Sunday 12 April 2009

Three Simple Steps for Decluttering Closets

Life simply works best when we have our physical environment really work. When we’re organized, we can think more clearly, we’re more efficient, and we can take on projects that have lain dormant for months or even years.

I’ve found that I have more time to spend with my children and a greater sense of peace when my house is organized and easy to maintain.

When my closets are clean, I get laundry done and put away with great ease. I wear nicer clothes (because I can find them). And the bedrooms don’t suffer from the dreaded Closet Overflow.

But good, lasting organization doesn’t happen overnight. It is crucial to start smart because decluttering takes a lot of effort at the beginning. I strongly recommend getting expert advice in order to see results quickly and avoid getting bogged down in too much “stuff”. You’ll save yourself hours and hours of work if you listen to the right people.

So if you’re getting working on decluttering closets, following these simple steps will at least get you started:

Step 1. Get Rid of Things You Won’t or Can’t Wear – If you have clothes that are too small, take them out of your closet and put them away for later. This will give you an idea of what you actually have to wear and will stop you from feeling bad about yourself every time you open the closet doors. You can always retrieve the clothes later. Also, throw out the clothes with the holes in them, or store them in your chest of drawers for projects like cleaning the garage. And if you don’t like an article of clothing, and don’t intend to wear it, give it away or have a garage sale.

Step 2. Clear out Things that Don’t Belong in the Closet – The closet is not a storage facility for extra bedroom items. It is for clothes, shoes, blankets, and towels if you don’t have a linen closet. I don’t have a linen closet, so I’ve stacked our towels in the top of my closet. But I don’t have a stack of 40 different, random towels. I use sets of towels and store away mismatched towels. If you don’t use 10 wash cloths a week, don’t have them taking up room in your closet. Put a stack of three or four into the closet. I also have a stack of utilitarian cleaning towels that I keep in the closet. That way, they’re always handy for cleaning and spills.

Step 3. Organize Your Hangers – One of the keys to decluttering closets and making laundry a snap to put away is the practice of putting hangers off to the side every time you take a garment off the hanger. That way, you don’t have a dozen hangers left hiding amongst the clothes. When you hang things back up after being laundered, you’ll always know where to find hangers.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/three-simple-steps-for-decluttering-closets-414475.html