Week #28 Organized Home Challenge
Organize Closet In Your Bedroom
In this week's Organize Closet Challenge we'll tackle your bedroom closet.
This can be a pretty big task, so this week we'll talk about the big picture and focus on cleaning it out and getting good systems in place.
Then, over the next couple of weeks we'll focus on various parts of the task, each with their own weeks, including:
- Clothing stored in your bedroom;
- Accessories (plus purses);
- Shoes;
- Kids' bedroom closets; and
- Kids' bedrooms; and
- Seasonal clothing
Therefore I've broken this big task down even more so you don't get overwhelmed trying to do it all at once this week. Instead, we'll make progress this week which we'll improve upon further over the course of the next several weeks.
Are you new here? The Organize Closet In Your Bedroom Challenge is part of the 52 Weeks To An Organized Home Challenge. (Click the link to learn how to join us for free for future and past challenges if you aren't already a regular reader).
Step 1: Declutter Your Your Bedroom Closet
Every week of this Challenge one of the first steps is always decluttering the space, and this week is no different.
Of course, what happens in a lot of closets is that they become a stashing ground for not only clothes, but also for all kinds of other stuff that you don't know what to do with.
If this sounds like your situation you'll most likely want to spend the majority of this week's time focusing on getting rid of things in your closet, purging, sorting, donating, placing items elsewhere in your home, etc.
It may seem like you want to jump into organizing first, instead of doing this preliminary step but you can't organize clutter.
First Part Of Decluttering Your Closet: The No Brainers
Don't pull everything out of your your closet and try to attack and declutter it all at once. You'll quickly get overwhelmed and make a mess, and then inevitably run out of time before you can put everything back.
Instead, engage in this two part process of getting rid of closet clutter.
The first part of removing this clutter is to attack only one small zone at a time, and get rid of the most obvious items in this first step.
This includes getting rid of clothes that:
- You haven't worn in at least a year (hint: you can use this simple trick to identify what hanging clothing you don't wear)
- You don't like, such as if you don't like the color, they don't make you feel comfortable, etc.
- Are out of style
- Don't fit
- Are completely worn out, have holes, spills or stains on them, etc.
You can check out my full list of bedroom and closet clutter to consider getting rid of here.
Anything that someone else could wear should be donated, consigned, or otherwise sold.
On the other hand, you know not to donate trash items to charity, so those types of items should be discarded, turned to rags, or otherwise disposed of.
To get you inspired to get rid of this obvious clothing clutter, plus see the results you can also acheive, check out my article with the 7 reasons why getting rid of clothing clutter is awesome, which includes pictures from readers who've already decluttered their clothing and happily reported their results.
Second Part Of Decluttering Your Closet: Tough Decisions
Pictured: Rubbermaid Homefree Series
Closet Kit 3P40. [Click here for Rubbermaid
Closet Kits available on Amazon]
Often, after the first round of decluttering we're feeling pretty good about what we've accomplished, but take a critical eye to what you've got left.
In this day and age of "too much stuff" it is very likely you've still got too much stuff after getting rid of the no-brainer types of items.
This is where the process can get tough. Group similar items together and decide how much space you have to store each group, such as how many pairs of underwear to have, how many pairs of dress slacks, etc.
Keep winnowing down until everything you own fits comfortably in the closet, removing excess items that you have duplicates types of. (Please note if you have room to store out of season clothing elsewhere you don't have to count this as part of the room taken up in your closet.)
I've written an article that you can use which lists the 9 questions to ask yourself when you declutter clothes. This can help you really focus on good reasons to keep or get rid of each item, so you can feel more confident about your choices of what should stay and what should go.
To break it down for you, I've created several Declutter 365 missions that can help you make this decluttering process less overwhelming. Here are some of the declutter missions we'll work on over the next several weeks:
- Hanging clothes
- Closet drawers and shelves plus dresser drawers
- Closet floor
- Socks
- Undergarments, such as underwear, bras and more
- Pants and jeans
- Shirts and tops
- Sweaters and sweatshirts
- Sleepwear and pajamas
- Dresses and formal wear
- Work wear, such as suits, dress clothes, and uniforms
- Sportswear, athletic and work out clothes
- Coats and jackets
- Winter gear, such as gloves, hats and scarves
- Accessories, such as belts, ties and scarves
- Hats and caps
- Shoes (this is a whole additional organizational challenge)
Here is a round up of all the Declutter 365 missions on the site for decluttering clothes of all kinds.
Step 2: Now Take Everything Out And Assess Your Closet Storage Space
Closet Shelving System, with small
items held in baskets
[Click here to buy similar items on Amazon]
Earlier in the first step of the Organize Closet Challenge I suggested not taking everything out of your closet while decluttering, and I still stick by that advice.
However, once you've decluttered, now it's time to completely empty your closet, so you can get on with the organization process.
As you take items out of your closet group like items together so you can see how many of each type of item you've got, and how much room it will take up.
This will allow you to confirm you've got the right types and sizes of closet storage solutions available for what you own and want to keep.
Once the closet space is completely empty you can really look at the room, make sure you haven't missed some clutter, declutter excess hangers, etc., and really assess the space you've got.
I'm amazed at how much stuff can really be packed into an organized closet, and still have everything be accessible. The key is to focus on using every inch of space, which is what we'll do next, in the third step of the Organize Closet Challenge.
Step 3: Add Or Rearrange Closet Storage Solutions To Accomodate Your Stuff
Organize It All Closet Doubler
[Click to buy on Amazon]
The next step in the Organize Closet Challenge is to add or rearrange storage solutions within your closet to accomodate the items you want to store in there.
There is no one size fits all closet organizers everyone should use. Instead, you need to choose what works best for the shape and size of your space, as well as what you're storing there.
You most likely already have items you can use as organizers in your own home, so make sure to use what you've already got laying around before buying closet organizer kits and systems.
You want to utilize space from the very top to the very bottom of your closet, keeping in mind that the most accessible spaces should be used for items you use the most.
I've shown you some ideas for how to store items on this page already, but here are some of my favorite solutions you should consider:
- Storage baskets, especially to hold small items
- Extra shelving, especially adjustable shelving so as the items you're storing in there change you can make the most of the space available
- Closet shelf dividers, to compartmentalize various parts of your shelf, and to keep stacked items from toppling down into other stacks
- Vertical hanging dividers
- Extra or double closet rod (such as the closet doubler shown to the right, above)
- Hooks and pegs, especially on the door
- Over the door storage solutions, such as shoe or purse racks, to add storage space where there was none before
- Drawers
Closet Storage Solutions {Referral Links}
Step 4: Put Everything Back Into Your Bedroom Closet
Finally, once you've got your storage systems in place go ahead and place everything back into your closet as the final step of the Organize Closet Challenge.
The key is to place like items with like, so everything similar is together and it is easy to find what you need (and remind yourself of what you have) so you can easily get dressed each day.
I've created several pages of storage solutions for various types of clothing items that can help you get ideas for how to organize all your clothing to the max, so check out the ones I've written so far:
 Tank Tops & Camis |
 T-Shirts |
 Worn Clothes Storage |
Listen To Taylor's Video Tips For This Week's Organized Home Challenge & Declutter 365 Missions
Do you want more in-depth tips and instructions for how to do this week's missions and challenge all about decluttering and organizing your closet? If so, I've got recorded video tips from me, Taylor, from the video archives in the Declutter 365 Premium group, all about this week's challenge and missions.
These video tips are available on demand in the archives, once you're a member of the group.
In Week #28's video I discussed the following topics, among others:
- Questions to ask yourself when decluttering clothes
- Things to consider when deciding whether to sell, donate, and/or trash/recycle clothes when decluttering
- Tips for organizing your closet
- Declutter 365 missions for week
I suggest watching the video archive for the week, perhaps while you're doing some decluttering or cleaning around your home, before starting the week's missions and Challenge, and then you'll be able to breeze through this week's worth of decluttering missions, as well as organize what's necessary for the 52 Week Organized Home Challenge, based on the advice and instructions within those videos.
It really is like having me, Taylor, available, 24-7, as your decluttering and organizing coach, for every area of your home!
Plus, once you're a member of Declutter 365 Premium you get access to not only this video, but all the videos for the 52 weeks of the year, for 5 years (that's over 260 videos available in the archives!)
Tell Me How The Organize Closet In Your Bedroom Challenge Is Going For You
I would love to know how this week's Organize Closet Challenge is going. You can tell me your progress or give me more ideas for how you've organized this area of your home in the comments below.
I also would love to see before and after pictures of your bedroom closet once you've completed the challenge. Submit your pictures (up to four per submission) and blog posts and get featured in the Creative Storage Solutions Hall of Fame. You've worked hard to get organized, so now here's your chance to show off!
Sneak Peek For Next Week's Challenge
We're working on our homes slowly, one area at a time, so don't get too distracted from this week's Organize Closet Challenge. However, I know this is a big task, so I've really spaced out the organization of clothing, accessories, shoes, etc. out over several weeks.
Now that you've got your closet itself mostly dealt with, we'll continue on with another place we often have clothing, our bedrooms, as well as focusing on other aspects of that room as well. First, we'll focus on your bedroom organization, and later we'll focus on the kids' bedrooms (just like later we'll focus on the kids' closets too).
Make Sure You Make The Most Of These 52 Organizing Challenges
Get your copy of the printable one page 52 Week Organized Home Challenge schedule for the year here, so you can see all the challenges we're working on.
Further, if you'd like to join a community of others who are all commmitted to these organizing challenges and corresponding decluttering missions, and want more interaction with me, Taylor, video archives of Taylor providing more tips for each of these challenges and missions, as well as live monthly group coaching sessions focusing on the skills and habits necessary to maintain your home from now on, I'd urge you to join the private and exclusive Declutter 365 Premium Facebook group (you can learn more about it at the link).
In addition, have you gotten your Declutter 365 Products yet, to make sure you can get even more assistance with decluttering and organizing your home this year? There are both free products (like the Declutter 365 calendar, a $20 value), as well as add-ons, such as daily text messages, planner stickers, and a Premium Facebook group, as well as a pack of printabe decluttering checklists.
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