Beautiful Closet

When my house is clean, I feel calm. When my life is beautifully penned out on my calendar, every appointment and activity in its place, I am at ease. When I open my pantry door and all the canned goods are in a row, sorted by type, dinner gets made. The same thing applies to my clothing closet. I love it when I look in and find all of my clothes hung neatly in order of type, color and season. My morning routine becomes easy. On the other hand, when my my life is in disarray, including my closet, I fall into a slump. So lets get started, making our lives simpler, one pair trousers at a time.

Tips for cleaning out your closet:
Try everything on. Make separate piles of clothes: one for “keepers”, one for items to take to dry cleaner or mending, one for charity or a clothing swap, and one for the dumpster. You may have an iffy pile. Have a friend, child or husband take a picture of you in your outfit. When you see it glaring back at you on the screen, you’ll know whether to keep it or not.

Things no one should be wearing. Throw them away:
**Any clothes with shiny or worn patches.
**Items that bulge where your bum or knees are, even when your not wearing them.
**Those favorite things that are beyond repair.

Invite a stylish, yet honest, friend to help. Then return the favor.

If you haven’t worn something in a year, get rid of it.

Sometimes there are things that don't fit but are just too difficult to part with, like my favorite pre-prego GAP jeans, that I know some day I will squeeze into again. If you can't bring yourself to give it away, then at least store these items out of your everyday closet. It will keep you from getting discouraged that you don't fit into them. Your dressing ritual will be much less stressful. I found these inexpensive boxes below at Ikea.


Once you're done, organize your closet. Having an organized wardrobe is not about being spoiled or self-obsessed. It’s about looking the best you can, every day, with minimal fuss. Knowing what you have (and where to find it) saves precious minutes during the morning rush.

(I like to give credit where credit is due. Several years ago I read an article about cleaning out your closet in InSTYLE magazine. Many of these ideas come from this source. Since that time, I have lost the article and I could not find it in their online archive.)