cleaning my closets

Today I had a marathon closet cleaning. It’s been a long time since I’ve cleaned it. I was appalled. I found items I didn’t even know I had. How about twenty black tanks! That’s embarrassing. I have a couple of boxes full of clothes ready to head to Goodwill or our local rescue mission.

I followed the rule of

• if I haven’t worn it in six months
• if it was misshapen
• if it was too big or too small
• if the color wasn’t my best
• if it was just way too outdated
• if I just plain didn’t like it.

If it met those conditions, it was history. No looking back. No trying to talk myself into believing any of the above wasn’t true. Purses didn’t have to meet that criteria because, well, I just happen to love purses. I can’t love shoes because of all my foot problems so I have to have at least one vice. Purses are it.

O.K., so here’s the thing. Have you ever read that if you look at the color of your wardrobe, it gives you a clue about what colors you might like to decorate with?

It’s not true. Not in my case anyway.

I almost never wear aqua or blue and yet those are the colors I’m leaning to in decorating my home. Throw in some red and lime green and I’m on a roll.

The clothes in my closet are gray, taupe, tons of black, some lime green and red, and brown. Not a blue in the bunch. Some lime green but only in t-shirts. If I decorated according to the colors in my closet my home would be pretty dark and austere looking.

I think the reason I wear these colors might be due to my skin and hair color. I’m very blond (yes, it’s natural) and very fair-skinned.. It’s seems just too predictable for a blond to wear pastels. Not to mention “old”.

I feel good about my progress. (Oops. just thought of something. I should have taken before, during, and after pictures. I keep forgetting that.) I have always arranged my closets in this order:

• left to right: sleeveless, short-sleeved, and long sleeved by color
• I keep lightweight knits organized in those soft collapsible storage bins and stored on a shelf. I have them all labeled as follows: neutral crew necks, colored crew necks, neutral colored v-necks,colored v-necks, neutral colored turtlenecks, colored turtlenecks.
• I keep dressy clothes separated from everyday wear at different ends of the closet.

But when it comes to underwear and socks, I throw them all into drawers and don’t worry about it.

It felt good to make some necessary decisions about my clothes. I feel “lighter” if you know what I mean. Plus, it makes me feel good to think someone else will get better use of the clothes. They were certainly were doing no one any good just “hanging around” in my closet.

What about you? How do you decide what to keep and what to donate? I’d love to know.

God bless.

Related articles

• Makeover: Putting the robe back into the closet (makedohome.wordpress.com)
• How To Get Rid Of Clothes (tinytipsbymichelle.com)
• 1 Minute Closet Clean Out Makes the Most of Your Time and Space (makesthemostof.com)
• Closet Crashers (kcsaling.com)