The #1 hack for redoing your closet, according to an expert organizer
Spring is upon us. The days are longer, warmer weather is teasing us, and your closet is most likely a total mess. If you’re feeling the pressure to get a hold on the haphazard conglomeration that is your closet, have no fear. Spring cleaning can be painless. And yes, redoing your closet can be painless, too. Really!
If you don’t know where to begin, we have a huge piece of advice for you that will get you through the process. We spoke to professional organizer, Jeni Aron, of Clutter Cowgirl.
Her #1 hack? Break your closet clean down into one-hour chunks.
"For one hour, empty a lot of your closet onto your bed and sort through your clothing into very simple categories: trash, donate, keep," Jeni said. "Stay focused and eliminate distractions (kids, phone calls, work emails). Take a break at one hour, do something else in another room. Treat yourself to a fun snack and then go back in for hour two."
While cleaning everything out, if you hit a snag and you’re not sure what to keep or donate, Jeni suggests a logical approach.
“Challenge yourself and ask, ‘Would I buy this item today in cash?’ If the answer is no, you have to donate it,” Jeni suggested. “If it’s good enough for consignment, go ahead and make a new pile but be truthful about whether or not you’ll make the time to follow through with selling your consignment items and think about what your time is truly worth.”
Jeni also recommends bringing in some moral support to help you tackle the project.
“If you have a non-judgmental friend and you can enlist their help to keep it moving, that’s great,” she said. “If necessary, if you really can’t do it alone, hire a professional organizer. They will coach you through the decisions.”
But at the end of the day, Jeni’s main tip is key: Stick to a timeline.
"Don't spend an entire weekend doing it. Break it up into the one and two hour chunks I mentioned. It can be fun, put on music, think about what you currently enjoy wearing and doing in your home and focus on the positive," she said. "Don't spiral into nostalgia because that will suck the time and energy right out of you. Keep it light and set a timeline for when you want to be finished."
Some other great tips from Jeni?
“A key for a functioning closet is to be able to see everything you have for the current season,” she said. “By dividing up what you have by season, you can eliminate having to leaf through unnecessary items on a daily basis that don’t pertain to the current climate. Even if you’re storing off-season pieces in the same closet, put them up on a higher shelf or store them in a plastic tote labeled at the back of the closet.”
She also said that people tend to buy too many organizing products they don’t need before seeing what they have.
“Reverse that,” she suggested. “Make an effort to purge what you can, take inventory, and then go ahead and buy bins and baskets and hangers to fit your needs.”
Happy spring cleaning!
