Can't find a belt for your slacks? Are there too many cartons to count sitting in your closet? Chances are it's time to rearrange the most important storage area in your home, the closets.
Since they hide things so well, closets tend to remain one of the last cleaning jobs of the house. We throw things in and later wrestle them out. But a well organized closet can make the difference between being on time and being late, and looking your best or looking hurriedly thrown together.
If you're worried about having too little time as it is, here are a few tips for organizing your family's closets in minutes. All you need are several large but moveable boxes and a dark color marker.
1. Take one closet a day for a week or so, until all have been rearranged. One closet won't seem so overwhelming, especially if it contains a majority of the same kinds of things, like clothes, old papers, etc.
2. For clothes closets, separate each item into one of five stacks:
-current usables
-past usables
-future usables
-doesn't belong (toys, tools, etc.)
-unsure
Like sorting laundry, quickly set each item in its stack. Current usables include clothes in good order that you wear now. Past usables are those you used to wear, but for some reason do not at present; it may be out of fashion or the wrong size, for example. Future usables are those items you hope to use; but honestly decide how likely that is. If it isn't, move that item to the "doesn't belong" category, with others of its ilk. Things that you are unsure of may include an off-color of shoes or a top that doesn't match any of your current skirts or slacks.
3. Decide which, if any, past items you must keep and box up the others for the thrift store. Keepables should be boxed for the basement, with the box marked accordingly.
4. The same goes for future items. If you really aren't going to wear it in the next six months, box it for storage.
5. Now replace the unboxed clothing, arranging them seasonally with the current season in the center of the closet for ready access. Place other items on either side with a clear idea of which is which, then rotate current seasonals to the other side of the upcoming season when it arrives. Place shoes below the kind of items they go with, for example, dress shoes below dresses and suits, and casuals below slacks and tops. (You may want to keep boots and running shoes near the back door or in the mud room.)
6. Quickly sort the "doesn't belong" and "unsure" items into another set of piles, now that the clothes are dealt with. For example, kids' toys go in one pile, a shoebox of personal papers into another, and odd furniture, storage boxes, books, etc., will be sent to the basement or other rooms to join their own kind.
Voila! In less than an hour your closet has a new and cleaner look. Carry the boxes of other things to the basement or to the curb. Then get ready to tackle another closet tomorrow, trying to give each closet or storage area a majority purpose rather than allowing it to collect an assortment of different items. Closets can become welcoming nooks instead of threatening caves.
