Tuesday, February 22, 2011

What To Keep? What To Toss?



PALM BEACH, FL - DECEMBER 17: Richard Muth arr...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
What to keep, what to toss?  I don't know.  It's so hard to decide.  That is why  I  enlisted the services of Lisa Scarsella of Second Time Around Consignments in Bedford Hills, NY to help me sort through the mess.
Good Organization
Want to be fashionable?  Start with a well-organized closet!
Being in style begins with organizing your clothing, shoes and accessories.  Once you have sifted through your wardrobe you will be ready to assess what you need to complete an outfit or what is missing from your wardrobe.
Most of us have a limited budget.  If so, your plan will be to enhance your wardrobe, not fill it with items you will never use.
Organizing your closet can be a freeing experience.  Although time consuming, you need to consider your lifestyle; what you need to make getting dressed each day simpler.
Elimination
My closet cleaning approach is if you haven’t worm something for two years, get rid of it!  It may come back in style in several years, but never exactly the same!  If it does, by then you will want to buy the new fashion anyway, guaranteed!
Okay, now that we have solved that issue, you will need to start by creating two piles; one for consignment, one for donation.  In order to consign clothing and accessories, the items MUST be clean and in excellent condition and current.  If it looks worn, faded or just doesn’t fit properly, out it goes!  High-end designer labels are the best sellers at any consignment shop.
Wardrobe Space Organization
Look at the available closet space and organize it for your lifestyle.  You might want to:
1) If space is not an issue, you can organize clothes by season.  If space is an issue, store out of season clothing elsewhere.
2)      Your wardrobe may be easier to see if you organize your closet by category.  Put all tops together with bottoms beneath so you can put an outfit together with less effort making mornings easier.
3)      Your dresses should be in a separate section, again so you can see them more clearly.  Short, long, casual and evening wear categorized by such.
4)      Put short jackets, then longer jackets/coats on the same rack.
5)      Keep workout clothes, tennis, golf, etc. on a shelf together.
6)      Organize tank tops and polo shirts, button down shirts together, keeping tanks and polos shelved and button downs hung in the section with all hanging tops; organizing by category.
7)   Organize all your clothing in each section by color.
Now that your closet is organized, I recommend changing your hangars to matching slim lined space savers.  These can be purchased through stores such as target and online.
Go Shopping
Your closet has never looked better!  Time to see what new outfits you can put together.  There may even be some you may never have thought of!!
Organization and Storage
Got shoes?  Store them in boxes with a photo of the shoe on the box.  Keeping out of season shoes separate, put all in season shoes out of the box on a lower shelf, storing the boxes with out of season shoes up high.  This will make it easier for you to see in season items, making it easier to create any outfit!
Jewelry?  It is not easy to organize jewelry without it becoming tangled or lost.  You can organize in clear boxes.  An inexpensive way is clear plastic boxes with dividers available locally, the internet and from fishing supply dealers.  Stackable drawers may also be used, keeping jewelry in categories according to style.  Available at stores like the Container Store.
Need Assistance
If all of this seems like too much to deal with you can hire a closet organizer, someone like me.  For a fee, Lisa Scarsella will come to your home and together you  can organize your closet just the way I have described here.

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