The Closet Audit Process, or Closet Harmony

Let’s talk about how to arrange your closet and bring it into harmony with your life before you head out to the stores to charge charge charge!

The first thing you need to do is to make a date with the most important person in your life and that is YOU!

You're going to put on some music that you love, get yourself some bottled water and open the doors to that room filled with your past, present and future; your closet.  

First thing you want to do is take all your things that you were wearing in Spring and Summer and put them in the back of your closet or in another closet, because it is truly the Fall time of the year.  Now note, if you live in a seasonless area of the country like the South, where it's still pretty warm, you could leave some of those things in there. You may want to darken your colors.  So instead of wearing all those light colors, you may want to wear the same fabrics, like your cottons, but go to the darker browns or rusts.  The fabric won't make you hotter, but the color will make you look more like Fall. 

Then you are going to classify your closet putting all your jackets together, then the tops, and you're going to have your tops divided into blouses, shirts, sweaters and your nice tees. Hang your bottoms together, then your pants and your skirts. Your dresses will also hang together. 

The important thing now is to quickly try on everything in front of a full-length mirror and ask yourself these all-important questions: 

• Do I still love it?
• Is it tired and should I retire it?
• Is it something I will wear in my lifestyle now?
• Does it fit?
• Is it laundered?
• Do I love it enough to keep it?

Make four piles of the things you want to release. 

• Laundry
• Alterations
• Consignment shop for gently used items or mistakes with tickets hanging on them.
• And the last would be charity. These are things that are really tired and you want to donate them.

Close the doors to your closet, go to all four places and the next day when you open your closet, you will be wearing everything. 

The last step is to make a list.  What things in your closet did you wear the most for the Fall and Winter season?  Do you need an additional pair of jeans?  An additional crisp white blouse?  Make that list. and before you do the list, start mixing and matching some new outfits in your closet that are based on the trends today.  

Then when we talk about going and shopping in the stores and in the malls, you'll be buying effective things that you will use over and over in your current lifestyle. Your dollar will go so much further! 

Next time we will talk about shopping on sale.  Until then, have fun cleaning your closet!