                                 Do I love the item and can’t live without it?
                                         Is the particular item flattering? 
                                          How often do I wear this item?
                                   Does this item represent my current style?

Once you have sorted through all your items, go through your “maybe” pile one more time and repeat the process. Still can’t make up your mind? Call up a friend and ask for their honest opinion on the questionable item.
Now that you’re done, it’s time to organize your closet for summer! This begins with storing all your “winter” stuff that you won’t be wearing for at least three or four more months.
​
​There are many ways to store winter items for the season. Since downsizing last year, I now have a smaller closet and store my off season clothes in a under-bed storage boxes, which live under my bed. This is a great space saver and storage area. It is like Christmas each time you pull it out for the new season.

3. PUT EVERYTHING BACK IN YOUR CLOSET IN AN ORGANIZED WAYOnce you got rid of the items you no longer want there are many ways you can organize your clothes.
The way you organize your closet really depends on your situation and preferences. I arrange my closet by category, for example; blazers, shirts, dresses, jeans, shorts, and so on.
After arranging based on category, I organize my closet by color starting with light and going to dark.  
Here are 4 different ways to organize your closet. Select the one that suits you best.

• Organize Your Closet by Season- If you don’t wear your summer pieces in the winter there is no need to have them in your closet, especially if they don’t fit.
• Organize Your Closet by Clothing Type (This is what I do): I like to have similar items together. I like seeing all the options I have at a glance. 
• Separate Work and Casual: If you own more work clothes than you do casual or vis versa it might behoove you to separate your work/office attire from your casual attire. 
• Organize your closet by how often you wear them: If you wear some items more than others than you could place those front and center. It’s no use having clothes you never wear easily available, give priority to the clothes that you wear every week or month.

Simply arrange your closet based on your lifestyle and make sure the space you have can accommodate it all, that is the best way on how to organize your closet. If your closet doesn’t fit everything look for storage alternatives for items such as scarves, leggings, belts, etc. Most of the time it’s the little things that are hard to organize and that make your closet look messy.

​DON’T FREAK OUT....The last point I will make is to not freak out! When I am in the last step of organizing my closet, I try to keep in mind that the clothes I am not keeping are not being kept for a reason. Either the piece didn’t quite fit, it didn’t flatter my figure or my personality, or simply didn’t make me feel confident.

4. REMOVING THE UNWANTED ITEMS
The very last step in clearing away the leftover, unwanted items is deciding where to send them. I usually donate my undesired pieces. Other pieces, that may still have some dollar value left in them, I end up selling. Another thing to consider is giving them to friends or family.
If you had your best friend helping you organize and they thought some of the items were exceptionally cute, why not give it to them? It’s a great personal way to say thank you.
     
​      I hope these steps have helped you answer how to organize your closet!