Archives for Closets
A woman in uniform: Angelina Jolie
Los Angeles-based professional organizer John Trosko tipped us off to an interview with actress Angelina Jolie in the December issue of Vogue. In the article, “The Other Angelina,” Jolie talks about the monochromatic nature of her wardrobe and how this helps to keep it small:
“As Brad’ll tell you — and my kids — apparently Mommy only wears black,” [Jolie] says. Because she was a Goth, right? No, she says, it’s utilitarian, it’s practical: “I like to get up so every pair of pants goes with every top, every dress goes with every shoe. I’ve a very tiny closet. Brad’s always laughing at me. Some days, yes, I have the nightgown that looks like a dress that I can sleep in and pick the kids up at school. And maybe take a meeting if I switch into heels.”
I don’t know if all four of her closets are small (the article mentions she has four homes around the world), or just the one in L.A., but knowing at least one female celebrity is capable of keeping clutter out of her closet is inspiring. I also don’t know what nightgown can be worn around town without people knowing you’re wearing a nightgown in public, but I think it’s a wonderfully minimalistic idea if it does exist.
Regardless of how many small closets she has or what designer has created a day-to-nightgown, Jolie’s overall strategy for keeping clutter out of your closet makes sense: A wardrobe of all coordinating, multi-functioning pieces is helpful when maintaining a small wardrobe.
What to do with clothes you’ve worn once but want to wear again?
Back on November 3, there was a fun comment thread on Reddit discussing “Where the h*ll do you put clothes you’ve already worn but plan on wearing again??” Many of the commenters agreed that they use:
ks50: the floor.
DJgiantboydetective: my system is even more involved. I’ve got the “worn once but totally good to go” area, and the “kind of questionable but OK if you’re just going to the store” area. the two areas are very clear in my head, but if you looked at them, you’d think my place just got robbed.
VladimirKal: My floordrobe is organised in pretty much the same way. People can never seem to believe that there is actually an organised mess rather than just a mess.
electrostate: FLOORDROBE. You sir are a genius.
I think the “floordrobe” is where a lot of people’s want-to-wear-again clothes end up landing. It’s especially common when the clothes are casual — jeans, t-shirts, shorts — and when their isn’t a system in place to handle these clothes.
Even t-shirts, jeans, and shorts cost money, though. Walking on your clothes and making them susceptible to more dust, dirt, mites, and dander than they would get in a more protective environment significantly shortens the life of your clothing. When you throw your clothes on the floor, you’re wasting money. I guess if you have a never-ending revenue stream, having to buy new clothes earlier than you otherwise would isn’t such a big deal. However, I think most people want their clothing to last them as long as possible, and throwing your clothes on the floor isn’t a way to make that happen.
To avoid using a “floordrobe,” consider the following suggestions:
- Get ready for bed an hour before you plan to go to sleep. This way, you have enough energy to put your clothes where they actually belong.
- Always hang up expensive clothes on hangers, especially when you plan to wear the item again — suits, ties, dress shirts. If you’re worried about these previously worn items “contaminating” your other clothes, hang them up at one end of your closet with a separator (a robe? a suit bag?) in between the two types of clothes.
- Create a permanent storage area for your casual want-to-wear-again clothing. This storage solution might be a separate hamper in a different style than your dirty clothes hamper, a suit valet, an S hook, a hanging shelf/drawer unit, wall hooks, back of door hooks, or even an empty dresser drawer. Invest in whatever solution you will actually use.
Do you use a “floordrobe”? Could one of these alternatives work for you?
Ask Unclutterer: Organizing an office supply closet
Reader Debbie submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:
We have a large storage cabinet and some shelves at my work office that have now become mine to organize. The cabinet is full of small cardboard boxes full of all types of supplies – tape, staples, computer pieces, pens, markers, hanging folders, envelopes, you name it. Lots of small items. I’m looking for some type of storage dividers/ container that will make this stuff more visible and reachable.
Is it weird that I am incredibly excited for you? I’m even a little envious. I love organizing supply closets. You’ve been given a really great project, in my opinion.
Are you familiar with the company ShelvingDirect.com? (Beware: There is a talking guy who appears when you follow that link. He only talks for 30 seconds, though, and you can easily pause him.) Despite the talking ad, this company has a lot of reasonably priced office storage products you might want to consider. There are numerous office supply companies out there that carry similar items, so you can check with your purchasing agent at work to see if the company you use most often has the same items.
Since you already have a cabinet and shelving, I recommend checking out the bin kits or their individual bins if none of the kits exactly meet your needs. The bins come in all different sizes and are formed in a way so you can easily see and access the product stored inside:
The plastic bins are nice because you can insert dividers and bin cups into them (neither the dividers or cups appear on their website, but they’re available through their catalog). The bins are also stackable, so you don’t waste any vertical space. You can easily label them, too.
Stores like The Container Store are really terrific, and carry similar bins, but they price even their smallest ones at a few dollars a piece. Ordering multiple bins from an office supplier is the less expensive way to go, where the smallest ones come out to being less than a dollar a piece. Which, at least in my opinion, makes the office supply companies the better option in this situation.
As you’re organizing the items in the closet, try to put the supplies accessed most often on the shelves that fall between you knees and your chin. Otherwise, you’ll constantly be bending over or reaching above your head to straighten and replenish these materials.
Thank you, Debbie, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column. I hope these bins and tips can work for you.
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.
Donate your unwanted shoes to people in need
Do you have shoes you’ve never really worn taking up space in your closet? Are there tennis shoes that are too small for your son’s feet but with life still in them lingering under his bed? Would you be willing to donate these shoes to charity so someone who can’t afford shoes or who has lost all in a natural disaster can have a pair to wear to school or to work or to safely walk down the street?
Soles4Souls is a charity that collects shoes that are cluttering up your closet and distributes them to people in need throughout the world. Search through your shoe collection, and then drop off your and your family’s unwanted shoes at a Soles4Souls collection site near you.
This organization came across my path when my friend and professional organizer Scott Roewer started collecting shoes for the victims of the Haitian earthquake. More than two million people remain homeless in Haiti, and Scott is traveling with Soles4Souls to help deliver the shoes he collects — and thousands more — in an upcoming shipment to the country.
As you put away your summer shoes and shine up your winter boots, check to see if there are any lightly worn shoes cluttering up your closet that could make a difference in the life of someone in need. You can get rid of clutter and help someone at the same time.
Workspace of the Week: No-mayhem mudroom
This week’s Workspace of the Week is Michelle Smyth’s hallway mudroom:
Now that it’s fall, I’ve set near our front door the plastic tray we put snowy, wet, and muddy shoes on during the colder months. Our home doesn’t have a mudroom, but that doesn’t alleviate our need for one. As a result, I was inspired when I came across Michelle Smyth’s solution. In her photograph’s description:
This is a narrow hallway in our cottage that we’ve turned into a mudroom of sorts. The shoe racks are from Ikea and the baskets from Home Outfitters. Really inexpensive way to make the most of what would otherwise have been kind of useless space.
Michelle also shared a picture of the wall that faces the coat and shoe racks:
It’s her family’s wall of fame, which is certainly a fun way to decide where to put diplomas and awards.
And, I know this isn’t a traditional workspace, but it’s still an inspiring space … so this time I made an exception. Thank you, Michelle, for sharing your space with us.
Want to have your own workspace featured in Workspace of the Week? Submit a picture to the Unclutterer flickr pool. Check it out because we have a nice little community brewing there. Also, don’t forget that workspaces aren’t just desks. If you’re a cook, it’s a kitchen; if you’re a carpenter, it’s your workbench.
Simple strategies for marking items
After Saturday’s simple tape suggestion, PJ and I have been talking about our favorite tricks for marking items. Here are a handful more tips for identifying items in your home and workspace:
- Separate new and used sponges by cutting off corners — straight from the package is good for dishes, one corner missing is good for counters and the table, two corners off and it’s perfect for cleaning spills off the floor.
- Reader CatServant recommended in the comments section to Saturday’s post something similar to the sponge method, but for other cleaning supplies: “I put a band of duct tape around the handle of any cleaning object that has been ‘demoted’ to ickier jobs: old toothbrushes now used to scrub the bathroom, old dish brushes now used for scrubbing out plant containers, etc.”
- After folding the top and bottom bed sheet and one of the pillow cases, many people will then use the second pillow case as a sack to hold the other three pieces. It makes storage simple, and it’s easy to grab the sack from the linen closet when it’s time to make the bed.
- We continue to love Alex’s suggestion of putting removable dots on small kitchen appliances to track which items you use over a six month period, and which ones you don’t. Label all small appliances and then only remove the dots when you use an item. At the end of six months, take to charity any appliance that still has a dot on it.
- Reader DG e-mailed recently to suggest using strips of blue painter’s tape to label fabric items. Great for labeling sets of sheets so everyone knows which set works with which bed, great for putting reminders on backpacks, and great for marking clothes to identify which ones you haven’t worn (like the kitchen dot suggestion). Since the painter’s tape can be pulled off the item, stuck to the lip of a shelf, and reused for many months, it’s an extremely low-cost marking system. One roll of tape can last for many years.
- If neighbors, co-workers, and/or friends have a tendency to borrow tools and not return them, scratch your initials into the metal with the tip of a screwdriver.
- Large families often benefit by using colors for each child — a simple dot on an item’s label made with a brightly colored Sharpie instantly says whose item is whose. Older children should be lighter colors (yellow, orange) so if an item is passed down to a younger child, the dot can easily be colored over with the next child’s color (red, blue).
What simple marking strategies do you use in your home? Share your marking methods in the comments.
Three places clutter might be hiding in your life
After having to scrape frost off the car windows yesterday morning, I’m finally willing to accept that fall has arrived. As I have been pulling out all the cold-weather supplies (coats, hats, boots, shovels, grill covers, etc.), I’ve stumbled upon some unexpected clutter in these storage spaces. If you haven’t already pulled out these supplies in your own home (or done the same with warmer-weather supplies if you live in the southern hemisphere), be sure to check out these locations for hidden clutter:
- Linen storage. I found a couple blankets and flannel sheets that I stored over the winter that should have been donated to our local animal shelter back in April. The elastic is shot in one set of sheets and two of the blankets have worn thin in places. Inspect your cooler weather linens to see if they’re ready for six months of use. (And give your warmer weather items a serious inspection before putting them into storage.)
- Exterior storage boxes/sheds. If you store items outdoors during the winter, but in protective storage, be sure to give these areas a good review before putting tools away for the season. Small rodents and other critters may have been using these locations for living quarters during the summer months.
- Car trunk. While loading a blanket and some freeze-dried snacks into the trunk of our car, I noticed a number of summer items hadn’t made it out of the trunk yet. Pull everything out of the trunk of your car and evaluate if it should live the winter in this space. If you don’t have a car, inspect the basket on your bike or thoroughly go through your backpack.
Have you found hidden clutter in your home while getting things ready for winter? If so, tell us where so we can all give these spaces a good review before the cool temperatures have us nesting indoors.
Reader weigh-in: How do you organize your clothes dresser?
I prefer to organize my clothes in a five-drawer chest of drawers based on the order I put them on: undergarments in the top two drawers, then t-shirts, pants, and finally socks in the bottom drawer. Some clients I’ve worked with prefer to organize based on weight — light undergarments and socks in top drawers, and heavier pants and t-shirts in lower drawers.
If you had a chest of drawers that had drawers side-by-side, you could store clothing from left-to-right based on how you get dressed. Or, maybe you prefer to just stick clothes in whatever drawer has space at the time so that all of your clothes are mixed together.
How do you arrange clothes in your chest of drawers? What do you believe is the most efficient method for your lifestyle? We’re interested in learning how you arrange things in your home. Share your strategy in the comments.
Bringing clutter into the light
Is there clutter hiding in your basement, attic, or garage? Is it at the back of a closet, under the kitchen sink, or in your medicine chest? What is the situation under your bed, in the linen closet, and in the drawers of your entertainment center? How are things in your filing cabinet or your car’s glovebox? Are you harboring clutter in an off-site storage facility?
When you can close a door or drawer to hide whatever lurks inside, it’s easy to use that space as a place to put clutter and forget about it. Even though this area might not be distracting you from living the life you want to lead right now, it does create stress and anxiety each time you access the area and whenever your thoughts drift to these spaces. Plus, you are spending money to maintain these objects and areas, and you’re keeping something you might value more — something that actually matters to you — from being stored in its place.
Unlike clutter that “hides” in plain sight, clutter that is tucked away can lead to bug and/or rodent infestations, increase the levels of dust and dander in your home, and keep you from discovering leaks, cracks, or other major structural issues. Not being able to see into your home’s closed spaces can really cost you over the longterm — financially and emotionally.
To bring this hidden clutter into the light of day, find a clear, flat surface you can use as a place to set all of your stored things. A dining room table works well for small spaces, and your driveway can work for large areas. Pull out all of your items and group them by type (make piles of like things). Once you can see all of the items, go through each group to determine if anything can be thrown away, recycled, or donated to charity. Once you’ve determined what should stay and what should go, only return items into storage that should be in storage.
Try not to store anything in cardboard because it is a tasty treat for bugs and rodents and it won’t protect your things if water leaks into the space. Also, label any containers you can’t easily see inside so you won’t waste time when you go looking for something — holiday decorations, camping and hiking gear, 2008 contracts.
Also, while your stuff is out of storage and on display, don’t forget to give your storage spaces a good review and cleaning. Repair any damages and clean out the cobwebs so you return your items to the best space possible. Install battery-operated lights, too, so that you can easily check on your stored objects in the future.
I’m of the opinion that the less stuff you have in storage, the better. Good luck to you as you shed light on your home’s hidden clutter.
Could you wear just six pieces of clothing for a month?
The New York Times article “Shoppers on a ‘Diet’ Tame the Urge to Buy” looks into two fashion diets that encourage folks to creatively exercise restraint in buying new clothes. The first challenge, called Six Items or Less, required a pledge to only wear six items of clothing for an entire month. The second challenge, known as the Great American Apparel Diet, is a one-year agreement to abstain from buying any clothing.
The article spends most of its column inches focusing on the Six Items or Less challenge, and explores a few of the sets of outfits participants chose to wear. My favorite parts of the article aren’t where they discuss the reasons the people decided to take on the challenge — we’ve talked about all the reasons on Unclutterer numerous times before — what is fun for me are the reactions the challengers mention. From the article:
Nearly a month into what amounted to just such a self-inflicted fast of fashion, Stella Brennan, 31, an insurance sales executive from Kenosha, Wis., realized last week that not even her husband, Kelly, a machinist, had yet figured out that she had been wearing the same six items, over and over, since June 21. The sad punch line is that Mr. Brennan is the one who actually does the laundry in the family.
If you’re looking to curb clutter in your clothes closet, I think the reaction that most people don’t pay extremely close attention to what you’re wearing is something to keep at the back of your mind. You don’t have to trim your wardrobe down to just six pieces, but getting rid of the stuff that doesn’t pass the red velvet rope test likely won’t make you the laughing stock of society. You can be chic and clutter free!
Image from The New York Times.
Assorted links for June 30, 2010
Articles we’ve been reading this week:
- In the comments to “Programs for reading online content off-line” a number of readers highly recommended Read It Later to the list of Evernote, Instapaper, and ToRead off-line viewers.
- J.D. Roth of GetRichSlowly.org has a thought-provoking piece on “The Rewards of Frugality and Thrift (or, Why We Scrimp and Save)” that I really enjoyed. It gets to the heart of what I believe is uncluttered spending.
- The London Times (a site you have to register to read) has an article in today’s issue about the Butter by Nadia dress. The dress is one piece of fabric that can be styled to wear 15 different ways. At the very least, I’m extremely curious!
- DIYlife has an inspiring post on “10 Uses for Leftover House Paint.”
- When money got tight, writer Kevin Mims found that uncluttering his home and selling the items at an antiques co-op made for good money. Check out his story “Out With The Old, In With The New Beginnings” on NPR.
- Reader Megan tipped us off to an article in this week’s Chronicle of Higher Education that discusses how to prevent feeling overwhelmed and overloaded by your work. Like so many things in life, you need to “always keep in mind what it is that you want to do, to build, to create in the world, whether that’s through a course, an article, or a new administrative structure.” The article is written for college professors and administrators, but is easily adaptable to any profession.
- Lifehacker linked to a terrific post on Stepcase Lifehack discussing “How To Stay Organized When Life Throws You a Curveball.” It’s uncomfortable to read about what to do during a crisis, but very important if you’re in the situation.
One last thing, I accidentally switched the post order today and put up the Unitasker Wednesday post as the first one and this post in the 10:30 a.m. spot. I think this is a sign I need more coffee. Check out our 7:30 a.m. piece if you’re looking for today’s Unitasker.
Ask Unclutterer: Closet woes
Reader Sue submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:
My bedroom closet is about 6′ deep and 3′ wide. How do I maximize that kind of space. I also have MS. I walk fine and look fine. But I need it to be as convenient as possible to limit fatigue. HELP
Sue, I must admit, you have a strange closet. Six feet deep but only three feet wide is an awkward setup — but all hope is not lost! The first thing to do is to imagine your closet from a new perspective. Visualize it as half of a traditional walk-in closet:
Get rid of any structural elements that are currently in your closet, and replace them with fixtures that take advantage of the length of your space. I recommend installing a storage system that will allow you to move rods and shelves around easily, in case your needs change over time. For example, the Ikea Stolmen system allows you to raise and lower shelves and rods without too much effort:
And, the Elfa closet system sold by the Container Store might also work for you. The drawers of the Elfa system are nice because they’re on ball bearings and pull out and push in easily. Unfortunately, the price tag on the Elfa system is higher.
Good luck to you, and I hope you are able to find a solution that works for your space and needs! Thank you, Sue, 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.
Streamlining your morning routines
To know me is to know my love of coffee. My entire morning routine is structured around brewing the perfect cup and drinking it before the busy-ness of the day begins. Hanging on the bulletin board above my computer screen is my mantra: “When in doubt, drink more coffee.”
I’m not really addicted to caffeine, I’m more addicted to the routine of crafting an ideal cup of joe. If there were a caffeine-free drink I savored more, I would be consumed with making it. However, except for a glass of whole milk minutes after coming out of the cow or a Batida from Ceiba restaurant in downtown, D.C., there aren’t any other drinks that capture my attention so strongly.
Why am I telling you all of this? First, it’s a way for me to talk about another of my passions. Second, and this is more applicable to you, I want to share with you my strategies for organizing morning routines.
When we wake up after a night’s sleep (or day’s sleep if you work the night shift), we go through the same steps every time. For most of us, these steps include showering, getting dressed, brushing teeth, eating breakfast, drinking coffee, and possibly helping a small human go through similar steps. Your routine might vary a little bit, but for the majority of days you do the same things over and over and over again.
How many of the things you use during your morning routine, though, aren’t convenient to access? Are your breakfast items strewn in multiple cabinets across the kitchen, bathroom supplies in five different drawers and cabinets, and clothing kept in three different places across a bedroom?
Think about all of the things you access each and every morning, and reorganize these things to better meet your needs and make your routines more efficient. For example, if your family eats breakfast cereal, put all of your cereal boxes into a basket so that putting the boxes on the table each morning is one simple movement. If you have a shaving routine, store all of your supplies in one container that you can pull out of the drawer, set on the counter, and then return to the drawer all at once. In your bedroom, consider arranging your furniture so that your dresser is next to your closet. Store all of your coffee-making supplies together with your coffee cups, above or next to where you prepare your coffee.
Keep the things you use together, in containers that you can pull out and use in the most convenient location, and store them in the easiest place to access.
It’s also a good idea to time yourself to see how long it actually takes you to get ready in the morning. Many of us are under the delusion that we’re faster at getting ready for the day than we actually are — especially families with children. If you have difficulty getting out the door in the morning, I recommend that parents get completely ready before children (especially young children) wake up and always padding your get-ready time by 15 minutes.
The more streamlined your morning routine, the more likely you are to have a smooth, stress-free morning. And, the more time you’ll have to enjoy that beautiful, rich, amazing cup of coffee.
Video: Erin on Monday’s Rachael Ray Show
This week seems to be all about videos here on Unclutterer (don’t forget our upcoming Ask Peter Walsh anything!), and I’m excited to be part of the collection. For anyone who doesn’t have a television, lives outside the U.S. or Canada, or missed Saturday’s announcement, you can now see my appearance on yesterday’s Rachael Ray Show online:
The clip is just a little over three minutes long, and I’m really happy with how it went. I had a great time on set, and Rachael and her staff were incredibly kind. I also love how Michael Buffer says my name — Erin Roooooooooooooney Dolaaaaaaaand! I hope you enjoy the clip and the closet organizing tips, too.
Unclutterer on the Rachael Ray Show
Set your TiVOs, DVRs, or tune in Monday morning, April 26, to the Rachael Ray Daytime Talk Show. I’m on the episode giving advice on how to organize your closet, just in time for warmer weather.
I filmed my segment for this episode back in January, and I can’t believe I was able to keep it a secret until now while I’ve been waiting for it to air. I had an amazing time on set, and Rachael was incredibly nice to me. Michael Buffer (famous for his “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble” tagline) was on set the same day and I was able to meet his adorable dogs and daughter. Buffer announces the whole episode, and even announced me! In the same episode, RuPaul teaches the audience how to put on fake eyelashes (and, wow, RuPaul is tall — I had no idea), and veterinarian Dr. Ernie Ward shows viewers how to safely trim their pets’ nails. There are even more experts giving advice in the episode, but you’ll have to watch to learn more.
My appearance on the show is a little bittersweet, as it was the last time I wore high heel shoes. After my accident, I may never be able to wear high heels again. I know it’s not the most important thing in the world, and my podiatrist assures me my feet will appreciate the change, but it’s still a little sad. Feel welcome to join me in waving goodbye to my high heels at the end of the segment.
For clarification, I’m on Rachael’s daytime talk show, not her 30-Minute Meals show. Check your local listings for when the show airs in your region. I hope you enjoy the tips!
