CURATE YOUR CLOSET
Have you ever felt like you haven’t a stitch to wear no matter the size of your wardrobe? Chances are you’re feeling overwhelmed when you look in your closet. Maybe you have too many choices, or perhaps too few of quality, or everything might be buried in a precarious pile on a shelf or crammed on a rack. Don’t worry. It’s nothing a little closet curating can’t cure.
To “curate” is to refine – and that takes skill. We’ve tapped Palisadian expert organizers Cathy Zaas of “Cathy’s Closet Connection” and Julie Ramsey of “Toss.Keep.Organize.” to guide us through what can be a daunting closet-cleansing process.
“Out of sight, out of mind” is what Zaas reminds herself when she’s organizing a closet for a client. She tackles the dilemma of what to wear by making every category of a wardrobe as visible as possible, including everything from workout wear to business suits. When it comes to accessories, she encourages clients to utilize wall space all the way up to the ceiling, if necessary, in order to make it easier to see everything with one quick glance.
Ramsey admits professionals are sometimes just as prone to mess as the rest of us. She offers motivation to organize by pointing out, “Messy is different than unorganized. When messy piles up, at least it has a place to go.”
When curating your closet, you’ll undoubtedly end up with piles of castoffs. How do you decide if you should toss them in the trash, donate them to a local charity or take them to a consignment or re-sale shop? Cost, condition and whether or not a particular item is currently fashionable will determine their fate. If you follow our experts’ tips and manage to limit your wardrobe to pieces that work – and that work together – you’ll find the better you edit and organize the more you have to wear.
Services provided by Cathy’s Closet Connection and toss.keep.organize.
Contact: Cathy Zaas of Cathy’s Closet Connection, Cathy.z@verizon.net.
Contact: Julie Ramsey, professional organizer at toss.keep.organize, Julie@tosskeeporganize.com
ASK YOURSELF
Does it fit?
Is it still your style/color?
Is it in good condition? (stains, holes, missing buttons, etc?)
Do I remember the last time I wore it?
Did I feel good in it the last time I wore it?
PURCHASE
non-slip fabric hangers
clip hangers for bottoms
clear vinyl shoulder covers to protect delicate items from dust
assortment of hooks
cascading hangers, if space is a particular challenge
canvas bins
SEPARATE
designate a pile to keep; one to donate; and one tobring to consignment or re-sale store (and some clothes may even qualify for the trash bin!)
place heavy outerwear in mud-room or hall closet
if space is an issue, store seasonal items on a rollingrack in garage or remote closet
ORGANIZE
completely empty closet of contents
reconfigure bars & shelving; add hooks for accessories and frequently used clothing (i.e. bathrobe)
categorize garments and arrange by color, fromlight to dark
hang as much as you can, including tees, jeans, work-out wear and accessories (“out of sight is out of mind”)
make sure to use vertical space, all the way up to the ceiling (keep a stool handy)
make use of door, hang racks and hooks
hang all pants full length to minimize creases
designate prime real estate for frequently worn items
face all hangers in the same direction
consider how you get dressed and arrange by category
ACCESSORIES
if space is a challenge, place shoes in large canvas bins
space allowing, store shoes in original boxes and paste a photo of shoes on box
arrange by color and style
consider frequency of use, placing rarely used shoes further from reach
shoes worn on a daily or weekly basis may even be kept out of the box on the floor
display purses within reach and in plain sight
hang scarves with coordinating outfits
hang jewelry on mounted hooks
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