Here's To A New Year, A Fresh Start!
New Year = New Planning = FRESH START {Scarlett at spruce-us.com}
I love the beginning of a New Year. SO much hope & possibility!!!
I love planning (even if loosely) what the New Year will be. What will get done when (again, even if loosely). I love a fresh start. A new beginning!
For me; there are personal plans (health, fitness, family travel, etc.), business plans and my own home plans (the home to-do list of projects for the year & in what order). Of course, plans change or shift along the way some years but I like to at least start with a plan and go from there.
What plans do you have for the New Year? Do you write your plans/to-do lists down or just go with the flow? I get much more done if I have a plan of attack (so to speak).
Time once again to edit, edit, edit! {spruce-us.com}
One thing I do each year in January (and usually again late July/August) is go through my clothing, shoes, bags and edit, edit, edit. This year will be no different. I actually look forward to it. I go through everything! My entire closet. My dresser drawers (PJ’s, socks, etc.) EVERYTHING.
In theory, I like the rule - “if you haven’t worn it or used it in a year…out it goes”. In reality, I realize we all have items that we may not use within a year but will again at some point.
Take bags & shoes for instance. You may not have the opportunity to wear that pair of fancy, black pumps within a years time but you know you’ll for sure wear them again. Now, if you just don’t wear pumps anymore, EVER…then by all means, donate them!
Same goes with bags. If you haven’t used a bag in the last year but it’s still in great condition and you love it and you know you’ll for sure use it again then keep it! If any of these three things don’t apply…maybe consider donating it (or tossing if in bad condition).
I rarely wear jeans living in hot, humid Florida. BUT…I do occasionally wear jeans. When our temps drop below 60 degrees for a day or two or when I visit cooler climates, I NEED MY JEANS! Same goes for my sweaters, coats, boots, etc.
I like to keep different washes & different cuts of jeans. Various weights even. To edit down the “keepers” is key.
When editing…I always try them all on (double check they all actually fit RIGHT NOW & LOOK GOOD ON ME RIGHT NOW). No reason to keep any that have similar washes & styles. Like Marie Kondo (author & as seen on Netflix - select books linked at bottom of this post) I say…only keep items that SPARK JOY! Jeans that don’t look good on us or are dated, spark anything BUT JOY and take up precious space that could be put to VERY good use.
Let’s get organized! {spruce-us.com}
Do you organize your closet by color, style, season, etc.? Some like to put all like colored items together (rainbow style). Some like to organize their clothing by season (all sweaters together, all t-shirts together, etc.). You may know of The Edit system (seen on Netflix and authors of select books linked at bottom of this post). It’s a great system just as Marie Kondo’s is. You just need to find a system that works best for you & your needs!
I prefer to put all short sleeve tops/tees together and then in a light to dark order. All solids together then all prints together. Same with long sleeve tops/tees. Blouses all together in a similar way, light to dark. Solids then prints.
Same with pants, skirts, dresses. Casual pants all together (light to dark). Solids all together then prints (you guessed it, light to dark). It’s a system that just works in my walk-in closet (and brain). Jeans can be folded & stacked on a shelf in your closet. Same with sweaters although I prefer to stack these items and put them in a open box bin to keep them neat and not spilling all over the place. If these bins are up high in a closet, label them so you know whats where and don’t have to go digging for your sweaters every year.
I wear A LOT of dresses so one section is just all dresses. If facing that section, I have them organized in like styles by length, color, etc. It works for me but sometimes you have to just try different configurations within your own closet set up to see what works best for you.
As I edit, I pull out anything that I hesitate on. I take those items and lay them on my bed and keep going. Inch by inch. Yard by yard. Foot by foot. I pull items as I go along that I’m on the fence about.
Make note of any items you need to replace & consider a staple in your closet. You won’t want to replace all the items or what’s the point, right? But a staple like a white tee or button down…jot that down to replace if need be. Since white tees (white cotton in general really) goes yellow after awhile these may need to be replaced from time to time.
Since I go through this process at least once a year (usually twice), it’s a pretty easy & fast process now. The first time someone purges & reorganizes their closet, it’s a bit more of a process but SO worth it! You’ll want to actually hang out in there once it’s all nice & organized (or is that just me?).
Organizing by color & style makes it easier to find what you need, know what you need to replace AND just looks pretty!
{spruce-us.com}
I follow this same system for all of my shoes & bags. You don’t have to have a huge closet to have an organized closet! There’s everything from bins to books to help you pull your closet together. I’ll link a few of my favorites here that will hopefully help encourage, inspire, guide & assist in pulling your closet together to be the best it can be. No matter how big or small. No matter what shape it’s in now.
If you need more help & direction than the books & other links below…feel free to reach out! Send me a message (click Contact) and I can help you via ‘Virtual Organization’. It’s a pretty easy process and I’ll help you stay on task and give my opinion on what to keep, toss & donate. Reach out if you need me and I’ll explain how it works!
In the new year, my closet is one of my very first “to-dos”. It just feels good and makes getting ready to start the day and/or head out the door less stressful.
An organized closet is truly one of my favorite things! Clean slate! New start! New Year! RIGHT?
Happy Sprucing!
~Scarlett