Behind Closed Closet Doors

This week, my husband was out of town on business.  When he is away, I end up watching television and doing projects into the wee hours of the night.  Case in point:  Tuesday night, I stumbled upon one of my guilty pleasures, the show Hoarders: Buried Alive.  Well, I tuned in mid way thru one episode, then stayed tuned thru another episode and, what do you know, the next one, too.  After a mini-marathon of shock and awe, I was moved and motivated to then clean my MBR closet until nearly 2am - which needed a straightening and a once over.   I am lucky enough to have a good sized closet, but that just means it allows me to fill it and hold on to things that are no longer part of my wardrobe repertoire.  Time to purge.  It felt so good and there is a little high that comes from clearing floor space, emptying shelves and throwing things out. 

Here are some tips to make your MBR closet look decent enough to keep the door open:

Unify your hangers.  Choose a color and go with it.  Get rid of all the junky wire things that come from the dry cleaner and rickety hangers that came from the department store.  Target, dollar stores and any grocery store carry plastic hangers for around $2 for 13 hangers.  Load up on one color and go home and unify the look.  If you are fancy and can afford wood hangers, they look very sharp, as well.

Organize the way you want to shop in your closet.  Some people like to organize by color, but my brain does not work that way.  I hang just about everything because folding things always looks sloppy and unorganized.  Sweatshirts, sweaters, jeans, t-shirts, tank tops, scarves, etc. all hung up on white hangers.  It saves me from digging in my drawers for something wrinkled, as well.  So, in my closet, I group like items and that also translates to seasons.  T-shirts are together and sweaters are together.  When I walk into my closet, I feel like I can shop for things to wear as opposed to digging or finding things.

Keep what's practical at hand.  We used to keep our suitcases in the basement, but my husband travels so much for work that we now keep the suitcases in our closet.  Which means I had to move out some things we don't use often, like an extra comforter, extra pillows, and empty shoe boxes.  I made room for what we need by putting other things in more practical locations elsewhere in the house.

If you have extra space, put it to good use.  I actually had enough room to organize my wrapping paper which is no longer in a dark corner of the closet leaning up against the wall (and more often falling down on the floor).

Add something beautiful.  After all if you have a walk in closet, it is a room in itself.  Why not treat it as such.  Hang a beautiful full length mirror with a great frame.  How about a cool waste basket for your tags and pocket trash.  Why not a chandelier to bring a little glam in there and really make it look like a store you'd want to shop in.  Add a small bench if you have space, or a narrow console table in the middle to act as an island for folding or pulling an outfit together. 

Paint your closet a fun color.  I know that painting your closet might be the last item on your to-do list, but it might make a big different.  If you weren't daring with your bedroom wall color, this is your chance to do something bold or happy. 

If you don't have a ton of space, and your closet is small, you can still do these things on a smaller scale. Still paint, still hang a pretty light fixture, still hang a mirror (on the back of the door), still add a trash basket, and still unify your hangers and organize your wardrobe!  But, scale down your clothing selection.  Keep the good stuff, keep the basics and the essentials, but get rid of the old trendy stuff, the red satin dress from that wedding last year, and cocktail dress you wore to so-and-so's birthday party...chances are the next function you go to will want a fresh new dress anyway!