5 Easy Steps to a Fiercely Organized Wardrobe

Ever step into your closet and feel like you have nothing to wear?  It may not be just because you have become bored with your current wardrobe. More likely than not, it's because you can't see everything your current wardrobe has to offer.  Most of us don't go into our kitchen pulling out every drawer and frantically searching for the forks, knives, and spoons.  Why? Because each of the utensils has its place in what you refer to as the "silverware drawer."  Your closet should reflect the same organization! You can't expect to look fashionable on a daily basis if every morning you're searching for that one piece to make your outfit pop and you NEVER find it. If you want to make getting dressed as simple as it should be, follow these guidelines for a well organized wardrobe.

1. Separate your wardrobe by season.  Have an area for your spring/summer clothes and another area for your fall/winter clothes.  (If you're anything like me, you probably have separate closets for each season!)

2.  Within each season, separate your casual, work, and "After 5" clothes.  This will make it easier on those days you oversleep and need to pull together an outfit for work in a nano second.

3.  Sort your clothes by type.  All of your shirts should be together, skirts, pants, jackets, etc.  I would also encourage you to further break this down into groupings.  For example, if you are organizing your shirts, place your sleeveless tops together, followed by your short-sleeved tops and then your long-sleeved tops.

4.  Color coordinate!  Group your white shirts together, followed by your cream shirts, moving from your light shades to your darker shades, and ending with black.  Repeat this step for each type of clothing.

5.  Organize your shoes so you can see them.  If there's not enough space in your closet to display all of them, keep the shoes you tend to wear most often in plain sight.  You should store the others in either their original boxes or clear plastic boxes.  Place a photograph on the box so you can easily identify the shoes in each box. 

One more thing - and this has nothing to do with how you organize your closet, but I would be remiss if I didn't address it now.  Get rid of the wire hangers . . . all of them!  If you care about the quality of the clothes you buy, then you should care about how well you maintain them.  Wire hangers are meant to transport your clothes from the dry cleaners to your closet.  After they have served this purpose, they should be disposed of properly (or recycled).  They are the quickest and easiest way to cause your clothing to lose its shape (because they can't support the weight of most garments) and to get stains (they rust over time).  Invest in a heavy duty hanger.  I prefer wood, but there are some high quality plastic ones on the market as well.  If space is an issue (wood and plastic hangers do take up quite a bit of space), try Real Simple Slimline Hangers.  Whatever you decide, just throw away the wires!  Your clothes will thank you, and so will I!

MAYDAY MAYDAY . . . I've Outgrown My Closet!

I can't begin to tell you the number of times I've heard the following line from clients or potential clients: "I will call you to go shopping for clothes when I lose weight." Now, I totally understand wanting to get to that perfect size so you can rock that fabulous LBD you have now tucked away in the back of your closet. However, should the goal to shed those extra 5, 10 or even 20 pounds mean that you put off looking good until you reach your optimal weight? I think not!

Creating your personal style is a process, and it shouldn't be governed by the almighty scale. It is important that you look and feel good at any age, and at any size. I'm not advocating that you run out and buy an entirely new wardrobe at a size you absolutely loathe, but it will only make you feel worse if you don't have a few pieces in your closet that make you feel fabulous when you wear them. We as women are very emotional, and the constant reminders to lose weight (e.g. the rack of clothes in your closet that are two sizes too small) tend not to push us to the gym, but rather to the head table at a pity party. In my experience, you will only lose the weight when you look in the mirror, embrace how you look today, and think: "Wow! I could look even better if I shed those additional pounds."

Instead of declaring "I refuse to buy anything until I lose some weight," take an inventory of your current wardrobe.  If you need a few pieces to look good NOW, buy them. Just resist the urge to splurge. And about that rack of clothes you can't fit . . . HIDE THEM! They will only make you feel worse every time you open those closet doors, and that my friend is a NO NO!