Ten Ways to Declutter Your Home
By Peter Walsh
The Oprah Winfrey Show
February 07, 2007
Is clutter taking over your home? Peter Walsh has 10 easy ways you can de-clutter your home and your life today.
How to Keep Your House Clutter-Free
•Tackle messes one room at a time.
•When you buy something new, practice the "in-out rule:" For every one new item, get rid of an old one.
•Create intimacy in the master bedroom. Remember that improvements in one room can spread to the rest of the house.
•Make cleaning up fun for your kids.
•Create a vision for the room you're cleaning.
•Teach your kids how to sort.
•Use a hanger system to determine which clothes you wear most.
•Ask yourself if you really need something. If you hesitate, you don't.
•Establish a "magic triangle" in your kitchen between the stove, refrigerator and the sink. Keep the items you use most in that area.
•Identify useful utensils with the cardboard box test.
MY THOUGHTS
i will challenge myself to practice the "in-out rule". which means that i shouldn't buy anything until after i've done a lot of "outs". i've no problme with my place in the city. my room in the province is another matter. it's such a mess i can't locate things anymore. time. i need time.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Closet organizing: conquer clutter
Conquering Clutter
.By Peter Walsh
The Oprah Winfrey Show
January 01, 2006
If you had to step over piles of clothes, papers and unidentifiable "stuff" just to get to your computer, you're not alone. Organizational guru Peter Walsh, host of TLC's hit show Clean Sweep, says millions of Americans are drowning in clutter.
Studies show that although families are smaller, homes are larger than ever. Even with more square feet of living space, many Americans still fill attics, basements and storage units with stuff. Peter blames overstuffed spaces on our super-size mentality. "We're in a culture that says more is better," he says. "We've been led to believe that things bring us happiness."
For more than 10 years, Peter has helped pack rats organize their homes and reclaim their lives. His techniques go well beyond color-coded boxes and plastic storage bins. Peter says he helps people uncover what's really going on underneath all that junk, which often leads to life-changing breakthroughs.
"[Stuff] robs people of so much," he says. "If your house is full of stuff, all the blessings that could fill your house can't get in. The stuff takes over. It robs you psychologically. You can't be at peace."
Don't distress over your mess—learn to conquer your clutter one room at a time.
Tip 1: Tackle one room at a time.
Don't let a manicured lawn fool you. Behind closed doors, many families are living with massive clutter. The Gavitt family hopes Peter can help them reclaim their Texas home.
Janet, a busy wife and mother of four, says the clutter started to get out of control when her twin daughters were born eight years ago. Now, with a 5-year-old and a baby to care for, she says she and her husband, Charlton, just can't keep up.
When Peter first arrived at the Gavitts' home, he noticed children's toys and clothes scattered throughout the house...even in the family room. "It doesn't look like a house that the parents run," Peter tells Janet. "You and Charlton have to get back in the driving seat."
Although Janet says she tells her daughters to put their things away, there's no designated place to put them. Plus, there are simply too many things to keep track of. Janet isn't lacking organizational skills. In fact, she works for The Container Store, a retail chain that specializes in space and storage solutions. "Talk about feeling like a fraud," she says.
Janet isn't the only person feeling the effects of the clutter. The mess is also starting to take a toll on Charlton. "I can't do the things I want to do with my children because there's stuff everywhere," he says. "I can't help them with their homework because there's not a place to do it. My job as a father is being compromised by the amount of clutter that we have in our house."
Everything's bigger in Texas...even messes. That didn't stop Peter from transforming the Gavitts' family room into a real living room in just 72 hours.
With the floor free of toys, the Gavitts' space looks more spacious and inviting. "We would actually use this room," Charlton says.
New furniture also doubles as organizational tools. Inside the leather footstools, the children discover board games. A coatrack in the entryway also has shelves for additional storage.
The papers that once covered the dining table are gone, and finally, the family can sit and enjoy a meal together. "I totally have gotten that now that we don't need the [stuff]-the stuff was hurting us," Janet says. "We need each other."
Tip 2: Follow the "in-out rule."
Peter and Janet tackle piles of the girls' clothes, which are scattered throughout the house. Peter says the secret is to take everything out of each room first and then sort it in a separate location.
All the clothing is placed on a tarp in the front yard. Now, it's up to Janet to sort the clothes into two categories—items to keep and items to give away. Each daughter gets a set number of bins, and once they are full, Janet must move on.
To avoid clutter, Peter says every shopper should follow the "in-out rule." Every time you buy a new piece of clothing, you should get rid of an old piece. He also makes Janet promise that she will not buy her daughters any new clothes for six months
Tip 3: Build intimacy.
When Peter sees Janet and Charlton's bedroom, he knows just what they need more of: intimacy. "When you are intimate, when your relationship is powering along, that will feed the rest of the house," he says.
With junk everywhere, Charlton says there's just no room to be romantic in the master bedroom. "You'd roll over onto a pile of clothes or a pile of toys and so we tried to take it to other rooms, but they were just as bad," he says. "There was no place to be us."
When asked what sort of bedroom they want, Janet says she'd like a romantic space, while Charlton wants a room that's just for him and his wife. Now that they have a shared vision, they can begin to declutter.
Peter tells the couple if they haven't used it in 12 months, it needs to go. That includes the dingy sweatpants Janet's been hanging onto since high school. "If it doesn't fit the vision you have for your space, it's got to go," Peter says.
Now, Janet and Charlton's bedroom oozes with intimacy. Soft lighting and a fresh coat of paint give the room a new look and feel. "There's a floor!" Janet says. "I feel a thousand pounds lighter. I feel like we can breathe now."
Peter designated a small space for their baby, Julia, and completely reorganized their closets.
Tip 4: Make cleanup fun.
Even though Miranda, Katharine and Audrey are young, Peter says they can learn to pick up after themselves. All it takes is a little creativity. Peter makes cleaning fun by turning it into a game. Each girl is given a type of thing—clothes, toys or books—to be responsible for. At the count of three, the girls scramble to fill bins with their items.
Miranda, Janet and Charlton's 8-year-old daughter, said she was embarrassed to bring friends over to her messy house...but not anymore! The once chaotic playroom is now an orderly place for the girls and their friends to read, play and paint.
Peter has designated a place for everything. There are bins for toys, cubbies for art supplies, and shelves for books and games.
How will they keep it tidy? "If we put everything back where it belongs," Miranda says. The Gavitt girls promise Peter that they'll keep the room neat and clutter-free
Tip 5: Create a vision.
Peter's method for attacking a messy garage is what he calls a "kick-start"—a high-speed, easy purge. Although it took years for the Gavitts to fill their garage with junk, it should only take them minutes to decide what they need to keep.
Peter says they need to create a vision and asks the Gavitts what they want from their garage. Charlton names four things: somewhere to work, park the car, refuge and storage. Now, they must rely on split-second decision making to identify the items that stay and the items that go. "You have to be tough as nails," Peter says.
Before Peter stepped in, Janet and Charlton hadn't been able to park in their garage for six years. After sorting through hundreds of items, Janet and Charlton drastically reduced the amount of stuff in their garage. Now, there is ample parking space thanks to new shelving units and clearly marked storage boxes.
"Incredible!" Janet says. Janet and Charlton say Peter's help has transformed their lives. "We knew we weren't happy," Janet says. "We knew it was something, but what?"
Now, Janet and Charlton have stopped hiding their home and started entertaining again. "We've had friends over several nights in a row for drinks because we can. So that's incredible," Janet says.
Peter's philosophies have even carried into different aspect of Charlton's life. He says he even decluttered his appearance by shaving his beard and cutting his ponytail! Charlton's also organized his work life. "I've cleaned out my office at school and it's going go even further," he says. "I teach theater so the prop room is next and we're going to purge all the stuff there, and I've been sharing it with everyone that I can talk to."
Although their home is clean and tidy now, Charlton says he fears things could go back to the way they were. "It's a big fear, and I won't live like that again," he says.
Tip 6: Teach your kids how to sort.
Just like millions of other moms, Ella, a Chicago wife and mother, has a few organizational problem areas in her house. She says her husband, Alberto, and her two sons, Ellington and Chandler, are the main clutter creators.
Peter says the secret to having clutter-free kids starts with teaching them how to sort. He gives Ella's boys one trash bag and two boxes. He tells them to fill the bag with garbage, and put anything they want to sell at a yard sale in one box and charitable donations in the other.
Peter also encourages Ellington and Chandler to make cleaning fun—even boring chores like putting away clothes. "Here's what you have to do every night before you go to bed," Peter says. "You have to shoot baskets with your clothes." The boys also get a lesson in using baskets and containers to organize their things and learn the important "in-out rule." With their very own label maker in hand and bins at their disposal, the boys start sorting!
After the boys did their jobs, Peter and his team work some magic of their own in the room to give the kids a fresh start. Bookshelves were placed in one section of the room to act as a library, and Ellington and Chandler organized bins for photos, toy cars and bags.
"You see how it's so clean now?" Ellington says.
"It's clean. Oh, my goodness! I am so proud of you. It looks absolutely beautiful," Ella says.
Tip 7: Use a hanger system to determine which clothes you wear most.
Peter says the single biggest problem he sees in homes is closet organization. Many of Ella's issues stemmed from having too many clothes, some with the tags still on. "I always tell her that there's always going to be a sale and not every sale you need to participate in," Alberto says
Peter says we actually only wear 20 percent of our clothes 80 percent of the time, and that there's a simple test to see which ones you wear most. "What you should do is take all of your clothes and hang them in the closet [facing one] way," he says. "And then every time you wear an article of clothing, you put it back in [the opposite way]."
After six months, Peter says to go through everything that's still hanging in its original position. "Ask yourself, 'Do I ever wear that?' Go through and anything that you haven't worn in 12 months, no longer fits, out of fashion, that you don't love, use as an opportunity to get rid of it," Peter says.
Peter's team organized both closets. Ella's happy to see those unworn deals cleared away and donated. Alberto is amazed at the hanging row of suits and shelves with neatly folded shirts.
"I can actually see what I want to wear before I even reach for it," Alberto says.
Tip 8: Ask yourself if you really need something. If you hesitate, you don't.
Now it's time to purge the rest of Ella's closet, which is overrun by shoes. "We have to do a quick run on shoes," Peter says. Peter forces Ella to make snap yes or no decisions on the shoes she wants to keep. "I'm telling you, if you pause for one moment, it's gone," he says as he holds up pair after pair.
As Peter flushes out unwanted shoes, Ella has a breakthrough. "I am certainly willing to make a change. I didn't realize how much I was going to be affected by the change, though," she says.
The blame, Ella realizes, doesn't just fall on her husband and children. She's also responsible for the clutter. "I have to look at myself as well and be very honest about my impact on this whole equation of things," she says.
After parting with many pairs of shoes, Ella leaves the master bedroom so Peter and his team can finish the transformation in her closet. The mountain of shoe boxes is gone, with a neatly organized shoe rack in its place. Ella and Alberto are amazed. "You just don't realize that things have accumulated and it just became overwhelming," Ella says.
"This looks good," Alberto says. "This looks great."
Ella says Peter's makeover has opened new doors for her family. "I didn't realize how many of my friends and family members had not been upstairs until after I decluttered mentally, physically and emotionally," she says. "Then I was able to open the door to the bedroom and open the door to my home."
Alberto says the family makes an effort to keep the house looking like it did when Peter and his team left. It's even carried over to Alberto's work. "The next week I went into my office and rearranged my office," he says.
The boys are even keeping their own rooms clean! "It just teaches all, it's [easy] after 20 years of marriage [to] accumulate a lot of stuff around the house," Alberto says
Peter believes that an organized kitchen can help you lose weight! It all comes down to the way you choose to live, he says. "You can't be a lean person if your house, especially your kitchen, is full of fat. And so as the master bedroom drives the house, the kitchen nourishes the house. Not just in terms of food but in terms of your whole mental outlook," he says. "I don't believe you can separate how you live from the vision you have for the life you want."
Tip 9: Establish a "magic triangle" in your kitchen.
There are two strategies for keeping your kitchen lean and clean, Peter says. The first is to establish a "magic triangle" in your kitchen between the stove, your refrigerator and your sink. "Anything you use most often, keep it in the triangle," he says. "Anything you use less often, outside the triangle. It will save you a ton of time."
Tip 10: Identify useful utensils with the cardboard box test.
If you want to see what utensils you're really using, Peter recommends the cardboard box test. "Take all the utensils out of your drawers, put them in a cardboard box," he says. "For the next month, whenever you use one of these utensils, put it back in the drawer. If after four weeks it's still in the box, you don't need it."
Declutter your home in only six months! Join Peter's Clutter Crew.
Find more organizing tips from Peter Walsh.
MY THOUGHTS
i'm so happy. i already have the magic triangle in the kitchen! that's all you can have when you live in a very small condo. in fact, i do not even have a stove. a microwave is the 3rd in that triangle. other than that, i have made the decision to follow 3 tips-the hanger principle, the "in-out" strategy and the vision. this will be easy to do with my stuff. with my mom's stuff, it's a prayer item. she doesn't mind her clutter.
.By Peter Walsh
The Oprah Winfrey Show
January 01, 2006
If you had to step over piles of clothes, papers and unidentifiable "stuff" just to get to your computer, you're not alone. Organizational guru Peter Walsh, host of TLC's hit show Clean Sweep, says millions of Americans are drowning in clutter.
Studies show that although families are smaller, homes are larger than ever. Even with more square feet of living space, many Americans still fill attics, basements and storage units with stuff. Peter blames overstuffed spaces on our super-size mentality. "We're in a culture that says more is better," he says. "We've been led to believe that things bring us happiness."
For more than 10 years, Peter has helped pack rats organize their homes and reclaim their lives. His techniques go well beyond color-coded boxes and plastic storage bins. Peter says he helps people uncover what's really going on underneath all that junk, which often leads to life-changing breakthroughs.
"[Stuff] robs people of so much," he says. "If your house is full of stuff, all the blessings that could fill your house can't get in. The stuff takes over. It robs you psychologically. You can't be at peace."
Don't distress over your mess—learn to conquer your clutter one room at a time.
Tip 1: Tackle one room at a time.
Don't let a manicured lawn fool you. Behind closed doors, many families are living with massive clutter. The Gavitt family hopes Peter can help them reclaim their Texas home.
Janet, a busy wife and mother of four, says the clutter started to get out of control when her twin daughters were born eight years ago. Now, with a 5-year-old and a baby to care for, she says she and her husband, Charlton, just can't keep up.
When Peter first arrived at the Gavitts' home, he noticed children's toys and clothes scattered throughout the house...even in the family room. "It doesn't look like a house that the parents run," Peter tells Janet. "You and Charlton have to get back in the driving seat."
Although Janet says she tells her daughters to put their things away, there's no designated place to put them. Plus, there are simply too many things to keep track of. Janet isn't lacking organizational skills. In fact, she works for The Container Store, a retail chain that specializes in space and storage solutions. "Talk about feeling like a fraud," she says.
Janet isn't the only person feeling the effects of the clutter. The mess is also starting to take a toll on Charlton. "I can't do the things I want to do with my children because there's stuff everywhere," he says. "I can't help them with their homework because there's not a place to do it. My job as a father is being compromised by the amount of clutter that we have in our house."
Everything's bigger in Texas...even messes. That didn't stop Peter from transforming the Gavitts' family room into a real living room in just 72 hours.
With the floor free of toys, the Gavitts' space looks more spacious and inviting. "We would actually use this room," Charlton says.
New furniture also doubles as organizational tools. Inside the leather footstools, the children discover board games. A coatrack in the entryway also has shelves for additional storage.
The papers that once covered the dining table are gone, and finally, the family can sit and enjoy a meal together. "I totally have gotten that now that we don't need the [stuff]-the stuff was hurting us," Janet says. "We need each other."
Tip 2: Follow the "in-out rule."
Peter and Janet tackle piles of the girls' clothes, which are scattered throughout the house. Peter says the secret is to take everything out of each room first and then sort it in a separate location.
All the clothing is placed on a tarp in the front yard. Now, it's up to Janet to sort the clothes into two categories—items to keep and items to give away. Each daughter gets a set number of bins, and once they are full, Janet must move on.
To avoid clutter, Peter says every shopper should follow the "in-out rule." Every time you buy a new piece of clothing, you should get rid of an old piece. He also makes Janet promise that she will not buy her daughters any new clothes for six months
Tip 3: Build intimacy.
When Peter sees Janet and Charlton's bedroom, he knows just what they need more of: intimacy. "When you are intimate, when your relationship is powering along, that will feed the rest of the house," he says.
With junk everywhere, Charlton says there's just no room to be romantic in the master bedroom. "You'd roll over onto a pile of clothes or a pile of toys and so we tried to take it to other rooms, but they were just as bad," he says. "There was no place to be us."
When asked what sort of bedroom they want, Janet says she'd like a romantic space, while Charlton wants a room that's just for him and his wife. Now that they have a shared vision, they can begin to declutter.
Peter tells the couple if they haven't used it in 12 months, it needs to go. That includes the dingy sweatpants Janet's been hanging onto since high school. "If it doesn't fit the vision you have for your space, it's got to go," Peter says.
Now, Janet and Charlton's bedroom oozes with intimacy. Soft lighting and a fresh coat of paint give the room a new look and feel. "There's a floor!" Janet says. "I feel a thousand pounds lighter. I feel like we can breathe now."
Peter designated a small space for their baby, Julia, and completely reorganized their closets.
Tip 4: Make cleanup fun.
Even though Miranda, Katharine and Audrey are young, Peter says they can learn to pick up after themselves. All it takes is a little creativity. Peter makes cleaning fun by turning it into a game. Each girl is given a type of thing—clothes, toys or books—to be responsible for. At the count of three, the girls scramble to fill bins with their items.
Miranda, Janet and Charlton's 8-year-old daughter, said she was embarrassed to bring friends over to her messy house...but not anymore! The once chaotic playroom is now an orderly place for the girls and their friends to read, play and paint.
Peter has designated a place for everything. There are bins for toys, cubbies for art supplies, and shelves for books and games.
How will they keep it tidy? "If we put everything back where it belongs," Miranda says. The Gavitt girls promise Peter that they'll keep the room neat and clutter-free
Tip 5: Create a vision.
Peter's method for attacking a messy garage is what he calls a "kick-start"—a high-speed, easy purge. Although it took years for the Gavitts to fill their garage with junk, it should only take them minutes to decide what they need to keep.
Peter says they need to create a vision and asks the Gavitts what they want from their garage. Charlton names four things: somewhere to work, park the car, refuge and storage. Now, they must rely on split-second decision making to identify the items that stay and the items that go. "You have to be tough as nails," Peter says.
Before Peter stepped in, Janet and Charlton hadn't been able to park in their garage for six years. After sorting through hundreds of items, Janet and Charlton drastically reduced the amount of stuff in their garage. Now, there is ample parking space thanks to new shelving units and clearly marked storage boxes.
"Incredible!" Janet says. Janet and Charlton say Peter's help has transformed their lives. "We knew we weren't happy," Janet says. "We knew it was something, but what?"
Now, Janet and Charlton have stopped hiding their home and started entertaining again. "We've had friends over several nights in a row for drinks because we can. So that's incredible," Janet says.
Peter's philosophies have even carried into different aspect of Charlton's life. He says he even decluttered his appearance by shaving his beard and cutting his ponytail! Charlton's also organized his work life. "I've cleaned out my office at school and it's going go even further," he says. "I teach theater so the prop room is next and we're going to purge all the stuff there, and I've been sharing it with everyone that I can talk to."
Although their home is clean and tidy now, Charlton says he fears things could go back to the way they were. "It's a big fear, and I won't live like that again," he says.
Tip 6: Teach your kids how to sort.
Just like millions of other moms, Ella, a Chicago wife and mother, has a few organizational problem areas in her house. She says her husband, Alberto, and her two sons, Ellington and Chandler, are the main clutter creators.
Peter says the secret to having clutter-free kids starts with teaching them how to sort. He gives Ella's boys one trash bag and two boxes. He tells them to fill the bag with garbage, and put anything they want to sell at a yard sale in one box and charitable donations in the other.
Peter also encourages Ellington and Chandler to make cleaning fun—even boring chores like putting away clothes. "Here's what you have to do every night before you go to bed," Peter says. "You have to shoot baskets with your clothes." The boys also get a lesson in using baskets and containers to organize their things and learn the important "in-out rule." With their very own label maker in hand and bins at their disposal, the boys start sorting!
After the boys did their jobs, Peter and his team work some magic of their own in the room to give the kids a fresh start. Bookshelves were placed in one section of the room to act as a library, and Ellington and Chandler organized bins for photos, toy cars and bags.
"You see how it's so clean now?" Ellington says.
"It's clean. Oh, my goodness! I am so proud of you. It looks absolutely beautiful," Ella says.
Tip 7: Use a hanger system to determine which clothes you wear most.
Peter says the single biggest problem he sees in homes is closet organization. Many of Ella's issues stemmed from having too many clothes, some with the tags still on. "I always tell her that there's always going to be a sale and not every sale you need to participate in," Alberto says
Peter says we actually only wear 20 percent of our clothes 80 percent of the time, and that there's a simple test to see which ones you wear most. "What you should do is take all of your clothes and hang them in the closet [facing one] way," he says. "And then every time you wear an article of clothing, you put it back in [the opposite way]."
After six months, Peter says to go through everything that's still hanging in its original position. "Ask yourself, 'Do I ever wear that?' Go through and anything that you haven't worn in 12 months, no longer fits, out of fashion, that you don't love, use as an opportunity to get rid of it," Peter says.
Peter's team organized both closets. Ella's happy to see those unworn deals cleared away and donated. Alberto is amazed at the hanging row of suits and shelves with neatly folded shirts.
"I can actually see what I want to wear before I even reach for it," Alberto says.
Tip 8: Ask yourself if you really need something. If you hesitate, you don't.
Now it's time to purge the rest of Ella's closet, which is overrun by shoes. "We have to do a quick run on shoes," Peter says. Peter forces Ella to make snap yes or no decisions on the shoes she wants to keep. "I'm telling you, if you pause for one moment, it's gone," he says as he holds up pair after pair.
As Peter flushes out unwanted shoes, Ella has a breakthrough. "I am certainly willing to make a change. I didn't realize how much I was going to be affected by the change, though," she says.
The blame, Ella realizes, doesn't just fall on her husband and children. She's also responsible for the clutter. "I have to look at myself as well and be very honest about my impact on this whole equation of things," she says.
After parting with many pairs of shoes, Ella leaves the master bedroom so Peter and his team can finish the transformation in her closet. The mountain of shoe boxes is gone, with a neatly organized shoe rack in its place. Ella and Alberto are amazed. "You just don't realize that things have accumulated and it just became overwhelming," Ella says.
"This looks good," Alberto says. "This looks great."
Ella says Peter's makeover has opened new doors for her family. "I didn't realize how many of my friends and family members had not been upstairs until after I decluttered mentally, physically and emotionally," she says. "Then I was able to open the door to the bedroom and open the door to my home."
Alberto says the family makes an effort to keep the house looking like it did when Peter and his team left. It's even carried over to Alberto's work. "The next week I went into my office and rearranged my office," he says.
The boys are even keeping their own rooms clean! "It just teaches all, it's [easy] after 20 years of marriage [to] accumulate a lot of stuff around the house," Alberto says
Peter believes that an organized kitchen can help you lose weight! It all comes down to the way you choose to live, he says. "You can't be a lean person if your house, especially your kitchen, is full of fat. And so as the master bedroom drives the house, the kitchen nourishes the house. Not just in terms of food but in terms of your whole mental outlook," he says. "I don't believe you can separate how you live from the vision you have for the life you want."
Tip 9: Establish a "magic triangle" in your kitchen.
There are two strategies for keeping your kitchen lean and clean, Peter says. The first is to establish a "magic triangle" in your kitchen between the stove, your refrigerator and your sink. "Anything you use most often, keep it in the triangle," he says. "Anything you use less often, outside the triangle. It will save you a ton of time."
Tip 10: Identify useful utensils with the cardboard box test.
If you want to see what utensils you're really using, Peter recommends the cardboard box test. "Take all the utensils out of your drawers, put them in a cardboard box," he says. "For the next month, whenever you use one of these utensils, put it back in the drawer. If after four weeks it's still in the box, you don't need it."
Declutter your home in only six months! Join Peter's Clutter Crew.
Find more organizing tips from Peter Walsh.
MY THOUGHTS
i'm so happy. i already have the magic triangle in the kitchen! that's all you can have when you live in a very small condo. in fact, i do not even have a stove. a microwave is the 3rd in that triangle. other than that, i have made the decision to follow 3 tips-the hanger principle, the "in-out" strategy and the vision. this will be easy to do with my stuff. with my mom's stuff, it's a prayer item. she doesn't mind her clutter.
Monday, November 1, 2010
closet organizing: put order
Order in the Closet
Clothing-obsessed celebs such as Mariah Carey and Paris Hilton are famous for their luxurious closets with shelves of shoes that seem to stretch on for miles and boutique-like racks of designer apparel. While most of us have neither the square footage (nor the desire) to create our own wardrobe wonders, we could still strive for what those divas have perfected: the well-organized storage space.
"Every type of person" struggles with closet clutter, says Alejandra Costello, a co-founder of Arlington-based professional organizing service Color-Coded (866-612-6567). But learning to store your belongings in a neat, easy-to-maintain manner can help you spend less time searching for shoes and more time showing off the perfect outfit.
Even chaotic hallway closets can benefit from a face-lift; nobody wants to be digging through piles of first-aid supplies when they have a migraine or be assaulted from above by improperly stashed winter scarves.
Those "I've created a monster in my closet!" moments are just when professional organizers can swoop in to help. The pros charge between $50 and $100 per hour for their expertise, and their closet makeovers can take between six and 15 hours, depending on the size of the project, Costello says. But she's convinced this type of investment reaps long-term rewards.
"I always tell my clients, 'If you're going to spend money getting organized, you want to set up a system one time and do it right, instead of having to keep tweaking the system,'" Costello says.
Rehabbing your closet starts with an empty — not overloaded — space. "It's a lot easier to take everything out and go from there," Costello says. Color-Coded organizers often push clients to toss items that aren't in heavy rotation, in order to free up more space in small apartments or houses.
"We'll sort everything and go through each individual item asking, 'When was the last time you used this? Is it still good? Is it outdated?'" Costello says. After repurposing or donating any unwanted items, a complete makeover can commence.
We asked Costello to share some of her top tips for reorganizing any closet.
1) Shelve Your Issues
If blank walls make up a portion of your closet, consider adding custom shelving. While it's pricey, Color-Coded's Costello believes the installation is worth the money. She recommends the Elfa system, which is sold at The Container Store, because of its flexibility. "Once you install the shelving, you can always move shelves higher or lower depending on what you're storing," Costello says. "You can change a shelf into a hanging rod or a hanging rod into a shelf. You can add a basket. It's just very flexible."
2) Get More From Your Door
The back of your door — the side that faces the interior of your closet — is precious real estate. Hang up a door rack containing hooks or baskets to create a few extra storage nooks. Costello recommends using Elfa's Door and Wall Rack ($107) and attaching a few movable baskets. The installation is made for kitchens and living spaces but works equally well in closets, Costello says. "I love to use the baskets to store flip-flops, slippers, sunglasses, cosmetic bags and anything that you want to toss in, pull out or make easily accessible," she says. Another option to hang on your door: fabric pockets or shoe bag organizers. Try Christy Designs' versatile "Organizer" Gear Pocket ($35).
3) It's All About the Visuals
Sorting keeps a closet user-friendly. But all that order can get dull. Add intrigue with colored tabs that attach to the top of hangers. Costello recommends using the colored hanger snaps sold by Carlson JPM Store Fixtures ($3 for a bag of 50). "The more color you have in your space, the easier it is to organize," Costello says. "If you take a dress off a hanger that has a purple hanger snap, it's easy to say 'Purple belongs to dresses' and associate that hanger with the dress."
4) Label Liberally
If you have items to stash on shelves or in bins, keep track of everything with homemade labels. That's right, Costello recommends actually writing out "running shoes" for a bin holding your sneaks. It might be old-school, but "it makes a difference," she says. "A lot of people just put things back [into their closets] in a random order. If each item has a home in its section, I find that it's easier to maintain." Use pieces of Duct tape (in fancy new colors and patterns such as paisley and polka dots, such as the rolls above, sold by The Spoon Sisters; $9 per roll), covered with clear packing tape. Write what's inside each container or on each shelf using dry-erase markers — that way, you can re-label areas when you move things around.
5) Aim for Lots Of the Same
Most people amass a wide variety of hangers — it's hard to pass up free wire "We Love Our Customers" hangers from the dry cleaner — but an assortment of shapes and sizes encourages chaos. "Using uniform hangers is an absolute must in the closet," Costello says. She recommends sticking to wooden hangers ("The clothes hang off them really nicely," she says). Pick up a few sets at Ikea (five for $2).
MY THOUGHTS
good advice. i will need this in a couple of weeks as i attack my closets in my mom's house.
Clothing-obsessed celebs such as Mariah Carey and Paris Hilton are famous for their luxurious closets with shelves of shoes that seem to stretch on for miles and boutique-like racks of designer apparel. While most of us have neither the square footage (nor the desire) to create our own wardrobe wonders, we could still strive for what those divas have perfected: the well-organized storage space.
"Every type of person" struggles with closet clutter, says Alejandra Costello, a co-founder of Arlington-based professional organizing service Color-Coded (866-612-6567). But learning to store your belongings in a neat, easy-to-maintain manner can help you spend less time searching for shoes and more time showing off the perfect outfit.
Even chaotic hallway closets can benefit from a face-lift; nobody wants to be digging through piles of first-aid supplies when they have a migraine or be assaulted from above by improperly stashed winter scarves.
Those "I've created a monster in my closet!" moments are just when professional organizers can swoop in to help. The pros charge between $50 and $100 per hour for their expertise, and their closet makeovers can take between six and 15 hours, depending on the size of the project, Costello says. But she's convinced this type of investment reaps long-term rewards.
"I always tell my clients, 'If you're going to spend money getting organized, you want to set up a system one time and do it right, instead of having to keep tweaking the system,'" Costello says.
Rehabbing your closet starts with an empty — not overloaded — space. "It's a lot easier to take everything out and go from there," Costello says. Color-Coded organizers often push clients to toss items that aren't in heavy rotation, in order to free up more space in small apartments or houses.
"We'll sort everything and go through each individual item asking, 'When was the last time you used this? Is it still good? Is it outdated?'" Costello says. After repurposing or donating any unwanted items, a complete makeover can commence.
We asked Costello to share some of her top tips for reorganizing any closet.
1) Shelve Your Issues
If blank walls make up a portion of your closet, consider adding custom shelving. While it's pricey, Color-Coded's Costello believes the installation is worth the money. She recommends the Elfa system, which is sold at The Container Store, because of its flexibility. "Once you install the shelving, you can always move shelves higher or lower depending on what you're storing," Costello says. "You can change a shelf into a hanging rod or a hanging rod into a shelf. You can add a basket. It's just very flexible."
2) Get More From Your Door
The back of your door — the side that faces the interior of your closet — is precious real estate. Hang up a door rack containing hooks or baskets to create a few extra storage nooks. Costello recommends using Elfa's Door and Wall Rack ($107) and attaching a few movable baskets. The installation is made for kitchens and living spaces but works equally well in closets, Costello says. "I love to use the baskets to store flip-flops, slippers, sunglasses, cosmetic bags and anything that you want to toss in, pull out or make easily accessible," she says. Another option to hang on your door: fabric pockets or shoe bag organizers. Try Christy Designs' versatile "Organizer" Gear Pocket ($35).
3) It's All About the Visuals
Sorting keeps a closet user-friendly. But all that order can get dull. Add intrigue with colored tabs that attach to the top of hangers. Costello recommends using the colored hanger snaps sold by Carlson JPM Store Fixtures ($3 for a bag of 50). "The more color you have in your space, the easier it is to organize," Costello says. "If you take a dress off a hanger that has a purple hanger snap, it's easy to say 'Purple belongs to dresses' and associate that hanger with the dress."
4) Label Liberally
If you have items to stash on shelves or in bins, keep track of everything with homemade labels. That's right, Costello recommends actually writing out "running shoes" for a bin holding your sneaks. It might be old-school, but "it makes a difference," she says. "A lot of people just put things back [into their closets] in a random order. If each item has a home in its section, I find that it's easier to maintain." Use pieces of Duct tape (in fancy new colors and patterns such as paisley and polka dots, such as the rolls above, sold by The Spoon Sisters; $9 per roll), covered with clear packing tape. Write what's inside each container or on each shelf using dry-erase markers — that way, you can re-label areas when you move things around.
5) Aim for Lots Of the Same
Most people amass a wide variety of hangers — it's hard to pass up free wire "We Love Our Customers" hangers from the dry cleaner — but an assortment of shapes and sizes encourages chaos. "Using uniform hangers is an absolute must in the closet," Costello says. She recommends sticking to wooden hangers ("The clothes hang off them really nicely," she says). Pick up a few sets at Ikea (five for $2).
MY THOUGHTS
good advice. i will need this in a couple of weeks as i attack my closets in my mom's house.
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