Cleaning out your closet 'inbox'
By Lori Steiner
It’s winter. The thermometer needs a fleece jacket to warm up and the snow covered shrubs look like lumpy igloos. But the laughter of kids making snow angels and the pleasant rush of warm air when you open your front door serve as a reminder that Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz was right -- there’s no place like home.
Winter is a perfect time to settle in and organize – and what better place to start then with a closet. It’s time to clear out, clean up and simplify. It’s easy. Open the closet, take a deep, cleansing breath and jump in.
Efficiency experts advise not to handle office correspondence more than once -- read it, respond as necessary, and clear it from your inbox. Closets are the inboxes of our homes. The only problem is that there is no outbox. Closets hold “stuff,” including clothes waiting to come back into fashion and gifts that created the saying “it’s the thought that counts.” These things will not pop out of the closet one day with a new purpose or a perfect fit.
So tackle the stuff one item at a time. Pull out that old tablecloth that doesn’t quite fit the new dining room table. It’s not going to grow so put it in the donation pile – donate means family, friends, charity.
Next item: jackets the kids used to wear. Note the past tense. If they no longer fit, give them away. Gather together all the stray mittens, hats, and scarves. Buy inexpensive baskets to hold these winter accessories. Let the kids draw pictures of hats and mittens. Create collages of each item and paste them on cardboard cut to fit the side of the basket. Laminate, poke holes in the tops, and attach with a piece of colorful yarn. Instant organization.
Keep going. Before you know it the closet will be empty and there will be three piles on the floor -- give away, throw away and put away. Do just that.
But before you put away, consider taking a plunge and painting the closet’s interior. Be creative. Imagine opening the coat closet to find blue and white stripes or buttercup walls and minty green shelves. It’s a fresh look for an area often ignored. The new look may even inspire kids to hang up their coats. Well, perhaps that’s going a bit too far. But enjoy it. After all, it’s your home.
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