Less Is More

I mentioned in my last WIWW post that taking pictures of my outfits has really helped me go through some stuff I haven't worn in awhile and decide if I still like it. I prefer to be a minimalist, but sometimes that takes a lot of effort! It feels SO GOOD to sort through, scale back, clean out and donate!

I know I showed you a couple pictures of my closet in my "Our First Home" post and also in a couple old Tot School posts... and I'm not sure looking at these now will seem all that different when you don't see it every day... but I downsized my wardrobe by probably almost half! Or at least 40%. I made the rule that if I hadn't worn it within the last 6 months (within the appropriate season) or if it wasn't something super special, it was gone. I sent 8 bags of clothes to Salvation Army last week!

It feels so nice to see more empty space and shorter stacks of folded items. That shelf above the hanging rack is REALLY cleared off from what it used to be, which is perfect timing before I bring back out all my winter hats and gloves that usually go there too. And I still need to go through the belts and necklaces hanging there at the end. So, left to right, I keep sweatshirts/fleeces/hoodies, pants, skirts, capris, long sleeved shirts and short sleeved shirts. Each section is color organized by the rainbow.
By eliminating so many hangers, I was left with enough space to push my Tot School bin under the shelf to clear some more floor space where it used to be. And I still have our "previous activities" organized above it.

Top shelf: purses - also WAY scaled down and no longer piled on top of each other.

2nd shelf: short sleeved sweaters, turtlenecks, summer jammies. The jammie pile is the biggest change - I had some ratty ones in there! But I'm also down to just two turtlenecks!

3rd shelf: jeans, shorts, winter jammies.
Bottom shelf: sweaters.

This part is still bugging me and looks pretty sloppy. It's that corner with the boxes stacked so high. I hate shoe boxes. I think I'll get rid of more shoes. :) Or maybe I just need to get that Tot School stuff off the top shelf and consolidate it better with the rest of it. Right now, there are lighter jackets and vests hanging in front there but in the winter I'll switch them out to a few warmer coats. We do have a coat closet downstairs along with a couple hooks just inside the basement steps, but I don't wear the same coat every day and prefer to have my options upstairs to choose based on my outfit. I'm kind of a coat/jacket person - I almost like them better than clothes sometimes. Anyway, I also have some dresses, nightgowns and a robe hanging there along with 2 shoe organizers containing all my flip flops and smaller, dress shoes. Also on the shelf above the shoe organizers are bigger bags/totes (not purses) and a picnic blanket. And then the shelves on the back wall are all shoes and Tot School stuff.

I know this all may seem ridiculous since Craig and I are really the only ones that see this, but I think it's important to like looking at even your personal spaces at home. Technically, not many people see our bedroom either, but I still like it to look nice. Know what I mean? So even though there's more to do in my closet yet, I already love walking in to see the shelves, floor and racks so much neater.

Oh, and I don't think I've ever shown you Craig's side of the closet. (Hope you don't mind, babe!) He's a t-shirt guy and a total pack rat. He does a good job of keeping it organized in here but this is only the tip of the iceberg. His sweatshirts, suits, multiple robes, ginormous old hat collection and equally large old shoe collection are not even in this closet. They're in the original closet on the other side of our bedroom. And downstairs he has coats ev.ery.where, shoes in multiple places and lets not forget the dressers in our bedroom! I will claim several drawers in those dressers for my socks, underwear, bathing suits and running clothes. But c'mon. How many ratty t-shirts do you need to save for potential "paint clothes" or old/dirty hats that you never wear?

So, back to this closet... The first half of his hanging rack is t-shirts with a few long sleeve tees and polo shirts, then jeans, dress pants and dress shirts. Above is his bill paying/due date rack (he needs this or we'd be paying late fees on everything), undershirts, hats and um... shorts I think? Then the giant "gun safe" that he had to have... for his one gun... but is also nice for our special documents (birth certificates, SS cards, passports, etc.). So in other words, that giant safe that took three men to move in and looks like a bank vault... is nearly empty. :)

Aaaaand, here's the other side. Craig is obsessed with hooks. He's put them in every possible place around our house... and yet his favorite place to put his "worn once" work clothes/workout clothes/sleep attire (boxers/gym shorts), is in designated piles on our bedroom or bathroom floor. I will never understand that and it makes me crazy. You can see shoe boxes and racks of shoes, plus a few more pairs of shorts and hats. Now. Below all of this are his 18 gal (or are they 30 gal?) tubs labeled with a Sharpie on the lid: basketball clothes, work clothes, sweats, etc. Yep, he's anal. But it's not across the board, hence the small piles in our room and bathroom. The stuff on top the bins are clean clothes I've washed and folded and he has yet to put away.

So there you have it - more than you ever wanted to know about our CLOSET! If you've read to the bottom of this post, you're probably wishing you had the last few minutes of your life back. :)

But, if you've made it this far, you probably also have an interest in organization. So I have a couple questions for you:

1) Do you feel claustrophobic or stifled when you have too much stuff or are surrounded by clutter?

2) What sort of big cleaning or organizing project have you done lately?