Starting Fresh

It’s that time again! What are you ready to take on this year?

This year I decided that I am going to try to write a closet “guide” book of sorts. I learned in a marketing class that the easiest and quickest way to do that is to use blogs as your chapters! So that is my plan and you shall be my first readers!

To make it a little more interesting, I have created a character named Mirranda to tell stories about what she sees people struggling with in their closets all the time and maybe even divulge a few fun secrets from over her many years of observation.

I am sure some of these tips will sound familiar to you…..but we all need reminders now and then to keep us on track!

I look forward to this new adventure and will appreciate any feedback you have!

Let’s get started.  

Chapter 1 Starting Fresh:

You know what I notice? And I’ll bet this applies to you too: people have closets FULL of clothes and they wear the same things all the time. Those poor unworn pieces of clothing get very lonely and insecure. It makes me very sad to see them go unnoticed so I want to share an exercise to bring more attention to them! Will you take the time to play?       

• STEP 1:  Make sure all of hangers the hangers in your closet are facing in the same direction, Then, make sure all the piles of clothing that you have (whether in drawers or on shelves) and neatly folded.

• STEP 2: Once you wear a piece of clothing, turn the hanger backwards or put the folded piece back at the bottom of the pile.

• STEP 3:  Commit to only wearing new things until you have turned all your hangers or rotated all your piles.

Now, I know what will happen along the way.......you will get to a piece and not "feel like" wearing it, or it doesn't "feel right" etc. Take note of those pieces and if it happens more than once...it's time to let it go!

Who's with me on this? It's a pretty easy exercise to play and you can weed through your wardrobe at the same time. 

 Remember: Someone else will probably love to wear whatever you choose to give away!  

5 Choices When Spring Cleaning Your Closet

If you are someone who avoids cleaning out your closet because you can't decide what to keep and what to get rid of,(and what I mean by get rid of is to donate or hand down unless it's unwearable)....here's are 5 tips to help make your choices easier.

1. To Wear or Not To Wear:  You know what I am talking about! We all have those pieces of clothing that we start at time and time again thinking we will wear it, we should wear it and of course we never wear it. Those pieces need to go! Yes, you may have paid a lot of money for it, but your money will be better spent if someone else is wearing it, than if it's sitting in your closet!  
2. Ouch it Hurts: Ugh my feet are killing me! Is that another blister? If these things sound familiar...you have some shoes that need to go! Life is too short to have sore feet!
3. Did That Ever Fit?:  Are you standing in front of the mirror wondering how you ever fit into a piece of clothing? If it doesn't fit properly, send it on it's way. Yes, you may lose/gain the weight again but then treat yourself to new clothes. Live in the present and enjoy!
4. Never Again!: Say goodbye to the pink taffeta bridesmaid dress or your wedding dress from 15 years ago! If you know you will never wear something again, give it to someone who will!
5.  Tugging at the Heart Strings: High school is over. Your camp days are in the past. IF you are wearing some old comfy pieces that are torn and ragged but simply make you happy: BRAVO! But, If you are saving clothing in a box just for sentimental value, take a photo and move on.

I hope these helped and if you have any other ideas please share with us!

How do you choose?

Today I wanted to talk to you about hangers.......how boring right?  

Not really!  There are so many to choose from.....how do you decide? 

I also decided to take this opportunity to try video my hand at video UGH! 

ENJOY!

Uploaded by organizeatoz on 2016-07-27.

5 Reasons NOT to be Afraid to Hire a Professional Organizer

Many people say to me "I really need your help but I am afraid to have you come over".....and all I can think is really? Am I scary? LOL.  

Fear is a very strong emotion and one that can really hold us back from making changes or difficult and uncomfortable decisions. I know what I deal with and I would imagine my clients will deal with the same things:

• Fear of change
• Fear of letting go of something
• Fear of loss
• Fear of not having enough or not being able to get more
• Fear of  dealing with buried emotions

And YES, de-cluttering and organizing your life can raise some of these deep issues. As professional organizers we are here to help you through that...it's what we dedicate our lives to. Here are the 5 reasons why you should NOT be afraid to work with us:

1- We don't judge: We got into this profession to HELP people not to judge or ridicule them. We take pride in being able to motivate people into creating new patterns that will make their lives easier and more efficient.

2- We have seen everything: People are often under the false impression that they are alone in their situation.  If that were the case, Professional Organizers would not stay in business. There is really not much that will shock us!  

3- We are not perfect: I can't speak for all organizer but to be truthful sometimes.....my own life's organization will turn into chaos.  It happens to all of us.  We just have been taught the skills to get things back on track quickly.

4- Your appointments are confidential:  You don't have to worry about people finding out what you are doing or what you are working on.  What happens during your appointments stays at your appointment!

5- Our bark is worse than our bite:  We may give you a lot to do and think about and expect positive results. We are merely the facilitators...you don't have to worry about disappointing us.....it's all about YOU!

If you have any questions about working with a Professional Organizer, please feel free to contact me!

The Top 4 Reasons To Organize Your Clothing By Cateory

We have all heard the arguments about the best way to organize the clothing in your closet. So which way is the best way? By color? By season? In capsules?  As a closet designer....my vote is by category. Here are my top 4 reasons why: 

1. When you have your clothing separated by category you will get more use out of each item. For example, if you hang a suit together, you will grab it and wear it as a set all the time, forgetting that the top and bottom can be worn with other items to create a completely new outfit!
2. When you are not searching for a top squished and hiding between two bottoms, you will be able to see ALL of the mix and match possibilities in your wardrobe more easily.In this way you know exactly where to look when you want to find a particular piece....take a shirt to the pant section (or vice versa) and decide what you feel like wearing. 
3. You don't have to worry about what works for which season! Who cares! I know when I am cold in the summer....I want my sweaters close by. I wear tanks in the winter as a layering piece. When organized by category you know exactly where items are at all times.
4. It will save you money! You will always know exactly how much of each category you have. No more buying a piece that you already have buried in your closet somewhere while thinking "I am sure I have one of these already!"   

Now keep in mind that this is just my opinion. There is value and merit to other ways of organizing. It doesn't matter what other people do or say is right....you have to choose the method that works best for you!

I simply wanted to share my thoughts and what has worked best for most of my closet clients.

I would love to hear any and all other ideas that you may have!  Please comments and share!

Closet De-clutter 5 Categories to Purge

Ahhhhh........what a great feeling!  I just finished cleaning out my closet. Every once in awhile I get an urge, I mean A REALLY STRONG urge to purge! Has that ever happened to you?

I took every piece of clothing out of my closet, tried it on and made a decision about what to do with it. Does that sound like a dream or a nightmare to you?  Well, I know it's not for everyone! Many people become paralyzed when faced with too many decisions so I put together a little cheat sheet to help in this situation.

Please give it a try and let me know how you do!

Pour a glass of wine or a cup of tea, put on your favorite music and just GO FOR IT!    

5 Tips for Easy Closet Management

I have spent 20 years designing beautiful and functional custom closets for people. It never fails that when closing a sale many clients will ask me "do you come and put our clothes away too?"   Of course I will if they want me to, but for those who prefer to do it on their own, I  share my 5 Tips for Easy Closet Management.

These tips will not only help you maintain an organized closet (whether custom designed or not) but they will help you keep track of, and make the most of your wardrobe!  It is so easy to forget what we own and then spend money on items we don't really need!

1-  Put out of season clothes away:  Away can mean in a bin under your bed, on the top shelf, in an extra closet or even just towards the back of the closet you are using.  The purpose of this is to keep what you are currently wearing more visible.  

2- Keep "Like with Like":  This goes for items (ie: shirts and pants) and colors.  You want to keep the same colors together so that you can see what you own and avoid buying duplicates. How many of us have at least one too many plain black t-shirts. By keeping "like" items together you can create new and different outfits with the clothing you have.  If you hang things as "outfits" they tend to be worn the same way, with the same pieces all the time.  That is not using your wardrobe to it's full potential.

3- Keep items that can be nicely folded on shelves: First of all, folding anything that is knit will avoid stretching the garment  and prevent hanger marks in the shoulders. I hate it when I look in the mirror and I have these 2 little bumps on my shoulders and I have to  throw that piece in the wash again to re-set it.  Second, what you don't see you won't wear.  This is fact. No one has the time to go searching for a piece of clothing when they are rushing to get dressed in the morning!.

4- Contain things that can't be nicely folded in drawers or baskets:  Drawers are for dumping! That is not to say that a drawer can't be nicely organized - it can.  Drawers should hold underwear, socks, P.J's, bathing suits, workout clothes etc. What you don't want happening in drawers are piles where you wear the first piece, wash it, put it away on top and continue that cycle, thereby not wearing any of the pieces underneath.

5- Once you have worn something turn the hanger backwards in your closet:  I am not sure who first came up with this idea but now it is seen all over social media.  I am adding it here because I am a big fan!  This is a simple way to keep track of what you are actually wearing and at the end of a season you will know what should be given away! If you are not wearing it....someone else will!

I hope that you will at least TRY to implement these tips into your closet organization.  Let me know how it goes...I love a good success story!