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Blog: Life Management
 How Do You Eat An Elephant...to Get Organized?
Bite 6 - Closets
This bite is strategically placed on the trunk of the elephant to symbolize where you may store things like clothing and whatnot. Is your trunk full of clutter?
Imagine your favorite celebrity is escaping from a mob of adoring fans and begins knocking wildly on your front door. When you open it he or she yells, "Quick! Hide me in your closet!" Would you die of embarrassment or would you be able to fling open the door of the nearest closet knowing they wouldn't be hit with an avalance of stuff pouring out on top of them?
If you are in the "dying of embarrassment" camp let me give you a simple technique to help dejunk a closet and get things back in balance. By the way, this works well with children because when you say to a child, "Go clean your room!" That's like someone saying to you, "Go clean Walmart!" It's big. Where do I start?
Okay, let's go into your bedroom closet. Take with you four boxes. The first box is to be labeled "Give Away". This is for all those clothes that are much too large on you now (don't you wish!) – or whatever the situation. Fill it up!
Label the next box "Put Away". Put items in this box that have wandered into your clothes closet but they belong somewhere else. For example, you find the potato peeler! You wondered where that went. So, you take the potato peeler to the kitchen…where you spot a brownie so you decide to make a cup of tea and then the phone rings and you never make it back to the closet cleaning. This box keeps you on task. Now, at the end of the closet cleaning project you may want to "put away the put away box" but nay, nay nay! Set a timer and play "Beat the Clock" while you put away these items where they really belong. Or, if you have a child old enough for this task you can go to the kitchen to make those brownies and meet there after the things are put away to enjoy a snack together!
Box three should be labeled "Throw Away". Now this box must be the size of a refrigerator box – mandatory! Get ruthless with all that stuff in your closet. A general rule by most organizers is that if you haven't worn something in a year it's time to move it out and into the garage sale or charity box. One method organizer's recommend is the backward hanger trick. At the change of seasons turn all the hangers of the new season's clothes backward on the rod. As you wear the items turn the hangers the right way. At the end of the season any hangers still backward haven't been worn…out they go! If you're still not quite convinced then make sure to use plastic hangers and use a permanent marker to put the year on it. After you rack up a few years on that hanger maybe then you'll see that this item is just taking up space.
The fourth box should be labeled "Storage". Any item that remains in your closet that doesn't belong there but you just can't part with them should go into the storage box. They, no doubt, will be items of great sentimental value. That's fine. Fill up as many boxes as you like and need. Store them in the attic, basement, garage, or mini-storage. Your kids will throw these away for you when you die!
Finally, a general rule to help maintain balance in your closets and throughout the house is to implement the "One-In-One-Out-Rule". Whenever you bring something new into your home you take something out. It doesn't have to be blouse for blouse but can be blouse for trinket. Have you ever noticed we keep bringing things into our homes but take very little out? Some of you need to start this with a variation on this rule: 1 in and 15 out!
Alrighty – we've cleaned up your closets. Next week we'll clean up the rest of the house with Bite 7 - Cleaning in general. See you then. So, what are you still sitting there for?
Get up from your computer now and start cleaning out a closet!
posted on: 11/13/2007 12:00:00 PM by Judy Warmington
category: The Mental Side
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