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HOW-TO GUIDE cleanout CLEANING OUT your closet

Start! Label five large boxes or plastic bags with the following categories: • Off-season • Donate • Sentimental • Altering or mending Donate it • Trash Feel good about cleaning out, give gently used items to a local nonprofit. Help your closet by helping someone else! DECIDE WHAT TO KEEP

FASHION DOUBT? THROW IT OUT! BUTTON LOST? GIVE IT A TOSS! ARE YOUR SHOES SINGIN’ THE BLUES? Rid your closet of clothing that you swear Store clothes that need repairing or If the toes are curled up or the surface is will someday be back in style, but you altering in a separate location. Make too scuffed — even if you spent a bundle wouldn’t be caught dead in today. Even repairs a priority. on them — get rid of them. The same if similar styles come back, the materials applies to purses and other accessory and color combinations are never quite BIG OR SMALL, NO GOOD AT ALL! Do you items. the same. Donate these items! have one for before the diet and one for after? Keep clothes that SENTIMENTAL? THE SOLUTION’S USE IT OR LOSE IT! Just ask yourself, “If you believe may fit in the next year (be ELEMENTAL! If it makes you happy and it’s too good to get rid of, why am I not honest!), but remove them from your gives you pleasure, it’s not junk. So keep wearing it?” If you don’t feel confident primary closet. your letterman jacket, wedding and/or and comfortable wearing it, or it no prom dress, but store it in a labeled box longer conveys the image you wish to MISSING ONE? THAT’S NO FUN! Did your elsewhere. present to the world, get rid of it. dryer eat another sock? Still looking for that missing glove? Stop fooling yourself OVERFLOW? SOMETHING’S GOT TO GO! STILL GOT A TAG? THROW IT IN THE BAG! — get rid of orphaned items! The best way to avoid clutter is to get We’ve all purchased an item that looked rid of one old item every time you add great in the store, but later realized it OUT OF SEASON? IT’S CLOSET TREASON! a new one. If purses are your passion, looked better on the hanger. Take it to a Store out-of-season clothing in labeled choose a sensible number of them to consignment store or give it away. boxes somewhere else. keep — and stick to it.

GETTING organized

DIVIDE AND CONQUER

Follow these steps to create a the shelf tower where they can space where things are easy be seen. If you can’t see it, you to see, easy to reach and easy won’t wear it. to keep clean! 6. Fit more shoes on each 1. Divide your clothes into shelf by alternating the toe- groups: Short (blouses and heel direction. Sort shoes by shirts), Outfits (suits, etc.) and height and adjust the shelves Long (dresses) accordingly.

2. Now that they’re grouped 7. For men’s dress shoes, for easy match-ups, file by invest in shoe trees. Shoe color light to dark, then again trees extend the life of your by sleeve length and casual shoes by holding their shape versus dressy. (and cedar shoe trees help eliminate odor). 3. Hang everyday items on space-saving, non-slip velvet 8. Label out-of-season storage hangers. Use heavy, shaped containers to ensure you find hangers for suits and jackets. items easily between seasons. Make sure all clothing and hangers face the same 9. Keep a bag or basket in your direction. closet for when you find items that don’t look good or no 4. Separate your suits and longer fit. When the basket is outfit pieces — this allows you full, donate the clothing. to see more coordinating combinations. 10. In kids’ , try using 80/20 Rule You wear 20 percent of your clothes labels to teach your children to 80 percent of the time — the rest just 5. Fold sweaters (to maintain put things where they belong. take up valuable space. shape), T-shirts and jeans, and If they’re too young for written store them on open shelves in labels, use pictures instead. STAYING organized

MAINTAIN YOUR NEWFOUND ORDER

FINISH YOUR LAUNDRY Fold clothes when they emerge from the dryer, iron them while they’re still slightly damp, and take clothing up to the Everything else if you’re going there anyway. If your clothes are wrinkled when you remove them from the There are dozens of closet dryer, use the appropriate hanger from organizational products for the closet but hang the garment out storing accessories such as to air and “de-wrinkle.” Staying on scarves, jewelry and ties. top of laundry is much easier when Investigate what works best for the clothing items are returned to your space and budget. Below where they belong immediately after are a few that are easy and being washed. inexpensive to implement! n  Put empty space to MAXIMIZE YOUR STORAGE work. Attach towel bars Remove clothing from dry cleaner’s plastic bags and transfer for ties or scarves. Install a them to your personal hangers when you put them away. hook to set out tomorrow’s The plastic bags can damage clothing if used for long- outfit. Scarves can be hung term storage, and wire hangers can cause clothing to lose on a peg rack (“accordion” shape. Maximize closet space by storing running shoes and coffee mug rack). outerwear, such as jackets and sweatshirts, in the closet near n  Use gift boxes and empty the front or . Space under the bed, or in the shoeboxes in drawers to or , works best for seasonal and long-term separate undergarments storage of sentimental items. and leggings. n  Necklaces and bracelets MONITOR YOUR HABITS can be hung on a peg rack If you have a hard time deciding what to get rid of when it in the closet. Or, if you have comes time for seasonal closet cleaning, simply turn all of wall space or any empty your hangers the opposite direction at the start of the season door back, use adhesive — when you wear an item, flip your hanger. At the end of hooks to store necklaces. the season you will know what to keep and what to donate, Earrings can be easily stored making space for next season’s purchases. and separated in plastic ice cube trays — one pair per “cube.” CLOSET GARAGE OFFICE WALL BEDS