Transitions

I spent the rainy March weekend cleaning out my closet. My mantra is it shouldn’t take me longer than 10 minutes to get dressed but I have struggled of late to make this happen. The challenge stems from not being able to find items quickly and efficiently in my closet. Are you with me here? It always amazes me how when I de-clutter the stuff that just lingers in my closet, I don’t miss it. I started purging my clothes, and then moved to housewares and old CD’s.

I found this picture for inspiration to start.

photo: The Container Store

Then I started tearing it apart. But before you do anything drastic, there are certain rules of thumb that I abide by when I start my Spring cleaning. Here are my tips:

Start sorting.

Make one pile for items to move to a winter closet, one to sell, one for donations, and one for giveaways to people you know, and then one for throwaways. I also make a pile that I let “marinate” in my room. It is for the items that I think I might want to grab, but haven’t touched in over 6 months. I label it and date it six to 12 months hence, and if I don’t open it by then, I toss it.

Set the rules.

Decide what you are going to do with stained, worn, or wrong-size items. We all have them! To streamline the process even more, hang all remaining items backwards, and turn them around each time they are worn. If anything is still backwards in a year, out it goes.

Resist using a storage facility.

If you have trouble discarding heirlooms or those pieces that you might pass down to your kids even though you’re not even married yet, forget about it. Take a picture instead and hold onto that for keepsake. It’s the memory you’re holding onto, not the thing.

Recycle.

It’s almost Spring, and who says that we can’t recycle old outfits that we once wore and loved? I wore this outfit last August when it was just starting to get chilly, and will wear it again in March when it is just starting to warm up again. These are great transition pieces — a great leather jacket, a black and white striped shirt, and white track pants that blend seamlessly into Fall, and out of Winter. Perhaps on a day like today, I would wear booties instead of open toe shoes featured below. Don’t be afraid to recycle your fashion, I know I’m not.