1 Year to an Organized Life - February Week 3

This Week You Can:

• create a shopping list for any organizing tools you need
• return to your examination of time and uncover your true goals
• consider how you can maximize your closet space

I like when Regina says on page 55, that stacks and piles are unmade decisions made manifest.  So true!  Then she starts asking us some tough questions like, why did I commit to spending a year organizing my home?  While compared to some, I may seem pretty organized, there are still places that are overlooked and I don't feel good about.  I want my entire home to be a sanctuary, every nook, cranny and junk drawer!  And why a year....Regina answers that on the next page: the habits of a lifetime die slowly; be patient!

As my name is Frugal Franny, and I do everything I do on a tight budget, I have some suggestions that will differ slightly from what you read in the book.  Let me say that I love every one of Regina's ideas, I just can't swing all of it so I'm sharing how I did what I could....I am in no way saying that she is wrong!!

I would love to have perfectly uniform hangers....and for them all to be purple!  Maybe one day, but for now I do mostly have uniform hangers....you can barley see them in this picture.  Kohl's and a lot of other department stores will give you the hangers when you buy your clothes.  You might have to ask. Almost all of my hangers have come from that one store either from things I have bought or others gave to me.  

The other thing I want to stress in the closet is caring for your shoes!  I never thought about it as a teenager, but as I got more dress shoes especially I would notice how dusty they would get on the floor of the closet.  They aged just sitting there!  And the dust bunnies that would get inside of them, yuck!  So I started keeping all my shoe boxes.  As you can see, I keep them label facing out so I know what they are and I keep like things together.  On the left, the stack that's half cut off in the picture, are tennis shoes then they get dressier as you move to the right.  What I didn't get in the picture are some shoe boxes that I salvaged from shoes I no longer have or boxes someone gave to me that I put shoes in that didn't come with a box or the box got destroyed.  In that case I wrote on them in Sharpie what the shoes are.  I then keep all these boxes on my shelf because I don't really have anything else that needs to go there.  The closet floor has my slippers, my gym bag, and usually one pair of shoes or flip flops that get put on everyday to take the dogs out or run to the store.

If you don't have a single box kept, this might take you a while to get enough to get them all housed.  Some discount shoe stores might give you boxes from when they display shoes on clearance racks and they throw the boxes away.  My friend went out and got a bunch of the clear shoe boxes at Target.  That's a great idea too, which I think was suggested in the book.  

I also have one of those over the door shoe pocket things that I keep my flip flops in for summer.  I can see at a glance which ones I want, and since it's seasonal I don't have to worry about them collecting dust bunnies.

Another thing we did inside our closet (I share mine) is that on either side of the doorway my husband installed a hook.  He hangs all of his belts by the buckle on his and I have a couple belts and my robe on mine.  It's very handy!

Hope you are having fun transforming your closet.  Just having things all nice and neat and finally getting rid of all those things you have been skipping over for months (or years!) is going to make you feel like you almost have a new wardrobe!

Until Next Time.....

Franny