Getting organized is all about saving time and with simple clutter-busting assignments that you can do in bite-size chunks, it’s so easy to get going, you might actually want to get started right away! In week four of a special four-part series on TODAY, lifestyle expert Elizabeth Mayhew tackles the fourth set of assignments — your closet!
Here are her tips:
Week 4: GET CONTROL OF YOUR CLOSET
Day 1: Research and edit
Your Assignment:
- Before you begin ripping apart your closet, call your local churches, schools, and organizations to find out if they will pick up your items or go to a search engine and type in "donate clothes" and the town you live in and many different options will come up to choose from. (This step is very important; there is nothing worse than having a bunch of unwanted clothes in a pile or garbage bag cluttering up your room. Also you don't want to risk having anything work its way back into your closet.)
- Organizing is all about editing. Start by taking stock of what you really wear, not what you THINK you MAY wear one day when it comes back in style (or when you loose those 10 lbs).
- Enlist a friend to help; she can often be a better judge as to whether you should keep or get rid of something.
- My general rule of thumb is if I haven't worn something in a year or two then I get rid of it. Also if I buy something, I get rid of something.
- Make three piles: Keep, Donate, Toss.
Time you will save: Today is an investment in the whole; it's your first step to getting control of your closet. Going through your closet is time consuming but think of it as an investment in the future — a future of no hassle dressing. By the time you are finished you should be able to shave 10 minutes off of your dressing routine and hopefully find outfits and accessories that you forgot you had. Maybe that's 10 minutes you can spend contemplating something new for your spring wardrobe?