101 Things in 1001 Days: 99

#99 on my 101 List was to organize friend's closet.  To some this might sound like a nightmare, but it is my wet dream. Ick!  Need to rephrase...Let's just say my idea of a good time is a glass of wine and a crazy closet to tackle.  I've dabbled with the idea of becoming a professional organizer but I realize there is a big leap from cleaning up your stuff to someone else's, so I thought it would be best to start with a friend.  My friend Kate was a willing guinea pig, although she was surprised I only wanted mimosas as compensation.   But she is aware of my strange obsession (see "wet dream" comment above) with organizing and her closets were in dire straights, so we got started.

Kate being frustrated with the dire straightiness of her closet

Like most New Yorkers, Kate's problem is space.   But after assessing the amount of clothes she had and the space available, I knew there was hope.  There are three parts to organizing a closet.

Step 1: The Cleanse (not this type of cleanse).   I pulled out each item of clothing one at a time, and Kate decided if it went into one of three piles: Stay, Go, Assess Later.  A cleanse can be tough but it is necessary, so if you are having trouble, ask a friend to help (tempt them with mimosas).  Some things I urged her to keep, helping her rethink how she could wear them, while other things I had to gently nudge her to throw away; "Dude!  Those pants have front pleats!"  After all the sorting is done, go back through the Assess Later pile.  You will have a better understanding of what you have, so it will be easier to decide what you can get rid of.  By the end of the cleanse there were over five bags to go Good Will.  Most of clothing wasn't hard for Kate to part with.  She just didn't realize all the stuff she had because it was jammed in the back of her closet.

Part 2: Work With What You've Got.  Lots of people put off cleaning up their closets because they think they have to buy a lot of expensive organizing tools.  This is usually not the case.  Once everything is out of the closet, look at the shelves and space you have and rethink how you were using them.  Kate had two great hanging organizing units but they were so smooshed in the crowded closet that it was tough to get clothing in and out of them.  Once we cleared the space, those units became very useful.

Part 3: Go Shopping in Your Closet.  Kate is always saying she needs new shoes but what I discovered when we were cleaning was that she had a big box of fabulous shoes, but she never considered them because they were in a storage bin under her bed.  With the space we were able to make in the closet, we could display her shoes neatly on the floor, in plain site, and use the storage bin for out-of-season clothes.  

I promise that you will find things in your closet that you forgot you had.  And when you display your clothes in an orderly, non-smooshed way, you will feel more satisfied with what you have.

At the end of a long day of organizing, Kate’s excitement over her new closet made it all worth it.  It also helped that we were a little buzzed and that we found these awesome t-shirts.

Vixen Lounge and Let It Ride.  T-shirt time!

Is your closet in trouble?  I would be positively happy to help.


Song of the Day
Kate is a big ol' Biggie fan so today's song is Juicy.