Archives for Closets

In praise of the reversible belt

Maybe I spent far too much time playing with my Transformers as a kid, but for some reason, I always get a kick out of flipping the buckle on my reversible belt whenever my shoe choice dictates that it’s necessary to change from brown to black (or vice versa). Despite the disapproving look my wife gives me, I refuse to stop making the Michael Bay sound effects during the aforementioned buckle-flipping.

A reversible belt saves space in your closet. They are perfect for travel and usually less expensive than buying separate belts in black and brown.

In particular, we like this men’s belt from Kenneth Cole:

And this women’s belt from Nine West:

Posted by PJ on Mar 16, 2010 | 23 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Putting away laundry

Reader Kelly submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

Your advice on doing the laundry is fantastic. I’ve employed several tips with great success. In particular, I’m a fan of clothing items that need little care (e.g. no ironing, dry cleaning, etc.). However, I’m unable to find usable suggestions on HOW TO PUT THE LAUNDRY AWAY. One mantra of simple living systems is to touch things only once (mail directly from the mailbox into office without setting on kitchen counter first and while throwing away junk mail before you even bring it into the house), but I’m unable to find a laundry system that doesn’t result in piles and piles of clean laundry that needs to be put away. Getting it into the washer and dryer is easy — how can I get it to put itself away? My kids are 2 and 4 years old. I do one load of laundry a day. It ends up sitting in our enormous rolling laundry cart in the laundry room, where we all gather in our underwear looking for clean clothes. Please help.

I laughed aloud when I read your description of your family gathering in the laundry room looking for clean clothes because I have done exactly that on numerous occasions. My guess is that anyone with a washer and dryer at home has done this, but maybe around a couch, dining table, or wherever clothes are folded. And, I don’t know why, but I’m usually standing on my tippy toes, quickly shifting my weight from foot to foot, on a mission to locate clean socks. You’ve just described the human clean clothes hunting ritual!

To find a solution to this problem, start by making sure you don’t have more clothes than storage space. If drawers and closets are cramped, you might be avoiding putting clothes away because you can’t easily do it. You shouldn’t have to push down on clothes to shut drawers, and you shouldn’t have to use your elbows and exert upper body strength to cram clothes into a closet. Also, check out your closet and make sure that whatever method you’re using to organize your clothes is simple to maintain. If your closet organizing system is too convoluted, you might be avoiding the chore for this reason.

Although your rolling laundry cart is really cool, it might not be the best tool for your family. You may be better served by having four labeled, stackable, laundry baskets or a rolling, 4-bag, laundry sorter. Each night after dinner, you and your husband can take five minutes to put away the clothes in your designated bin or basket and then spend another five minutes helping your kids with theirs.

Challenge everyone to a race, play upbeat music, and/or make the new routine as much fun as possible. After a few months, it will become second nature and putting away laundry will no longer be an issue. As your children get older, they’ll be able to put away their clothes without help (around age 5 or 6) and eventually even do their own laundry (usually around age 10, 11, or 12). I’m definitely looking forward to these milestones in my house!

Be sure to check out the comments for even more suggestions from our readers for ways to help get clothes out of the laundry room and into their proper storage spaces.

Thank you, Kelly, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

Posted by Erin on Mar 12, 2010 | 79 Comments | Tweet This

The Guitar Hanger

If you are a guitar enthusiast, you may be interested in the extremely functional, uncluttered, and organized storage solution known as The Guitar Hanger:

Check out the full details:

I would only consider these if you regularly play your guitar. A case is the best storage option if you only play your guitar every once in awhile and prefer a long-term storage solution. For our household, though, these would be perfect for freeing up some floor space.

(Images from The Guitar Hanger website.)

Posted by Erin on Mar 9, 2010 | 22 Comments | Tweet This

Closet offices

Reader Shalin tipped us off to a fun photo set on CNN.com featuring “Amazingly tiny home offices from closets.” Image six is my favorite:

From the CNN.com description of this office:

Mark Halliday of Franklin, Massachusetts, says he finished this office in one day at a cost of around $45. “We needed an office, but it didn’t make sense to use an entire room for it,” he said. He and his wife used hanging shelves and leftover paint from another project to create the work area.

I’m a big fan of the closet office, especially when living in a small space. For additional inspiration, check out the five closet offices we’ve featured in the past as Workspace of the Week features:

(Image via CNN.com via Mark Halliday.)

Posted by Erin on Mar 1, 2010 | 14 Comments | Tweet This

Saturday’s assorted links

Except for when a kind neighbor drove me to the grocery store in his all-wheel drive station wagon on Monday, I haven’t left my house in 10 days. Since I declared February as Super Simple Month, I guess I should think of this time as Mother Nature’s way of helping me to keep to my plans. (We’ve received about 4′ of snow in the past two weeks.) But, unfortunately, being shut up in my house for so long has negatively affected my creativity. I haven’t been able to run (usually this is my time to be alone with my thoughts each day), and I’m finding nothing in my house inspiring right now.

Instead of reading about my cabin fever, I thought you might enjoy checking out some links that have more valuable insights into uncluttering, organizing, and simple living than I can produce right now. Trust me, this is what is best for all of us:

Posted by Erin on Feb 13, 2010 | 27 Comments | Tweet This

Discover your style to keep clutter out of your closet

On page 23 of Unclutter Your Life in One Week, I promote the idea of discovering your style to help you keep clutter out of your closets. If your closet is limited to clothes that fit, clothes you want to wear, and clothes that project your desired image, you’re less likely to find yourself overbuying or with a mess you can’t control:

You may not know exactly what you want your clothes to say about you, but you probably have a good idea what you don’t want them to say. When I was in my twenties and leading a forum on school uniform policies, a group of high school students told me I dressed like a “frumpy pants.” It was a few seconds after that moment that I decided I didn’t want my clothes to say that I was a “frumpy pants.”

Years later, after reading Carrie McCarthy and Danielle LaPorte’s book Style Statement, I figured out a more proactive concept for my wardrobe choices. I’ve found that having a defined style has made it a lot easier to keep clutter out of my wardrobe. Nothing comes into my wardrobe that doesn’t project my image.

I like to think of my wardrobe as being an exclusive club that only the best of the best can get into. I’m the bouncer, and I get to decide what items make it past the red velvet rope, and what items don’t.

I’m not a fashionista, and if you knew me in the world beyond the computer screen you would probably laugh at the suggestion that I even think about my clothing. I predominantly wear solid colors. I have three of the exact same dress in black, gray, and white. I have three styles of t-shirts in four colors (black, gray, white, and navy blue). I have three pair of black pants from the same manufacturer but in different cuts. And, I look nice in these things. They work for me. They say, “uncluttered,” which is what I want them to say. Clothes that say, “complicated” or “fussy” don’t make it past the imaginary red velvet rope into my closet.

Discover your style, stay true to it, and get the pieces of clothing that don’t represent you out of your wardrobe. If you don’t know your style, check out the following resources:

  • Carrie McCarthy and Danielle LaPorte’s book Style Statement, which I mentioned earlier. Most of the images in the book are female-focused, but men can get just as much out of the text.
  • A lot of my female friends swear by The Lucky Guide to Mastering Any Style. Only 10 styles are in the book, and they’re all female styles, so it’s not a comprehensive text.
  • As far as men’s fashion goes, I like Details Men’s Style Manual. It starts with the extreme basics and moves on from there.

Posted by Erin on Feb 9, 2010 | 30 Comments | Tweet This

Moveable mudroom

Small spaces often lack utilitarian areas where people can hang hats and gloves, process mail, and store purses, backpacks, briefcases, and keys near their main entrances. It’s easy for mail and travel items to clutter up the inside of your home when there isn’t somewhere convenient to place these things when you immediately come indoors.

I don’t have a mudroom or even a simple coat closet in my home, so I’m always on the lookout for storage solutions to replace these conveniences. Late last week, my husband forwarded me a link to a beautiful storage solution from Hansen Family Furniture in Paris and told me to click on the “Collection” link at the top of the page, and then select “Trunk” from the items:

The Trunk was designed to be used as a wardrobe, but I think would be perfect in a foyer. The Trunk is the brain child of Scandinavian-born but now-living-in-Paris designer Gesa Hansen, and is made of solid oak. It is 27.5″ x 55.1″ x 27.5″ (700 mm x 1400 mm x 700 mm) and includes a hat tree, flip-up mirror, cubby holes for shoes or papers, two drawers, and two large shelves for additional storage (a shredder and trash can could easily fit on the lower one of these). The item has hinges and does close completely.

We’re not the only ones to take interest in this beautiful piece of craftsmanship, as it will appear at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair this May in New York. Also in May, the company will release a Trunk for Bar Items.

Learn more about contact information and see additional images on the Hansen Family Furniture website.

Posted by Erin on Feb 8, 2010 | 6 Comments | Tweet This

Zipco closet organizer: Pies! Pies! Pies!

I had a good laugh at this sketch from this past weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live, and I wanted to share the fun. Erin lost it at “Dirt!” and now I can’t stop chanting, “Pies! Pies! Pies!” And, we should definitely warn you, it’s probably not safe to watch at work because of the “testimonial” in the middle of the sketch.

Posted by PJ on Feb 1, 2010 | 19 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Coat control

Reader Stacy submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

I live in Brooklyn on the top floor of a Brownstone and have NO coat closet, which is killing me this winter because our coats just end up all over the kitchen table. Do you have any ideas/suggestions for coat/hat/gloves/boot storage for a small apartment? Also, I’m broke. Thanks!

I’m sure you have figured out that the reason your coats, hats, and gloves are winding up on the dining table is because you don’t have another place for them to be stored when you’re home. You need to determine a location and create a space for these items to live, and it should be near the main entrance of your apartment.

You can repurpose a decorative container you already own to hold hats and gloves. Wrap a cardboard box in decorative contact paper that matches your decor if you don’t already own something that will work.

You have many options for coat storage, but probably the easiest is to install hooks near your front door. For just $1.66, you can relive your elementary school days with these simple Coat and Hat Hooks:

If you can’t put screws in your apartment’s walls, consider an over-the-door hanger for less than $13:

As far as boots are concerned, get an inexpensive tray from your local home supply store and leave your boots out to dry on it. Since you live on the top floor of your building, you could even leave the boot tray out in the hallway. Your shoes are probably at little to no risk of being stolen, and it will keep their dampness and mess out of your place.

Thank you, Stacy, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column. I hope this advice helps in some way!

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

Posted by Erin on Jan 15, 2010 | 20 Comments | Tweet This

Rent a dress for that next holiday party

Instead of buying an expensive gown that you’re only going to wear once to a wedding, formal holiday party, or some other black-tie affair, consider renting a dress through RentTheRunway.com. Best of all, after you send it back, your closet remains clutter free.

It’s the female equivalent of a tuxedo rental shop, which is a much-needed segment in the market in my opinion. And, for a percentage of what you would pay to buy the dress, you have the convenience of not having to deal with future cleaning, storage, or the garment going out of style.

From the website:

1. LOVE
Browse through our array of A-list designers and find a dress you love. Or two!

2. WEAR
Schedule a delivery date and your dress will appear on your doorstep, in two different sizes. Just to be safe.

3. RETURN
Put your dress in our handy pre-paid package and drop in the nearest mailbox. We take care of the dry cleaning!

My only hesitation with the program is the cleanliness aspect, and RentTheRunway answers this explicitly:

All RTR dresses will ship to you directly from the cleaners, without any handling in between. We’ve partnered with a premier dress specialist in NYC—Slate Dry Cleaner—and developed a process that ensures stringent quality control. We’ll only ship dresses that receive a 100% fresh seal of approval. Slate Dry Cleaner is an expert in eco-friendly, luxury dry cleaning. Their environmentally safe process certifies that every garment is thoroughly cleaned and cared for, maintaining the impeccable quality of the garment while being kind to the environment (not to mention to your health!). Our packaging is also specially designed to fully protect the dresses during shipment.

Learn more about the program in the Frequently Asked Questions section of RentTheRunway.com.

Posted by Erin on Dec 1, 2009 | 28 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Not yet dirty clothes

Reader Susan submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

OK, this may be a strange question, but it’s one I have not seen addressed anywhere: Where do you put clothes you’ve worn for a short time that are NOT dirty enough to go into the laundry basket or to the dry cleaner’s? I am talking sweaters, blouses, pants, etc. — not underwear.

For instance, I might put on a top & pants for a couple of hours to go to a luncheon, but when I get home I am not going to put those items in the wash (unless I spilled something on them, or they got sweaty due to hot weather, etc.) because they’re still essentially clean, and I can easily wear them again “as is” — but I won’t put them into the drawer or closet with other TOTALLY clean (freshly washed or cleaned) items, because that is an invitation to moth damage, among other things.

In an average week, I might wear several different tops and pairs of pants, but not long enough for any of them to get “dirty” or smelly or sweaty.

My family had no system for dealing with this when I was growing up — we just tended to toss stuff onto a coat-rack in each bedroom, which was far from ideal. For me now, when I take off a piece of “hardly worn” clothing, it gets placed into a neat pile on a chair or ottoman in the bedroom, & then I pull the item out again when I want to wear it. But there must be a better way, and I would love to hear suggestions!

Oh Susan, you have asked such a great question. I think that all of us deal with this issue from time-to-time. Let me start by explaining what it is that I do, and then I hope that others will jump in the comments section and describe how they solve this problem in their homes.

In my closet, I have a Skubb Organizer from Ikea. I have five of the Skubb Drawers in each of the shelves that hold various things (scarves, purses, pajamas, and sweats). The top drawer is labeled for things “Not Yet Dirty.”

You could easily use a dresser drawer in the same way. Once a week, I check the drawer to make sure that something hasn’t gone sour in there. Otherwise, it’s a fairly straightforward system.

Thank you, Susan, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

Posted by Erin on Nov 20, 2009 | 89 Comments | Tweet This

Let go of the past from your wardrobe

Yesterday, I finally got up the nerve to say farewell to what was left of my corporate wardrobe. No longer taking up space in my closet are suits, long-sleeve collared shirts, or “business casual” sportswear. My dresser drawers are free of pantyhose, trouser socks, and sweater sets (wait, I did keep one black sweater set — but all the rest are gone).

I haven’t worked in a traditional office in 3.5 years, but I was holding onto many of my corporate clothes out of fear. What if this writing and organizing thing doesn’t catch on?

After the book went on sale Tuesday, it was like the clouds cleared and the sun came out — I could relax and let them go.

Truth be told, I didn’t own many clothes before I started this process. I’ve pretty much only been wearing the same 10 t-shirts and three pair of jeans the past six months. The rest of the stuff in my closet was just hanging there, waiting on a giant “what if.” They were a security blanket I didn’t need. Also, most of the clothes were two sizes larger than I currently wear. If I had needed to change careers, they wouldn’t have even fit me.

So, I cast them off — the Brooks Brothers suits are going to consignment and the shirts and sweaters are heading to Goodwill. I kept a very small handful of dresses and slacks for media appearances and when I do productivity training and organizing for corporate executives — but only five of those items. I weeded out my shoes, too.

I feel lighter, more comfortable.

In Unclutter Your Life in One Week, I talk about setting guidelines for your wardrobe to help you decide what can stay and what should go. The eighth item on this list is “You should have an occasion in the next year to wear it.” Thankfully, none of the clothes I’m getting rid of meet this definition.

Here are the guidelines, from page 24 of the book, that I’ve set for myself when sorting through my wardrobe:

  1. The item should represent your current style and the image you wish to project to others.
  2. The item should fit you well and complement your body type.
  3. The item should work in coordination with a minimum of two other items in your wardrobe.
  4. You should be able to wear the item with shoes you already own (for shoes, you should be able to wear them with clothing you already own).
  5. The item should be in good condition and should not need to be repaired.
  6. There should be space for the item to be properly stored.
  7. You should like how you feel when you wear the item (for shoes, they should not cause blisters).
  8. You should have an occasion in the next year to wear it.

Do you have similar guidelines? Are parts of your past lingering in your wardrobe, acting as an unnecessary security blanket? Is it time to let them go?

Posted by Erin on Nov 5, 2009 | 58 Comments | Tweet This

Excerpt: How many bath linens do you need?

Below is the final excerpt from my book Unclutter Your Life in One Week we plan to run on the site — this time on how to determine how many towels and washcloths you need in your linen closet.

This is from the Tuesday chapter, “Your Bathroom” section:

“During its second season in 1967, the television show Star Trek aired an episode called ‘The Trouble with Tribbles.’ In this episode, a member of the crew of the Starship Enterprise is given a cuddly, furry tribble as a pet. Unfortunately for the crew, the tribble reproduces at an alarming rate and thousands of tribbles end up eating all of the grain on the ship. The crew runs the risk of dying of starvation out in deep space since their food supply has been so greatly depleted. I won’t give away details about the ending of the episode, but since the show went on to run for another season and a half, you can probably guess that they found a way out of the furry situation.

I mention this episode of Star Trek because I remember thinking about it the first time I cleared the clutter from my linen storage. I was convinced that my bath towels and washcloths had multiplied. I remembered buying one of the towels before I started college, but I had no memory of how I acquired the dozens more in the years since. It was as if they had spontaneously reproduced while the doors to the linen closet were shut.

To determine how many towels and washcloths you need, use this simple math equation:

(House residents + Guest bedrooms) x 2 = Sets of bath towels and washcloths

The logic behind the equation is that you have one bath towel and washcloth in use and another set in the linen closet ready to go. Since houseguests only need towels while they’re staying with you, they don’t need extras in reserve. Most guest rooms can accommodate two people, so multiplying the number of guest rooms by two usually provides for a towel per guest. (I’m using the term guest room in a general sense; in our house the guest room is an apple-green pullout couch in the middle of the living room.) If you have four people living in your home and zero guest rooms, then you should have eight bath towels and eight washcloths: (4 + 0) x 2 = 8. If you have three people living in your home and two guest rooms, then you should have ten towels and ten washcloths: (3 + 2) x 2 = 10.

This equation might not work for everyone, but most people find it to be a good starting point. If you’re a whiz at laundry, you might be able to get by on one set of towels per person. If you’re particular about having a new washcloth every day, you might need more washcloths in your collection. If your towels are falling on your head every time you open your linen closet, it’s time to trim your collection.

One nice thing about getting rid of towels and washcloths is that animal shelters worldwide are more than eager to take used linens off your hands. They are used to provide soft spaces for animals to rest, to dry off recently bathed animals, and to clean up messes. In addition to towels and washcloths, most shelters also take old sheets and tablecloths. Give your favorite animal shelter a call before you make your donation to make sure that they have a need for your unwanted items, and wash the items you plan to donate.”

Posted by Erin on Oct 29, 2009 | 44 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Overflowing child’s closet

Reader Miriam submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

How do I get a handle on children’s clothing (shorts, school clothes, skirts, pants, capris, short sleeve shirts, long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts, sweaters…etc. etc)? I am awash in laundry with little closet space! And I’ve tried to think of it in terms of how many days of clothing (2 weeks) might be ideal yet am still overwhelmed (I’ve two girls who wear the same size!) … HELP!

I recommend starting this process by sorting your daughters’ clothing into warm and cool weather piles. Put all the summer-appropriate things in one pile, and the winter-appropriate things in another. You may also have a third pile for multiple-weather items, like jeans, socks, and underwear.

Assuming that your daughters are under 14, you can now get rid of all of the summer items and, if they’re in good shape, give them to charity. There is no way that your daughters will be wearing the same size next summer, so clear out these items permanently. If your daughters are high school age and have finished their growth spurt, sort the summer clothes into keep and purge piles. Put the keep items into pest-proof storage for the winter and, if they’re in good shape, pass the purge items onto charity.

Once you have the summer clothes out of the way, you will hopefully begin to feel a sense of relief and won’t be too overwhelmed with the rest of this process.

Next, immediately purge any items that are ill-fitting, damaged, or out-of-style. (Your daughters will be able to tell you what’s “not cool” in their closets, even if they’re as young as kindergarten.)

After this, look at what is left and decide if you need to continue. If you need to keep cutting clutter out of their closets, I recommend sorting by purpose — your kids might have school clothes, dress-up clothes, play in the mud clothes, and uniforms for clubs or teams. Once these purpose piles are created, bring each down to a manageable size. As you suggested in your question, two weeks worth of school clothes sounds like a good idea to me. Each girl probably doesn’t need more than three or four dress-up outfits, one or two play-in-the-mud pieces, and, if applicable, just one or two uniforms per club or team. Look at your family’s schedule, though, to get these numbers right for your needs.

Finally, it may be time to have your daughters start to do their own laundry. By fifth or sixth grade, children can be responsible for taking care of their wardrobe. If you can teach them how to take care of their things, you won’t be swimming in laundry any longer. Good luck!

Thank you, Miriam, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

Posted by Erin on Oct 23, 2009 | 27 Comments | Tweet This

Organize your closet like a pro

Scott Roewer, a certified professional organizer based in DC, recently created a how-to series for the video site MonkeySee. His topic, organizing your closet like a professional, takes viewers step-by-step through the uncluttering and organizing process. The series is terrific and it’s worth a view if you’re looking to get your closet in order.

The series was filmed as nine short episodes (each between two and five minutes), and I’ve embedded the first here. See below for links to the other eight episodes.

Posted by Erin on Oct 13, 2009 | 10 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Managing a wardrobe of many sizes

Reader Petra submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

Uncluttering is not a huge problem for me — with one exception: my wardrobe. I’m a stress-eater and easily gain weight, nevertheless I try to get rid of the extra kilos whenever possible. Those ups and downs expand sometimes over periods of a year.

My clothes are of high quality and just prime, timeless wear. Due to my weight problem I have every item needed in three to four different sizes. How can I unclutter this huge amount of clothes without the need to shop whenever my weight changes ? (Yes, I know I should do something about the weight problem permanently…) I would love to hear from you.

To begin, I want you to know that you are doing two things right already — your wardrobe is full of well-made and classic clothing. You will get many years of use from your clothing and won’t have to replace what you will ultimately decide to keep. You’re definitely on the right track.

Next, I recommend going through all of your sizes and identifying the pieces that look best on you at each size. You know these pieces because they make you feel good when you wear them, people compliment you when you wear them, and you never hesitate to put them on when they’re clean. These items should go into your keep pile.

If you still have some space in your closet, I recommend keeping your most classic pieces — for instance, a black suit that can be worn to a meeting, dressed up to attend a dinner party, and is also appropriate for a funeral. These extremely versatile, classic items will be fine to keep in all of your sizes. I call these items the basic wardrobe, and you should create one that best meets your needs.

Beyond these two types of clothes, you won’t really need much else. You may find, however, that you want to increase your accessories — scarves, jewelry, shoes, and drapey cardigans that can be worn at any size. Use these items to give color, spice, and a trend to the current to all of your outfits. Fortunately, (well, except for the shoes) these items are considerably easier to store.

Thank you, Petra, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

Posted by Erin on Oct 9, 2009 | 37 Comments | Tweet This

How to fold a large bath towel

After I started folding my fitted sheets in the manner I detailed earlier today, I realized that it was very similar to how I fold my large bath towels. The way I fold towels is extremely convenient and efficient because the towels are folded in such a way that I don’t have to refold them to put them on the hanging bar. I just pull them out of storage and hang them up.

1. Either lay the bath towel front-side down on a clean surface or, if your arms are long enough, hold the towel in a similar manner:

2. Fold into thirds (lengthwise):

3. Fold the long strip in half (bring short edges together):

4. Fold the strip in half again:

I fold smaller towels in the same manner but skip step 4 in the process.

Posted by Erin on Jul 9, 2009 | 35 Comments | Tweet This

Are you keeping duplicate items in your closet?

I’ve always heard that if you have two pairs of jeans (or any kind of clothes), that you’ll get longer life out of them by alternating them on a daily basis instead of wearing one pair until they wear out and then wearing the second pair. Many people make this claim when they’re justifying holding onto four of the exact same black shirt, or whatever multiple of a piece of clothing that is taking up space in their closet. Unfortunately, after many days researching this very topic, I have yet to find a single piece of scientific evidence to support the extended-life claim.

Each piece of clothing you own has a limited life cycle. Natural fabrics are made of predominantly short fibers (sheep fur, rabbit fur, flax shafts, cotton) that eventually break down and unwind over time (for example, pills on a sweater). Man-made fibers are longer and more durable (rayon is a single, long, silk-thread-like product), but they can and will eventually show damage. Wearing, washing, and drying fabrics damage fibers, plain and simple. (Even storing fabrics can damage fibers if under poor conditions.)

Think of it like a math equation:

Life Cycle = X wearings + Y washings + Z dryings

The Life Cycle is a set number that doesn’t change if the days come in succession or not. A cotton t-shirt is going to reach its Life Cycle after something like 200 wearings, washings, and dryings. It doesn’t matter if those 200 wearings, washings, and dryings happen over 200 days in a row or 200 days spread out over two years; you’re only going to be able to wear your t-shirt on 200 occasions before it reaches the end of its Life Cycle.

Hanging clothes on a drying line instead of putting them in the dryer can extend the length of your clothes because the fibers in your fabrics won’t get beat up going round and round in the metal drum (high heat also does damage to fibers). Hand-washing is also better on fabrics than machine washing, but not significantly (the enzymes in detergents still take a toll on fibers). And, you can get a little more life out of your clothes by wearing them more than once (I’m thinking jeans, not underwear) between launderings. But, bacteria, dirt, and mites damage clothes, too, so washing your clothes extends their life cycle (in comparison to not washing them ever).

Ultimately, a piece of clothing has a set life cycle and alternating or rotating its wear doesn’t change that fact. Knowing this, do you feel more comfortable letting go of duplicate items of the exact same piece of clothing in your closet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

P.S. As far as I can tell, the above information is also true for all shoe materials except for leather. For some biological reason, animal skins have a shrinkage period that can improve the life cycle of your leather shoes if given a day to dry out and rest. So, you might get a few more days or weeks of wear out of a pair of leather shoes if you wear them every other day instead of every day. Again, this only seems to be true for shoes made of real leather.

Posted by Erin on Jun 23, 2009 | 50 Comments | Tweet This

The Uniform Project

We’ve talked in the past about uniforms and how having a signature look can reduce clutter in your wardrobe (like Seth Brundle in the movie The Fly). We know that wearing the same outfit every day isn’t for everyone (certainly not for me), but a number of people do pull it off successfully. We’ve recently stumbled upon The Uniform Project and are amazed at the variety Sheena Matheiken is getting from a single dress and a lot of accessories.

Starting May 2009, I have pledged to wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion. Here’s how it works: There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week. Every day I will reinvent the dress with layers, accessories and all kinds of accouterments, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies. Think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade’s boudoir.

She takes a picture every day of her outfit and posts it online. The simple black dress can be worn either forward or backward, which gives the dress even more versatility. The first image below is the plain dress, and the other two are simply ones I fancied. Check out the website to learn more about the project:

Posted by Erin on Jun 13, 2009 | 51 Comments | Tweet This

Thought experiment: How would you organize Hannah Montana’s closet?

A year or two ago when Hannah Montana became the favorite topic among my young cousins, I decided to watch four or five of the episodes on the Disney channel to figure out what they were discussing. I’m not really sure I’ll ever understand the appeal of the show, but I did learn about Hannah Montana’s closet. (The link goes to a video of her closet. I couldn’t bring myself to embed the video.)

Hannah Montana has an enormous closet with library stacks filled with shoes, belts, and purses, and rotating racks of dresses, tops, and sequined pants. While a fashionista might see the closet and start salivating, my first thought was, “How could I better organize this space?”

A Closet Carousel would definitely be an improvement over the spinning metal racks in Hannah’s wardrobe. Getting rid of all of the clothes she no longer wears would be another good idea (but my assumption is that since she leads a double life, she has more clothing needs than most). And, Simple Division Garment Organizers wouldn’t hurt in such a large collection of clothes.

The pièce de résistance, however, would be a digital wardrobe database with images and descriptions of all of her clothing and accessories. This way, Hannah might be able to pick out what she wants to wear before setting foot into her closet for an evening of party hopping or whatever it is secret rock stars do with their time.

If she has a Mac, she might enjoy the Dress Assistant closet organizing software:

If she is a Windows user, she might like the Victoria Clothes Organizer:

Or, if she wants a custom solution, I’m sure she could whip one up in Access without too much trouble.

For those of us not living the secret rock star life, any and all of these ideas would be overkill. However, it’s still a fun mental exercise. How would you organize a fashionista’s closet?

Posted by Erin on Jun 10, 2009 | 21 Comments | Tweet This