Simplifying the Closet

I'm trying out Simple Mom's project:simplify, a group blog project where everybody declutters and otherwise shapes up 5 "hot spots" in the home over 5 weeks.

The first hot spot is wardrobe/closet. (Phew!)

Here are my BEFORE pictures.

I went to a clothing swap recently so got rid of some stuff already, and picked up some clothes I actually like. Still, there's more to do here.


I've had this dresser since I was about 5. Some people (hi mom!) think I should get a grownup dresser someday. That would be nice. Meanwhile, look at all the T-shirts stuffed in the bottom drawer there!


Tsh said to gather ALL my clothes, so I even hauled up my "seasonal" bin from the basement. It's full of summer stuff right now, like halter-neck shirts and sleeveless dresses. The other bin is for part of my "after" plan.

At first I was bummed that this project was Monday-to-Friday only, because I only really have time to do stuff on weekends. Then I realized that this is actually a good thing. I don't need more projects in my already hectic weekends. Basically, I only have about 90 minutes a week to devote to to this project. Luckily that's all it took to go through everything. I even looked at my jewelry like I was supposed to. I trashed and weeded out a lot of stuff. Very satisfying.

Better! The basket in the lower left is where the T-shirts ended up, along with other running gear including my sneakers. I want to have it all in one place so I can rummage through early in the morning and get on the road without making much mess or ruckus. Basically the closet looks the same, but with less stuff.


The bottom drawer is empty now. Not sure what my plans are yet. The middle drawer has camisoles/tanks. In summer I can fill it up.


Here's the exciting part--the bag of "toss" stuff, the bag of "give" stuff, the seasonal bin repacked (on the right). And the best of all, I created a "dress-up" bin. No way am I getting rid of all my cute dresses and outrageous bizarre outfits, even if they don't fit or I would NEVER wear them again. My children will love them down the road, if my children are anything like I used to be.

That's it. Except I kind of want to put the two closet photos side by side, just to see.