First off, welcome to my lovely new .com! I must beg for your patience while I iron out the kinks of switching from Blogger to WordPress. Because I’m doing it myself, I know it will be a little while before everything is the way I want it to be. So I owe you a sincere THANK YOU for understanding! Now on to the fun stuff…
I’m back this week with another installment of my Make It Simple series! It took me a good month to get up the courage to post this… I’m still deciding if it is completely weird to post pictures of my own closet, but oh well!
Because it was so much fun when I did it with the kitchen, let’s resume this format, shall we?
Here is what I think my closet looks like…
And here is what it actually looks like:
Ta-da! Surprisingly, this is one area of my home that I never think about improving. It functions well for me, and a gorgeous walk-in closet is not high on my list because then I would only want to fill it up. And the key to simple for a woman’s closet organization is LESS. (Just don’t remind me of that next time you see me at Banana Republic.)
1. Tops (with workout tops right before the empty hangers)
2. Basket of girly things – like nail polish & lotion
3. Bottoms (both pants & shorts)
4. Bathrobes
5. Hanging shoe organizer that I fill with pajamas & bras (not shown, because that really would be weird). Socks at the very bottom.
6. Dresses & Skirts
7. My shoe tub! Fancy, isn’t it?
8. Storage tub. This is where I store a bag of maternity clothes and a bag of post-baby clothes. Tucked away for future use!
9. Basket for temporary storage. When I change clothes but am too hurried to put them away properly, it’s nice to have a designated place to toss them!
But what I am most excited about is this group of empty hangers!
I recently donated a big bag of clothes and shoes I haven’t worn recently. I am merciless with my own belongings! If they don’t get used, I have no place for them! I used to own more, in high school and college. But I’ve been honing my shopping skills gradually so that I only buy pieces I love. It all started with that one time Ryan and I drove out to grad school in the Midwest and only took what we could fit in our Toyota Corolla. We rented furniture for the year and were careful not to accumulate because we would need to once again fit our belongings in the car to get back home!
Now I just need to hide those empty hangers and resist the temptation to fill them with new clothes! (Obviously, my desire to dress cute is constantly at battle with my desire to own less. At least I’ve got that latter to keep the former somewhat in check!) I hope you found an idea or two that you could apply to your own closet.
Is your closet working for you? Have you evaluated its contents lately?
To catch up on the rest of the series:
Becky K
Excellent work on the WordPress shift! I have major issues with my closets. Last year, we decluttered everything for a rummage sale except for, yes ma’am, my closet. I just never got around to it, and now I put blinders on whenever I must venture in. I like your idea of buying only things you love, though. I’m too much in the habit of buying whatever fits and can withstand peanut butter smudges. Ahhh… this post makes me want to go shopping.
Erica {let why lead}
If I could, I would say let’s meet at the mall asap! Unfortunately, we live a little ways apart, and that wouldn’t exactly help me keep those hangers empty! 🙂
Kendall
Beautiful! I’ve been trying to shift my mindset from more is better to owning pieces I absolutely love, and maybe cost as much as 2 or 3 “just more” pieces. Thanks for the inspiration!
Erica {let why lead}
I’m sure I mentioned it before, but it was Grandma who taught me the “less is more” wardrobe concept!
Kristi
First, your blog looks great. Second, so does your closet. I’m ashamed to open my closet…it needs some work in the organizing/dejunking area…I’m hoping to get to it soon. 🙂
Erica {let why lead}
Thanks, Kristi! There’s no shame – everyone’s closet goes through wild patches!
Mary B
I just cleaned out my closet this past weekend and am feeling so happy about it! I need to work on my weeding skills… Among the bag of clothes that I tossed is a couple of shirts that have been hanging in there (unworn) since 2002. But I AM going to go back to work someday, so someday I’m sure I might have wanted to wear it again… someday… when it’s way, way, WAY out of style! 🙂 Good bye and yay me!
Sarah
This always feels so good – to clean out the closet! In the past year, I’ve really also tried to buy only things that I love, but more importantly, they have to work with multiple looks! Sort of multipurpose pieces! My closet could be your closets twin, really!
Erica {let why lead}
Ha! They say everyone has a twin out there somewhere… Maybe closets do to!
Jeni
I just went through my closet and got rid of THREE garbage bags full. Seriously, three. It was the best feeling ever. We also went through Olivia’s toys and tossed probably 90% of them. BEST DECISION WE EVER MADE. Olivia has no clue and she doesn’t miss a thing. We just kept the stuff she actually plays with; legos, books (I would never throw a book away!), and a few dolls/stuffed animals. Even those things don’t see that much action since she’d rather be outside or drawing/painting. Nothing makes my heart happier than a whole bunch of clean, empty space!