Here's To A New Year, A Fresh Start!
New Year = New Planning = FRESH START {spruce-us.com}
I love the beginning of a New Year. SO much hope & possibility!!!
I love planning (even if loosely) what the New Year will be. What will get done when (again, even if loosely). I love a fresh start. A new beginning!
For me; there are personal plans (health, fitness, family travel, etc.), business plans and my own home plans (the home to-do list of projects for the year & in what order). Of course, plans change or shift along the way some years but I like to at least start with a plan and go from there.
What plans do you have for the New Year? Do you write your plans/to-do lists down or just go with the flow? I get much more done if I have a plan of attack (so to speak).
Time once again to edit, edit, edit! {spruce-us.com}
One thing I do each year in January (and usually again late July/August) is go through my clothing, shoes, bags and edit, edit, edit. This year will be no different. I actually look forward to it. I go through everything! My entire closet. My dresser drawers (PJ’s, socks, etc.) EVERYTHING.
In theory, I like the rule - “if you haven’t worn it or used it in a year…out it goes”. In reality, I realize we all have items that we may not use within a year but will again at some point.
Take bags & shoes for instance. You may not have the opportunity to wear that pair of fancy, black pumps within a years time but you know you’ll for sure wear them again. Now, if you just don’t wear pumps anymore, EVER…then by all means, donate them!
Same goes with bags. If you haven’t used a bag in the last year but it’s still in great condition and you love it and you know you’ll for sure use it again then keep it! If any of these three things don’t apply…maybe consider donating it (or tossing if in bad condition).
I rarely wear jeans living in hot, humid Florida. BUT…I do occasionally wear jeans. When our temps drop below 60 degrees for a day or two or when I visit cooler climates, I NEED MY JEANS! Same goes for my sweaters, coats, boots, etc.
I like to keep different washes & different cuts of jeans. Various weights even. To edit down the “keepers” is key.
When editing…I always try them all on (double check they all actually fit RIGHT NOW & LOOK GOOD ON ME RIGHT NOW). No reason to keep any that have similar washes & styles. Like Marie Kondo (author & as seen on Netflix - select books linked at bottom of this post) I say…only keep items that SPARK JOY! Jeans that don’t look good on us or are dated, spark anything BUT JOY and take up precious space that could be put to VERY good use.
Do you organize your closet by color, style, season, etc.? Some like to put all like colored items together (rainbow style). Some like to organize their clothing by season (all sweaters together, all t-shirts together, etc.). You may know of The Edit system (seen on Netflix and authors of select books linked at bottom of this post). It’s a great system just as Marie Kondo’s is. You just need to find a system that works best for you & your needs!
I prefer to put all short sleeve tops/tees together and then in a light to dark order. All solids together then all prints together. Same with long sleeve tops/tees. Blouses all together in a similar way, light to dark. Solids then prints.
Same with pants, skirts, dresses. Casual pants all together (light to dark). Solids all together then prints (you guessed it, light to dark). It’s a system that just works in my walk-in closet (and brain). Jeans can be folded & stacked on a shelf in your closet. Same with sweaters although I prefer to stack these items and put them in a open box bin to keep them neat and not spilling all over the place. If these bins are up high in a closet, label them so you know whats where and don’t have to go digging for your sweaters every year.
I wear A LOT of dresses so one section is just all dresses. If facing that section, I have them organized in like styles by length, color, etc. It works for me but sometimes you have to just try different configurations within your own closet set up to see what works best for you.
As I edit, I pull out anything that I hesitate on. I take those items and lay them on my bed and keep going. Inch by inch. Yard by yard. Foot by foot. I pull items as I go along that I’m on the fence about.
Make note of any items you need to replace & consider a staple in your closet. You won’t want to replace all the items or what’s the point, right? But a staple like a white tee or button down…jot that down to replace if need be. Since white tees (white cotton in general really) goes yellow after awhile these may need to be replaced from time to time.
Since I go through this process at least once a year (usually twice), it’s a pretty easy & fast process now. The first time someone purges & reorganizes their closet, it’s a bit more of a process but SO worth it! You’ll want to actually hang out in there once it’s all nice & organized (or is that just me?).
Organizing by color & style makes it easier to find what you need, know what you need to replace AND just looks pretty!
I follow this same system for all of my shoes & bags. You don’t have to have a huge closet to have an organized closet! There’s everything from bins to books to help you pull your closet together. I’ll link a few of my favorites here that will hopefully help encourage, inspire, guide & assist in pulling your closet together to be the best it can be. No matter how big or small. No matter what shape it’s in now.
If you need more help & direction than the books & other links below…feel free to reach out! Send me a message (click Contact) and I can help you via ‘Virtual Organization’. It’s a pretty easy process and I’ll help you stay on task and give my opinion on what to keep, toss & donate. Reach out if you need me and I’ll explain how it works!
In the new year, my closet is one of my very first “to-dos”. It just feels good and makes getting ready to start the day and/or head out the door less stressful.
An organized closet is truly one of my favorite things! Clean slate! New start! New Year! RIGHT?
Happy Sprucing!
~Scarlett
*This blog post includes affiliate links that if you decide to use I will make a small commission from but will not cost you anything additional. All products I have linked are chosen solely by me. I hope you find these items helpful!
Some of the books linked below have more specific closet organizing content than others. Click the photos to proceed to the products and see the contents of each book for your self. ALL great books on organizing! ALL very different systems but ALL will get you organized. Just choose which system feels more like you. You may start with your closet and move on throughout your entire house or apartment once you get on a roll.
Linked below are a few must haves for organizing a closet (in my humble, organizing opinion). Click on photo to proceed to the product for more details!
I prefer a neutral color, thin velvet hanger. I use the same hanger throughout my closet (and anyone else’s that I’m asked to organize). These come in shirt hangers too but the suit hanger shown will work for everything really. Buy a mix of both if you’d like but I normally buy more suit hangers than shirt hangers since they are more universal for all types of clothing. Click the photo above for the shirt option in the same color.
I know it seems odd but these hangers REALLY do take up less space in a closet and are much better on clothing than any other hanger. Replace your big bulky plastic ones with these and for sure toss all those wire hangers.
Make sure you have enough hangers on hand to replace all your old hangers before you start your editing if possible. If you over order, you can go on to another closet in your home once you finish yours.
Unless you have a custom closet with built-in shoe cubbies/racks…every closet needs shoe storage. There are SO many options out there! I’ve linked one option here for your convenience and to get the jest of how important organizing shoes are. This linked shoe rack will work in any closet (another reason I linked it)!
I personally like shoes organized on the floor of a closet (instead of up high on a shelf). I like to line the longest wall in a closet with a shoe rack like this. Because of its slight slant, any type shoe will stay put (for boots…I have another solution I’ll link below).
Measure your space where you’ll put your shoe racks and line them against that longest wall and add as many as you need, having them end to end. Surprisingly, when you set them up this way they (almost) look like one long, connected shoe rack.
Just like with my clothing, I like to put like shoes together (color/heel height/style). You can do this by rack or by row! Play around and see what works AND looks best. The idea is to get those shoes organized and displayed for easy access & to help keep them in the best condition possible (not getting all scuffed up thrown in a pile…yikes).
Now for those boots….
These boot shapers are not fancy BUT THEY WORK! They basically disappear into the boot anyway so who cares what they look like, right? They work and are SO affordable. Choose the top photo which are for tall boots. Choose the bottom photo for a mix of tall and short boot inserts.
I love these types of fabric storage bins for a clothes closet! They come in various sizes & colors. Click photos to see other options & for dimensions.
I like a neutral color personally. They are great to stack jeans in. Folded sweaters store well in them too. Clutch bags, flip flops, you name it…these fabric bins contain & organize just about everything. Just line your closet shelf (or shelves) with them and you’ll see these bins add so much more real estate to your closet. If your shelf is up high, label the boxes so you can see whats what from below. Who can’t use more space in their closet?
All nice & organized you and your closet will soon be!!!
There are SO many closet systems and items to pull it all together. I just linked a few tried and true items above that I know work in any size closet and with any size budget. Whether you are a home owner with a huge walk-in closet, an apartment renter with a not so big closet or anything in-between…you can still have an organized closet that you’ll love! Let me know how it goes and if you need any help, don’t hesitate to contact me.
Happy Sprucing!
~Scarlett