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Looked in your closet lately? Was what you saw frightening? Do you have trouble finding anything to wear, even though you have a closet full of clothes? Then you are a prime candidate for a closet makeover.
Before you tackle the closet itself, you need to do a bit of shopping. At your local discount store or at a specialty closet shop, purchase the following items:
Shoe Rack(s) You don't have to get anything elaborate. Usually you can find serviceable plastic racks for about two dollars each. If you have a small closet, you may want to buy a rack that hangs on the inside of your closet door. You can also buy a set of plastic sleeves that hang inside the closet. Each sleeve has room for one pair of shoes and there are usually 12 sleeves in a set. If you wish, you can buy plastic boxes instead of racks.
Sweater Boxes You can use these to store sweaters in the warmer seasons. They will easily stack on a top shelf in the closet, out of the way until they are needed.
Garment Bags You might want to pick up a couple of plastic zippered bags to store and protect your silk dresses and/or formal wear.
Choose a day when you can devote 3-4 hours to this project. Take a deep breath, open the closet door and begin.
1. Divide your clothing into summer and winter wardrobes. If you have two closets to work with, keep one season's clothes in each closet.
2. Make your first pass through the clothing. All items that are torn, stained, are missing buttons, need hems, etc. should be put into one pile. If you are like me, you should face reality and admit that you will never get around to repairing these garments so that they can be worn again. Give them to Goodwill.
3. Make your second pass through the clothing. Pull out all garments that you never liked, were the wrong color, or never fit right. Would they be attractive on someone else? Someone you know? Then put them aside for that person. You may want to have a pencil and paper handy so that you can make notes about whom might like what. Would some of these items sell at a garage sale? You may consider having one or you may know someone who will let you put some of your items in their sale.
4. Make your third pass through the clothing. This is the most important cut. For each garment, ask yourself if you have worn it or not in the past year. If you haven't, give it away.
5. Take the remaining clothes and try on each item. Anything that does not fit should be discarded. Be brutal. If it doesn't fit now, it is highly unlikely that you will diet to get into it.
6. Divide the remaining clothing into categories of jackets, vests, sweaters, skirts, blouses, dresses, pants and shorts. Make sure that each item is hanging squarely on a hanger and not bunched up. If an item needs washing or ironing, put it aside so that you can do that later.
7. You can re-hang the clothing in several ways. Either hang each category together or hang coordinates together as complete outfits. Many people who are rushed for time in the morning find the second option helpful.
8. Now, go through the shoes. Discard any that are damaged, unstylish or painful to wear. Arrange them on the shoe rack in the bottom of the closet or in the sleeves on the door. Generally, shoes should be thrown out. They are difficult to resell, unless they are high quality designer shoes.
9. Pack all of your discards into plastic trash bags and store in the garage or a spare bedroom. You may want to call Goodwill, Amvets or other such organizations to see if they will have a discards truck in your neighborhood in the near future. Or, you can take them yourself. Items donated to charity are tax deductible, so be sure to get a receipt.
There you have it. Beautiful clothes in an organized closet, ready to help you make a great impression. Enjoy!
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