Tackling the Mess: Closet Clean out

This past week I had a few days off and I finally decided I needed to tackle my closet. I had been talking about fixing my closet since OCTOBER! After losing a shoe or having the closet monster eat something I wanted to wear, I knew it had to be done.

I am actually embarrassed to show this photo of what my closet looked like- I am a neat person and I I try to be organized but somehow the closet monster completely took over my closet.

Here is the BEFORE photo of my closet. 

 I had my idea in my mind and I found on Pinterest and I spoke with my carpenter AKA Daddy and he said it was very doable. We took measurements and talked about what my needs were- a specific place for my shoes, enough room for all my clothes and the ability to see all my clothes. Daddy drew up the plans to make this and off we went.

Pinterest Inspiration

 

After posting Project Organization with Lindsey, I took her advice. First I went through every single piece of clothing, shoes and accessories in my closet and separated into three piles- keep, storage and donate. I am happy to report that the donate pile was ginormous and I felt amazing taking these clothes to the thrift store so someone else can use them. Unfortunately there were no photos of this because I knew if I stopped I wouldn't finish.  After everything was sorted into piles, I went through and color coordinated the clothes. I always feel like I can find things easier if its color coordinated.

After the colors were all coordinated, I made sure all my hangers were the same- I had some of these thin, plastic grippy hangers that I really loved. I had the hardest time finding them- TJ Maxx didn’t have them but Home Goods had them and I am not ashamed that I bought every single one they had. Check out these from Bed, Bath and Body

I organized my shoes into two groups- summer/spring and fall/winter. The current season shoes are on the shelves and the out of season shoes are all on the top shelf. I also split my clothes up into three different categories- Tops, Bottoms and Dresses. Tops are in one area, Bottoms are below them and Dresses are on the other side. This made it easier to see what I have.

After organizing, rehanging clothes and straightening things out, the only thing left to do was to straighten out my handbags totes.  After a lot of discussion and looking on pinterest, I decided on hooks to hang my totes and handbags. 

I am so pleased to share what my closet looks like currently. This is the AFTER photo of my closet.

I am overjoyed how my closet came out. This was desperately needed and I am happy I accomplished it. It is making my life so much easier to get dressed now and being able to see what I have.

How do you organize your closets?

 

Project Organzation with Lindsey Jane

Source

Lindsey from Organized by Lindsey is stopping by today to help me sort out my messy closet. Just the other day, there was an avalanche of shoes- I realized I needed to clean out my closet. Spring is the perfect time to get organized. Check out Lindsey's tips and comment below with your favorite organizational tips.

Step One (Where Ya Headed?):

Before you start to clean your closet, decide what you're going to do with the things you no longer wear. You have a few options at this point! You can donate your unwanted clothes to places such as Goodwill or a local thrift shop. For items that are in good condition and of higher value, I love selling them at consignment shops and making some money back! Of course you could also give things to friends and family, sell on eBay or Craigslist, and there always the trash can for those really old and worn out items!

Step Two (Decisions, Decisions!):

As you go through your closet, as yourself these three questions:

Do I love it?

Is it flattering?

Have I worn it in the past 12 months?

If you answered "yes" you all three questions, keep the item! If you didn't, it's time to decide where that item is going -- refer back to step one! It can be hard to let go of items you once loved, but doing so will give you more space in your closet (and a good reason to go out and buy a few new pieces for the Spring!).

Step Three (Let's Get Organized!):

Now comes the fun part! I have a few suggestions for making your closet, no matter how big or small, organized so that you can find your clothes quickly!

First, go ahead and ditch those plastic hangers and switch to velvet! Not only will they hold your clothes better, they take up less space! Having all of your clothes on the same color and type of hanger also makes your closet look pretty-- and who doesn't want a pretty closet?!

Next, it's time to section your clothes out. I like to organize my clothes by type and color. For example, I put all of my short sleeve shirts together and then place similar colors together.

When it comes to smaller items, get creative! Pinterest has some wonderful ideas for organizing items like shoes, tank tops, scarves, jewelry, etc.

Step Four (Enjoy!):

Now that your closet is pretty and functional, enjoy it!

Thanks for having me as a guest today, Gabrielle! I'd love it if you'd follow me on Instagram @bylindseyjane for more organizing inspiration and a peek into my life adventures!

Planning out my life

Erin Condren Review

Over the summer, while sitting in the hospital to pass the time, I debated whether I needed to get a planner. For the first half of the year, I did not use a planner, just a little calendar and a notebook. It was working fine, but I missed having a planner. I like keeping everything together. I read reviews on Pinterest, blogs and anything else that reviewed different planners. I narrowed my choices down to Lilly Pulitizer, Day Designer, Erin Condren, Kate Spade, and Simplified Planner.

I made of list of what I definitely needed and what I could pass on in a planner. .
My ‘must have lists’ included:
(+) monthly Calendar
(+) weekly view (horizontal)
(+) space to write notes in both calendar views
(+) aesthetically pretty

What I could pass on included:
(-) Meal Planner (I don’t cook, duh!)
(-) Vertical layout (I get confused too easily)
(-) No writing space

I loved all the choices but when it came down to actually choosing, I chose ERIN CONDREN. She had the most options, the prettiest colors and even though it was expensive, I was able to get the rest of this year (July to December and Plus ALL of next year).

I was so excited when I finally received the pretty box with my new personalized planner in it.

 

The box itself was so pretty, i couldn't wait to see what my planner really looked like.

 

The cover turned out great, I decided to choose my own colors and I was a bit nervous to see if the colors were going to match! (They don’t give you a proof of your personalization) I ended up loving my choices and the saying on the front is something that I love!








I love the goal planner section in the front, I haven’t used  yet but I think I will start placing my monthly goals in each box (one for each month). There are inspirational quotes scattered within the planner; I enjoy these so so much!
I added my important dates into each calendar and also using the perpetual calendar, I found in the back of the planner too! The back of the planner had stickers, a pocket to hold loose paper and a clear zip case to hold little things. All these extras make the planner even more special and I had no idea that they were there- What a nice surprise!

I got my calendar at the very end of August, so I felt a little bad to waste those two months; I decided to use those to extra pages to create. I was very nervous to watercolor on those pages but they turned out to be some of my favorites.
 

I use the monthly overview to plan my month out and in the notes section, I put my monthly goals. Every time I look my monthly view, I can always look at my goals.

My weekly view is used to record my outfits, what, if any, moments that stood out and how I have been feeling each day.

Overall, I really like this planner. I want to start to use it more now I am more comfortable with it. (you know there is an adjustment period with new planners)

Check out Erin Condren for all her fun products.
 

((I did not receive any commission or the planner from the company, I really love this planner and I wanted to share with everyone how excited I was about it. All my thoughts and photos in the post are my own.))