7 Day Declutter Challenge: Day 2 Organizing and Decluttering Closets

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Welcome to Day 2 of the 7-Day Declutter Challenge. Today we’re tackling the task of organizing and decluttering closets. Where would we be without closets? We use them to hide our junk, store our clothing, and our sentimental items. They do an excellent job of keeping our stuff out of sight. But eventually, they become crowded and messy, making it impossible to find anything we need.

Organizing and decluttering closets is a great place to start your home decluttering. Instead of trying to clear whole rooms at once, it’s better to start with smaller, more manageable spaces. Once you’ve completed one closet, you can easily move on to the next and repeat your methods. When you’re done with closets, you’ll feel accomplished and ready to take on the next challenge.

Dream it.

The Perfectly Organized Closet

Do you dream of the day you can walk into your well-organized closet and, at a glance, know where everything is? Imagine seeing all of your clothes hung up neatly, and in full view, your shoes paired up and ready to be chosen, or that box filled with your favourite memorabilia safely stored away in the corner.

When I think of my condo I think about a few closets which include my Linen closet, my bedroom closet, my office or spare room closet and then the Laundry room closet. Depending on your home and the number of closets you have this challenge may be more complicated than it seems.

I recommend if you have a lot of closets, maybe save the organizing and decluttering the bedroom closet for our next day’s challenge which is bedrooms. You might find organizing your bedroom closet and any dresser drawers easier to do at the same time.

That dream closet is possible. All it takes is a little organization, patience, and honesty about what you really need to be storing in these spaces and what you don’t. So let’s get started.

Plan it.

Organizing and Decluttering the Closet Preparation

Design your closet space so that it’s functional and appealing. If you want to upgrade items such as storage boxes or hangers, now’s the time. Opt for designs and materials that make you feel inspired. Guaranteed, you’ll love the look of a cohesive and organized space.

Tools To Help You Organize Your Closets

Depending on the size of your closet and the current hardware installed in it you may find using some simple drawer organization additions a great way to create that dream closet. From hanging shelves, slim hangers, collapsible boxes to storage towers and stackable drawers this is the time you can own your closet space.

Here are are a few items you should have on hand that will make clearing and planning this space easier.

Slim Hangers: Get a unified look in your closet by using the same hanger type. Slim velvet hangers are an excellent option for achieving an elegant style and they are available in numerous budgets. And make sure to replace and dispose of old, metal, or broken hangers.
Over-the-door organizers. If you don’t use them for shoes, you’ll find them handy for scarves, belts, or even jewellery.
Storage baskets and boxes. Choose from wicker to colourful materials. The choice is yours and depends on your esthetic. Make sure to have the right size basket to accommodate your items.
Hooks or broom and mop holders. For closets where you don’t have clothes, use these to create more space and keep cleaning appliances off the floor.
Storage drawers. Use to store everything from cleaning items to bedding. Storage drawers are often stacking and useful additions to a closet space in need of some extra storage or shelves.

3 Bins or Boxes – Yes You will Need to Keep, Toss, Store

By far one of the most stressful parts of decluttering your home will be deciding on what to keep, toss or store. You’ve all seen those home shows or Marie Kondo on Netflix where people hang on to a torn t-shirt they never wear, claiming it has sentimental value. The thing that always gets me is that they didn’t even know it was there in the closet.

So you will need to prepare three plastic bins which you will label as Keep, Toss, Store and use them to sort your items.

Live it.

Closet Organization and Decluttering Guidelines

Let’s talk about some general guidelines for cleaning the closet.

It’s best to clean closets from the bottom up.
Follow the 80/20 rule when it comes to clothes and shoes. This well-referred to rule states we wear 80% of our clothes 20% of the time. The 80/20 rule is a good guide to use for decluttering and can be applied to other areas of life. If you haven’t worn something or used it in the last 6 months to 1 year, it’s probably time to get rid of it.
Depending on the item, use your toss it bin for things that can be recycled, donated, sold at a garage sale, or discarded.
Make sure to empty your bins in the appropriate location (bin for donations, or garbage disposal) before you start on a new closet.

Organized closet 7-Day Declutter Challenge: Day 2 Decluttering and Organizing Closets

Steps for Cleaning Your Closets

Now let’s go through the steps for cleaning your closet:

Start with your shoes or anything else on the floor of your closet. Take everything out and vacuum the area. Make sure the area is clear before you start replacing items. With the 80/20 rule in mind, take stock of your shoes and decide if you will toss them or keep them. If they need repair, decide to have that done ASAP and don’t have them linger in your closet.
Now it’s time to go through your clothes. Purge your closet of clothes you haven’t worn in a year. Get rid of out of style, damaged, or stained clothing that you know you will never wear again.
Next, work on the shelves in your closet. Here you’ll probably find everything from pillows to class yearbooks. Clear the shelves and use your feather duster and wipes to clean the area. Go through what you had on these shelves and decide which bin to put them in.
Store mementos in storage boxes or baskets and label them, so you know where everything is located.
You can vacuum seal out of season clothes and bedding to keep them organized and out of the way.
For utility and storage closets, use the vertical space to hang brooms, mops, and other cleaning appliances.

Handy tip: If you’ve gone through everything in your closet and there are still some items you can’t decide on, face them the other way. Hang the hangers with the hooks facing away from you, or have shoes pointed away from you. If, after a year, those items are still pointed in the opposite direction, then it’s time to let them go.

For Linen Closets it may be time to re-fold all those towels, pillowcases and sheets. Choose your folding method and keep everything consistent. Then stack everything magically in line or use fabric boxes to organize like items.

That’s it for today! Onto Day 3: Bedrooms