In The Closet

This is a letter I received this morning:

Dear Charlotte,

I did it! I took 15 minutes like you said and attacked my closet. Everything is hung up, floor is clear, and I even organized my clothes into catagories like shirts, pants and sweaters. It still doesn't look right. What isn't right about it?
Cheryl - Gaffney, SC


Dear Cheryl-

What awesome work! I'm glad you chose your closet since that is where we can lose major time in the mornings. Your question to me is my question to you....what isn't right about it? You sound like a visual person since you said it doesn't "look" right. If that is the case, I'll give you a few hints that may help.

1. Get new hangers. If you have a hodge podge of hangers you have collected over the years, it can effect the "look" of your closet. It's more about visual "white space." Your eye needs a place to rest in a given space. This is why your bedroom can "look" messier than it really is if the bed has not been made. Make the bed - voila! The room is now clean even if you haven't touched anything else. Your eye now has a place to rest. With so many colors in your closet for your eye to adjust to, additional colors on your hangers can be visually annoying.

How To: Buy a large box (at box of 50 is a great start) of hangers. White or black is the best visually. No need to rehang all of your clothes at once. As you wear an item, hang it up on a new hanger, tossing the old one. If after a period of time (3 months for example) anything not on a new hanger gets a new home. This will help you see what you actually wear.

2. Organize deeper. By this I mean sort your clothes in more specific categories. This can be by color, size, sleeve length, etc.

How To: My closet is organized by pants, then tops, then dresses and finally behind the door are my shoes. This way I actually select and dress in order. My order. Yours may be totally different and that's just fine! I suggest that in whatever section you have your clothes you first hang items from darkest to lightest in color. Shirts can be done in the same manner, but make two sections for tops - short and long sleeve. Dresses/skirts in the same way. This will help your eye to flow automatically. It sounds more difficult than it really is! Try it. If it doesn't work for you, then you're one step closer to finding what does!

PS. It isn't recommended that you hang sweaters. Folding them in your drawers will help keep their shape!