34 Weeks of CleanRinse and Repeat: Week 16-The Master Closet

You knew it was coming, right?  We cannot simply do our bedrooms and skip our closets, though trust me, the idea did cross my mind.   Let's face it, most of our closets are pretty dungeon like.  At least mine is.  I have had ONE closet in my lifetime that I loved.  In our Virginia rental house, the closet was the size of a small bedroom.  Seriously!  It had a wonderful window in it that lit the place up and I even had my treadmill in it with plenty of space to walk around in.  I loved it.  That is no longer my reality sadly.  This is-

His side

Her side

Yep.  Small and piled high with junk.  As usual,  I have allowed it to get completely out of hand.   It is an easy place to just toss things in and not look back.  It is one of the few places guests don't see so I let it slide.  Often.  And dresser drawers, don't even get me started.

So this week- Master Closets and Dresser Drawers are on our attack list!  

Here we go!

• You know the drill - take everything OUT!  Trust me when I say this, it WILL make things easier in the end! Closet and drawers.  It truly is the only way to really see how much you have.  Time to face reality, ladies.

• Once everything is out, wipe down the shelves and rods and vacuum the floor in the closet and wipe out dresser drawers.  Now is your chance before things go back in!

• And now, for the hard part!  Put it back.  Notice that I did NOT say put it ALL back in.  Because that is not what we are going to do.  Shake your head up and down to indicate you understand, please!

If you will remember back with me, one of our goals is to declutter.  This means we are NOT keeping extra stuff we do not need or wear.  

    - Throw away things that are stained or torn or 100 years old.  Some of you know I am looking at YOU!

     -Donate things that do not fit you or that you do not love!  NO keeping stuff just because.  Touch every piece and ask yourself, does it fit and do I love it?

Helpful hints- 

When you wear something, wash it and then put it on a hanger facing backwards.  When a month is over, the things that are are still on front facing hangers are the things you have avoided for a month.  hmmmm- do you need them?  

Or try this- I hang all my shirts together in a row and then each day choose the one on the far left to wear.  From there I pair it with whatever else I need and off I go.  If I find myself skipping the same shirt over and over again I take that as a clue that it is not something I like or need and should pass on to someone else.

This also helps me avoid wearing the same few things over and over again that I love.  Because, yes, I would do that.

Really evaluate what you have and what you NEED.  There are plenty of good sites out there that can help you decide what looks good on you (and what does not) and how to mix and match with fewer things.  I have found that when I keep my clothes to a few colors, it all goes together AND it keeps me from buying more.  My oldest does something similar and has just started a capsule wardrobe which she has blogged about for me!  One thing I have learned from all the traveling we do is that you can create many different outfits with few pieces if you plan well.  Let's commit to stop buying random stuff just because it is cute or on sale!  If you don't need it, don't buy it!

If you have a high shelf in your closet, invest in a few dividers that will help you stack things without the risk of an avalanche every time you open the closet door.  Or just get rid of stuff and clear the space! ;)

Hang your dress clothes separately.  It makes Sunday mornings and special occasions easier to get ready for when those clothes are separate.

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Make piles like TRASH, GOODWILL, or SWEET DESERVING FRIEND who will fit better into it! ;)

One bag for the trash, one for Goodwill

You can do this!  I know it is hard to let go of things, but let's not make things an idol.  Clothes especially.  They simply cover our bodies and do not make us who we are.

• This is also the time to go through scarves, shoes and jewelry if this is where those things are housed.  

              -My kiddos gave my two scarf hangers for Christmas that I love.  (yes, I have a thing for scarves, especially in the Midw cold months!)  It is a great way to organize them, plus once you run out of space you need to be done! (note to self)

               -I also love having my jewelry in my closet so it is easy to match to an outfit on the way out the door.  I recently pared down my jewelry to only the pieces I love.  Hard, but necessary.  I use a spool holder for ease.  Trust me, this is pared down!
  

               -Shoes!  Let's talk shoes for a minute.  How many pairs do you own?  Actually, how many pairs can you wear at once?  That is a better question.  I love shoes as much as the next person, maybe not as much as my mom, but I realized that shoes were one of the areas that was going to get the best of me if I was not very careful.  So I donated a lot of pairs last year!  I realized I only wore the same pair of boots all winter anyway, and because of a hip and leg problem (steps are a very dangerous thing!) I wear almost the same two pairs of summer shoes all summer long.  All the others, except for two pairs of church shoes and two very dressy pairs, were extra.  As in not needed! 

              -Bags and pocketbooks.  Now we are getting personal.  If you know me well, you know I have a thing for both.  Don't know why, but I cannot seem to pass up either.  I love changing purses with the seasons and I can find any excuse to have a new bag.  In my defense, I use them.  But, again, not all are necessary (did I really say that?), and I did get rid of a few.  Ok, 2 more this season, it is a work in progress, I promise!

YOU DID IT!  Stand back and look at what your hard work accomplished!  And don't panic- you have a week to finish this project!

 

So how did you do last week in your Master Bedroom?  If you haven't shared your pictures on our Facebook page, please do!  We love seeing your hard work in action!  Plus, pictures entered every week get you in the drawing for some fabulous prizes from 621 Gifts, Redeemed, and ME!  Let me show you the sign Redeemed has just for one of you-

I love it!

Thanks for working hard and having fun with us!  Keep cleaning and organizing- you CAN do it!

Blessings,

A Summer Capsule Wardrobe

If you aren't familiar with Capsule Wardrobing, Ashton's previous post and another one I wrote about a two season wardrobe plus this post about it are good places to start.  While we know summer is almost over in some parts of the world, we still have a few months left here for mostly warmer weather so we wanted to share with you Ashton's summer capsule before we jump to her fall one in October, as well as my Fall/Winter one.  

So here is Ashton-

Hey! So...I know I've talked about capsule wardrobes before but I haven't alked about how I transition from one season's wardrobe to another. So here you go! I first took out all of the things I knew I wouldn't be keeping out for the next season and put them away.  I then got out all of the clothes for the season I was transitioning to along with what was left from the previous season and put it on the floor. 

Then I look at every piece and put what I really loved, what fit, and what was flattering back in the closet, and put away, donated, or gave away the rest. That left me with a closet of clothes that I love to wear.

This is what I had at the start of the summer:
13 Shirts
4 Button-downs
3 Light Jackets
3 Cardigans
5 Dresses
6 Skirts
2 Pairs of Jeans
1 Pair of Capris
For a total of 37 items. 

I do have a confession, I have added and gotten rid of a few pieces since then, but my count is about the same. For me, it isn't about an exact number and I don't include shoes or accessories in my count. My goal is to only be wearing what I love, what fits, and what is flattering on me.

Just for fun, here are some outfits mom and I styled, each set showing one piece used two different ways!

I hope this quick look into how I transition between seasons helps you and maybe the links will even inspire you to start your own capsule wardrobes! Please let us know if you do, we would love to hear about it! -Ashton 

Linking up with friends!-

Project Organize- Teen's Closet

I was going to post about my teen's closet when I did our closet post, but after seeing the mess, I told her she had earned a post all to her own.  (should have made her write it for punishment.) I did help you write it.
R's comments are in blue.

This child can be neat.  Really, she can. Here is the inside of her desk...

I really am an organized person...

But open her closet and you might think about running for your life.  She has a problem with clothes.  She has too many!

So first we pulled them all out and put them into neat piles on the bed. (They really are neat, you just can't tell.)

I also have a lot of scarves. We worked on that too.

boots!

See how clean the closet is?  Then we tried on, threw away, put in stacks for Goodwill, put wrong season stuff away and started over!  We also had a discussion about less is more, the value of saving money and on and on.
It's much easier to choose outfits now that I have less stuff. I don't stand at my closet every morning staring at my clothes, wondering what to wear. Less stuff, less decisions.

The final result-

see? isn't that lovely? and I've kept it clean since we cleaned it out.
I really am organized.

 

Happy mom, happy teen!

 

 

Next week- a peek under the sinks, in the cabinets and a chat about stuffed animals!

Project Organize- The Closet

I just want to start out with- UGH!  This was a hard one!  This is one I have been avoiding for weeks.  This is one I almost did not take pictures of because, well, you know, it is embarrassing! But, as my daughter would say, for the good of the mission, I did take pictures and I did tackle the closet.  And I am glad it is over. 

Actually, we tackled the closet!  My dear husband came along for the ride.  Isn't he dear?  I think he was afraid that if he did not I would just throw all his stuff away and call it good.  (I thought it was a good idea!)  It took us hours.  Several!

Something else you need to know before we move forward- this closet is huge, but it also just about our only storage other than the garage.  So yes, it holds a lot more than just clothes.  It has files.  It has luggage.  It is my gift closet.  It holds all our family's winter clothes.  It has extra linens. (read here, tons of curtains and such that have been used in one of our 12 homes and someday may be needed again.  Let's not go there right now.)

Here is what we decided going in.  (Can you tell I am stalling showing you pictures?)
-  We have too much.
-  We are trying to downsize!
-  We should not hang on to clothes that are 20 years old. (not naming names)
-  Someone else could be blessed by the extras!
-  Sometimes it is not a matter of does it fit or is it used, but instead, how much is too much? and how much is enough?   You know, that whole justification thing we do, "yes, I like this"?  But do I need five of this?  Or ten?

So, keeping that all in mind, and knowing you all will not judge...

 

This shot shows the luggage and piles of stuff that should be put away.  What it does not show well is that the two shelves above it are packed with STUFF!

 

Did I mention the treadmill lives in there too?  This shows my side, stuff that should be put into the bins but that never quite makes it, junk, junk and more junk.  If you could really see the shelves at the end of the room, well, let's just say, they are almost out of the picture for a reason.

 

After hours of work...

 

Here is the pile of things we took to the Goodwill in town. Yes, you counted correctly, that is 11 bags of stuff plus an extra backpack and a few things on the other side you cannot see from this angle.

 

This is the stuff that was deemed complete trash and headed out the door to the trash can.  Sigh!

 

 

Here is the same shot of the suitcase area.

 

 

Here is my side.  The totes are still there, as that is the only storage place we have for them, but they are now organized and labeled better (love a labeler!)  Extra bags- gone!  Extra shoes- gone!  Extra clothes- gone!  Were some cute?  Sure!  Were they all needed- NOPE!  What you see there are my everyday clothes, church clothes and still-probably-too-many military "occasion" dresses. (again, let's don't go there right now!)  I want to talk about clothes in more detail, but we are going to save that for another post that has been rolling around in my brain for a few months.  See, even the shelves at the end look better.

 

The hubby's side.  I have to hand it to him, he did great!  My husband is a "just in case we might need it" saver, but he got rid of A LOT!  I just kept saying, if we die tomorrow, do you really want our poor kids to have to deal with all this stuff?  Nice, I know, but oh so true!

OK, so how do we keep it at this level and not slide back into the old ways?

First- our No Spend January and No Spend February have helped a lot in seeing what we need and don't need!
Second- Resolve to put things away at that moment.  Don't save for later, it never comes.
Third- Repeat after me, how much is enough?
And fourth- take a look at all those things we get rid of, quickly think about how much money you spent on those things and realize how wasteful we are being.  Good stewards of our money?  I think not!  Shame on us.

Spending money just to spend money SHOULD make us feel badly.  If you need something, go get it.  If not, don't!  Just yesterday we went by Bed, Bath and Beyond and I saw that beautiful yellow clearance sign and it called my name.  Seriously!  I had to tell myself and my husband who was laughing at me, YES, I want to see what is in there and yes, I could surely find something, OK - lots of things I liked,

 BUT- NOT. ONE. THING. DID. I. NEED!

 

How about you?  Do you need to let go of junk?  Do you need to stop buying things that are not necessities?  Do you need to declutter? 
 

I challenge you to take the first step today.  Pick one small project, can I recommend NOT the closet, and get started.  You will not regret it.  And I am cheering you on!

Next week, join us in the bedroom.  To organize, that is! ;)