Organize Your Closet: The 5-Step SPACE Program
In a fit of organizational frenzy induced by Martha Stewart, she has completely emptied her cluttered bedroom closet. And now that?
Before you return all those clothes and other items to the closet… Have you started the SPACE Program? Consider following the 5 simple steps listed below to help you declutter, organize, and make the most of your now-empty closet.
yesSort your clothes/belongings into three piles or boxes:
1.To keep
2. To donate
3.To the trash
Be ruthless. (You guys have never and never will be never wear that sweater Great Aunt Bessie made you 8 years ago). Be honest. (The last time those jeans fit President Carter was in office!) And order without hesitation. (why exactly, have you kept your old high school marching band uniform?) Keep what you really wear and wear, donate what you can, and throw the rest away.
Purge your tidy piles to get rid of everything except items that really use and use (meaning you’ve used it more than twice in the last year). There can be a multitude of reasons why you don’t wear something: it doesn’t fit, it’s out of style, you don’t like the color, the fabric is scratchy… It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if the item of clothing is old or new, expensive or cheap, a gift from a relative or picked up from the lost and found box. The bottom line is that if you don’t use it, you’re stealing valuable space. If the item is still usable, donate it to a charity: Goodwill or the Salvation Army. If it’s gone too far, throw it away…today!
INsign everything in a particular storage location/area. When items have a appointed storage area have a greater tendency to find their own home instead of ending up on the living room floor or in the infamous “junk drawer.” The key to staying organized is making it convenient to keep things in their proper place. It will always be easier in the short term to just drop what you’re using on the nearest shelf, but what about finding it next time? The 10 seconds you save now by not returning the item to its proper place will cost you a very frustrating 10 minutes searching for it later.
againstontainerize and label everything you can. That may mean placing items in actual containers (clear plastic is best for most items) or it may mean, as mentioned above, simply designating a slot for each item or type of item. Always try to bundle complementary or similar items. For example: all the pants on a clothes rail, all the makeup in a drawer, the red belt in the same cubby as the red shoes, etc. Needing something and then quickly finding it because it’s right where it belongs can be a surprisingly rewarding experience.
meAssess your closet and your method of keeping it organized at regular intervals in the future. Is your system working for you: 1 month, 6 months, 12 months later? If not, you can change yourself and your habits, or you can modify your system to work better with your personality. Where possible, modify your system to match what it really is. You will be much more organized and happy in the long run, and that, of course, was the ultimate goal to begin with.
