How to Organize Your Closet and Feel Good About Body
A new season is the perfect time for a good spring cleaning of your closet. According to a New York Times article, the average woman has 103 items in their closet but only utilizes 10%. No wonder we are so frustrated getting dressed every morning.
In my House of Colour studio, I constantly hear women express how defeated they feel putting an outfit together. They quickly turn to criticizing their bodies, their aging skin, the grey hairs they found, etc. instead of acknowledging that it could be the clothes and not us. That pale pink sweater that looks so good on our bestie is draining all of the color out of our face making us look more tired, washed out, and less put together. It works for her because she has cool undertones and needs blended colors to make her shine. That flowy boho top you bought from that influencer link is beautiful but doesn’t honor your portions or personality. You need structure, a little shine, and a front tuck to make those gorgeous legs look longer.
Knowing your season through a House of Colour color analysis and your clothing personality through a House of Colour style analysis will help you curate a closet full of clothing that represents the authentic you and looks incredible on your body. So get those scheduled ;)
8 Steps for Organizing Your Closet
Make sure everything is washed. This might seem like a feat on its own. However, nothing is worse than organizing your closet to realize you have three more baskets full of clothes you didn’t even consider. Side note: forgot about your kids and significant others’ clothing. This is a you project. You (or even better they) can catch up on their laundry later.
Take it all out of the closet. As I take it out I like to do a quick sort into categories. T-shirts, sweatshirts/comfies, dress pants, work shirts, etc. This can help you see that maybe we don’t need 5 sweatshirts in the same color. Worn-out, stained, torn items go to the trash immediately.
Start comparing to your season. This is where the power of color analysis comes into play. During your HOC Color Analysis, you will receive a swatch booklet in your season palette. Be sure to compare your clothing first to your words (found on the inside of your fan), then look for harmony, and finally look closer at the swatch. Don’t hesitate to contact your consultant if you aren’t certain about an item.
Make your piles. Items in your season that you also love go into one pile. Items not in your season but you wear a lot go into pile two. Items you never wear and aren’t in your season go into a third pile.
Time to Put it Back in the Closet. First, start with the things in your season you wear and love. Choose a spot front and center for those items. If you realize you have six shirts in the same color and are all relatively similar pause and ask yourself if they all need to remain. The items not in your season hang on the edges or the corners of your closet. If you realize you are always reaching for cardigans on the edges that is a good sign you need to work on first finding cardigans in your season to replace the “edges item.”
Donate or Sell. What’s that meme about the box of clothing finally making it to Goodwill? Or perhaps you have attachment issues. A friend recently shared a brilliant strategy. She puts everything into a tote that needs to be donated, marks the outside with the date, and into storage it goes. After 6 months if she has not gone searching for an item in the tote the whole tote goes to the donation center. DO NOT reopen the tote. Let it go. You already sorted through it once.
As for selling Poshmark works best for me because I don’t have to mess with figuring out postage. If you are new to Poshmark you can sign up here enter code CRYSTALCATTLE and receive a $10 shopping bonus.
Dive deeper. It is one things to have a closet full of clothing in color that look good on you or colors you love but it is another to feel like your very best self in those clothes. This is where style comes into play. Did you buy something because it was trendy and now never where it? When you put that item on do you tug and pull to try and make it better? Do you put it on and then immediately take it off? If these items made it back into your closet get rid of them. They don’t represent you and your body. And if you don’t know how to narrow that down then it is time to book a House of Colour Style Analysis.
You don’t need it all. Do you have 15 basic T-shirts and only ever wear a basic T-shirt on the weekends? Do you realize you now own 8 pairs of black pants? Think about your lifestyle and what you need. I LOVE sweatshirts and 3/4 zips. I currently own 13 tops like this. I could do almost 2 weeks and never repeat a top. Additionally, many days, my lifestyle doesn’t call for this amount of casualness. So while every single one looks amazing on me and I have decided I can’t part with any of them (just yet) I am not allowing myself to buy any more of this style top unless I remove an old one from my closet.
Is this going to take time, yes. Will it be worth it, yes. Fill your closet with clothing you love and that look incredible on you and your closet will turn in to spot of joy.
Other Handy Tips
Have a hard time remembering what you wear and what you don’t? Turn all of your hangers the opposite way. At the end of the season, you’ll see what you who and what was repeatedly left hanging.
Matching Hangers. I went 39 years of my life without matching hangers. Not a necessity, but they make everything look so much more uniform. I bought these for our new closet.
Don’t hang on to all of those goal-weight clothes. Maybe keep a pair of jeans to motivate you or something with sentimental value. However, if it is too many sizes too small when you reach that size again you are likely going to want to freshen up your wardrobe.
Now your turn for the tips. Comment below with what has helped you keep your closet more organized. Learn more about House of Colour Style or Colour Analysis here.
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