Let's Get Organized! Closets!

Most people, around the New Year, make resolutions to lose weight, tackle long abandoned projects or, my all-time favorite, make promises to get organized!

We, here, at The Jewel Box® Home recognize the need for organization in a small home. Without organization a small home can become even smaller as our "stuff" accumulates. Paperwork and mail, out of season clothing, library books to be returned, odds and ends-it all piles up and can push us right out the back door and into the yard! We all have that "junk" drawer or nook where we put unwanted items that have no home. My greatest enemies, however, are my closets!

Photo Courtesy of Eva Designs

The dreaded closet. My private nightmare! It is so easy to tidy up by putting something "temporarily" away in a closet where you can shut the door. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Bad idea! Let's get organized and take some small steps to make our small homes more functional.

Photo Courtesy of Country Living

Some Tips to help tackle that closet chaos:

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  Remove all the contents! That's right-drag it all out and create an even bigger mess! Let's face it, there is just no other way to do it. You must look through each thing in your closet and determine whether it stays or goes!


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  Donate or discard anything you haven't worn or used in the past two years. Pitch out all those yucky wire hangers.


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  Is there anything that could "live" in another closet or elsewhere in your home? Is something best suited in another area? Make sure that coat closets are for coats, linen closets for linens, clothes closets for clothes. It is so easy to store items that don't belong, but this can only lead to inconvenience later.


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  If it is not within your budget to purchase an entirely new closet system, consider starting with decorative boxes, baskets and clearly labeled containers. Some fun places to shop economically for these items are Target, The Container Store, Eva Designs and Home Goods. I just love the Elfa Storage Solutions offered at The Container Store. Think about splurging on plastic shoe boxes for all your shoes or matching plastic or wooden hangers. A little streamlining can go a long way!

Photo Courtesy of Closet Solutions

Cleaning out one closet a week can make a huge difference when tackling your organizational goals for the New Year. Remember to reward yourself with before and after pictures of your project and be sure to put your feet up afterwards and admire your hard work!

Amber