National Clean Out Your Closet Week

The third week in March is National Clean Out Your Closet Week.

Every year I write about this theme in the blog. The Salvation Army truck driver took off my hands 3 bursting donation bags full of belts, clothes, and pocketbooks.

It is strange to be in the position of having size 2 Petite summer pants become so loose that they no longer fit.

When other size 2 Petite pants are so tight not even a snake could fit into them.

Oh–the perils of the sizing system in the U.S.

That’s why a lot of American women run out of a department store dressing room in tears.

It’s not unusual to have pants and jeans of four different sizes in your wadrobe.

2, 4, 6, 8–no one appreciates the guessing game as to which item will fit when you order online and the box arrives at your door.

On the other hand it is not odd to suddenly fall out of love with the clothes you used to wear.

Goodbye, khakis. Hello, black jeans.

To stay young at heart you should refresh your wardrobe every so often.

The older I get the more obsessed with clothes and dressing up that I’ve gotten.

As a Generation X girl I don’t want to fade into the woodwork.

Millennials can have their avocado toast as they’re so famously accused of coveting.

I’ll take a good coat and boots in this NYC chill that doesn’t warm up until early June.

Fashion is where you find it–and you can find joy in the clothes hanging in your closet.

Donate the items that no longer suit you. Get rid of the pants that no longer fit. Say farewell to the colors that make you look ill.

The spring is here in one week. Having hope is called for.

Editing the contents of our closets can spark joy.

Who wants to spend the morning agonizing because your closet is bursting with items you don’t wear?

Keep the items you love.

Call the Salvation Army truck to take away good-condition clothes that could bring joy to a person in need.

This is a win-win.

National Clean Out Your Closet Week

The third week of March is National Clean Out Your Closet Week.

In the spirit of doing this I started to attack my wardrobe this week.

You might chuckle at what I found:

I had bought two pairs of faded cropped jeans that appear identical. There was only one difference: the inside label said skinny on one pair and girlfriend on the other. Otherwise you couldn’t tell them apart.

The trick is to keep on hand only two at the most spare pairs of jeans. You don’t need to have 5 or 6 pairs of jeans just in case you want to paint your apartment.

I’m an artist, yet even I drew the line. I kept only three “extra” pairs of jeans to use for my painting projects.

You can store off-season clothes in under-bed storage boxes. Not anything else under the bed please.

I have an advanced near-encyclopedic knowledge of Feng Shui principles:

Storing papers and documents under the bed can result in restless sleep.

Closet doors should be solid not a curtain you pull across to open. The closet door shouldn’t have a mirror on it.

The bed if you have a partner shouldn’t have a mirror facing it in front of the bed. This can signal adultery or a third party entering the relationship.

These 3 tips are all Feng Shui guidelines that I think make sense.

For off-season storage:

The Container Store is selling at a reduced cost their Cedar Stow storage bags.

They’re cedar-lined canvas storage bags that fit under the bed. They are a Green choice of storage.

I’ve bought 4 Cedar Stow storage bags at this reduced cost.

Plastic has health issues linked to it. It isn’t environmentally friendly.

While you’re not supposed to store other things under the bed I have gotten away with storing clothes in under-bed boxes.

More in the next blog entry about clearing out the clutter at mid-life.

Sometimes you have to say goodbye to the past and move forward.

A wardrobe clean-out can be the start of freeing up space to bring in new things and new people and new experiences.

National Clean Out Your Closet Week

tie rack alternative use

The third week of March is National Clean Out Your Closet Week.

To free up space in your closet you can get creative with alternative uses for common storage items.

In the photo you’ll see a tie-and-belt rack has been re-purposed to store watches and a pocketbook as well as belts.

In the spirit of spring cleaning I recommend donating clothes and other items to the Salvation Army or the charity of your choice. You can get a receipt if you itemize deductions on your tax return.

Engaging in clutter control should bring a smile to your face. If you ask me organizing as you go along each week is the antidote to not doing it at all and facing a big pile-up down the road.

It’s harder to tackle a big mess so why not do a little every day to tidy up before things get out of hand?

I love the Container Store for a multitude of products.

The store even sells metal lunch compartment boxes instead of plastic ones. It sells reusable strong plastic bags so you don’t have to keep buying and using and throwing out the common plastic zip bags.

What did me in this time around? Counting up every pair of shoes I owned–37 pairs before I threw out a pair of booties with cracked heels.

Too I say the goal is to be able to keep your clothes long-term. Instead of buying things over and over and having to keep donating them because you don’t wear them anymore.

Buy what you love and will last for years. Keep your clothes in good condition.

As regards those shoes: an expert tailor can shine them so that they look like new after years of wear. I go to a shoe repair guy that is a miracle worker.

He’s going to waterproof two pairs of shoes. He can revive shoes. He can put taps on the heels. Absolutely–the shoe repair guy in your town is your best-kept secret.

Your shoes can make or break how you look. So can your clothes.

Now that National Clean Out Your Closet Week is here why not do a good-for-you spring clean?

In the coming blog entry I’ll talk about spring cleaning your life.