Closet Organizing: What to Invest in and What to Donate

One of the most difficult and dreaded areas to tackle when organizing is your closet. Since most of us already have a surplus of clothing, it can be difficult to know what clothing items we should keep, which ones we should invest in, and which ones we should donate. While every closet clean out will be different, our goal for this guide is to help you on your journey to a more organized wardrobe:

What wardrobe basics should every closet have?

It’s safe to assume that your closet is already filled with the essentials every wardrobe needs, but if you’re on the fence about the basics, here is a brief list:

Durable Undergarments: The category of clothing you probably wear most often is your undergarments, so make sure they’re of high quality. For women, this means owning or investing in long-lasting seamless underwear that is both comfortable and reliable. For men, this means upgrading to durable undershirts that aren’t stained or worn out from everyday wear. While these items aren’t the most glamorous closet additions to invest in, they are a practical necessity that you won’t regret having on hand. 

Quality Socks: When was the last time you went through your sock drawer or even thought about how many socks you own? If it’s been a while, now is the time to ditch any socks that have holes in them and purchase new, quality socks that won’t rip after months of wear and tear. 

Formalwear: Everyone should have some kind of formalwear option in their closet that they feel good about. Whether you need a suit for an upcoming wedding or a dress for a summer baby shower, if you don’t know the rules of formal attire or have a dressier clothing option ready to go in your closet, it’s time to go shopping! 

Outerwear: By outwear, we simply mean having weather appropriate jacket options. Since you’ve probably built up a collection of coats over the years, take some time to examine each jacket that you own. Do you have a rain coat for the wetter months you can rely on? When was the last time you replaced your winter jacket? These are the kinds of questions that will help make organizing your closet space and donating old items easier!

Casual Basics: Finally, make sure that as you purge your closet you keep and leave room for the casual basics you love to wear. From your favorite plain white t-shirt to an old, but still sturdy pair of jeans, the casual basics are what make your wardrobe yours, and they’re what you’ll wear the most. 

How do I know what to donate?

A good rule of thumb to stick to when donating is the six month rule. For every piece of clothing in your closet, ask yourself if it has seen the light of day in the last six months. One caveat to this rule, however, is to consider if you regularly wore an item before the pandemic. In some cases, you might not have donned a certain outfit in the last six months simply because you had no reason to leave your house! If this is the case, keep the item and reassess donating it at the end of the summer when you’ve had more opportunities to wear it. 

Aside from the six month rule, another thing to keep in mind is the sizing of your clothes. If you’ve been holding onto something you hope you’ll fit into one day for over a year, it’s probably time to let that item go. Don’t let clothes that don’t fit hold you back from having an organized and curated closet space! 

How do I organize my closet after donating and curating my closet basics?

Ultimately, how you choose to organize your closet is based on personal preference, and the size of your closet space. If you are organizing for the whole family and not just yourself, be sure to read into closet organization tips for large families. Either way, here are a few organizing options for anyone who is unsure of where to start: 

By Color: One of the most popular closet organizing techniques is to rearrange your clothing by color. You can have fun with it and hang each item in order according to the rainbow, or keep things more practical and put your favorite colors in the most accessible area instead. 

By Item: Seemingly the most convenient way to categorize your clothes is by item. Hang all of your shirts/blouses together, all of your pants side-by-side, and all of your cardigan/blazer options in the same area. This will help keep things efficient when getting dressed in the morning and makes things look very clean visually.

By Season: If you don’t have enough space in your wardrobe to hang all of your seasonal clothes at once, you should be organizing your closet based on the weather. Pack your winter clothes away in stackable storage bins and give your spring/summer options the space they need to shine. 

While organizing your closet and upgrading your clothes is not always a fun task, it can be quite rewarding in the end. Hopefully this process will help you to curate a wardrobe that you are truly proud of, while also decluttering your space!

Guest Post - How to Optimize Your Work Environment and Make Your Office Space More Efficient

Every successful business is fueled by high efficiency. But, as everyone knows from everyday life, attaining that much necessary efficiency is difficult if the space around is full of clutter and not that well optimized. Just like you can’t finish any job in your house if you are constantly tripping over stuff, the workers can’t fulfill their tasks if they are surrounded by chaos.

So, let’s take a couple of neat ways to optimize the work environment and make your offices far more efficient.

Split the space into open zones

By open areas, we mean the recreation area, productivity hubs, places where people can take a break and hang out for a bit, sofas, collaborative spaces, and so on. The benefits of such an open design are numerous. First, by tearing down the artificial boundaries, you are getting a lot more space to use more productively. Second, when your workers feel tired, they will be able to easily transition to some other, more comfortable workstation without taking an active break. Open space also feels less constraining, as well as encourages chatter and brainstorming.

Cut the excessive storage

In previous decades, the main goal of every space – offices and homes alike – was to squeeze in as much storage space as possible to keep the clutter under control. Fortunately, the offices no longer have that millstone around their necks. Namely, by focusing on Cloud tech and digital documents, modern offices are cutting their print volume and reducing the number of necessary equipment (e.g., shredders, bins, etc.). This solution is also very eco-friendly, innovative, and in tune with the modern business environment, so there's no good reason to skip it.

Start from the scratch

In some cases, trying to adapt the existing space that simply wasn't built with productivity in mind takes too much time, money, and effort to pay off truly. If you are facing this problem, you should consider starting from scratch and building your offices around the specific needs of your company and your staff. This solution can prove to be more financially beneficial in the long term as well. Take, for example, a modern modular building that packs excellent price, strong durability, and all other requirements necessary for utilitarian constructions like offices.

Maximize natural light

In terms of interior design, natural light is a true blessing that should be utilized to the fullest extent.  First and foremost, expanding the available window space opens up the room and makes the enclosed, dark environment seem larger. In turn, allowing more natural light into the office cuts the need for bulky light fixtures and reduces the energy bills. Finally, natural light has a very positive impact on the overall mood in the office. According to recent research, exposure to natural light has a very positive impact on the sleep, activity, and quality of life of the workers.

Use multipurpose furniture

In one of the previous sections, we have mentioned that you should keep the number of storage pieces at a minimum. But every office needs some storage to be functional. That is why you should put more focus on the multipurpose furniture pieces like, for instance, storage islands with a work surface that double-down as a neat co-working space. Storage units can also be squeezed underneath the sofas, desks, and even chairs. Wall-mounted foldable desks and standing pieces with casters are the ideal solutions when you need an on-the-go place to perform some critical duty.

Resort to small-scale furniture

Last but not least, we have to mention the size and scale of your furniture. Since you are aiming for optimization and efficiency, you should try to get the pieces that are as slender as possible. This also goes for the large multipurpose units that will be the centerpieces of your new, reorganized office space. As for the decoration, this is the case where you should try to be conservative as possible. If you want to make your office trendier, decorate strategically with wall-mounted units. Using expansive mirrors will open up space even more while raising the overall visual impression.

Wrapping up

We hope these few tips gave you some general idea about the ways you can declutter and open up your small and cramped offices. Human beings are not well-adjusted to chaos. In order to thrive, they need a peaceful and organized surrounding. So, if you want to keep your workers at the optimal level of efficiency, be sure to make their offices as clean and as organized as possible.

About the author: Mike Johnston is an avid blogging enthusiast and experienced freelance writer. He’s a regular contributor to numerous online publications where he writes about real estate, construction, home improvement, and interior design.

Home Organizing Tips for Seniors

No matter whether your elderly lives at home, in a retirement community or in a senior living facility - it pays to create a comfortable living space for the elderly by organizing and decluttering the space.  Doing so is important for their safety and security. But, how can you do that? 

Here’s how - 

Assess the Home of the Elderly 

Needless to say, this is the first step in improving the home of your elderly. Start with making a list of all the things that might cause them trouble. It’s good to focus on areas where they generally spend maximum time. 

Below are some of the commonest problem areas to focus on- 

●      Messy kitchen cabinets

●      Fire risks

●      Dark/dingy areas

●      Difficult storage areas in the laundry room

●      Hard to reach shelves

●      Slippery hallways and stairs

●      Slippery bathrooms

●      Difficult doorknobs

●      Dangerous stacked shelves

●      A jam-packed medicine/bathroom cabinet  

Once you figure out the areas in need of maximum attention, you can get to organizing them first.

Install Shelves 

It’s good to install shelves for storing small items, supplies, and tools. Shelves are great for storing home and seasonal yard supplies such as weed killer, washing fluid, etc. If you live in one of the pet friendly senior living communities - ask for shelves a little higher up so that pets cannot reach them easily.

Relocate Furniture 

Over the decades, it’s easy to accumulate a ton of furniture such as chairs, tables, etc. They can take up a ton of space in your home making free movement a challenge. Therefore, it’s a good practice to get rid of stuff that no longer serves you or fits your needs. 

This step is particularly important if you’ve developed a new disability. Don’t worry if there’s not enough space to entertain guests. Your safety is far more important than anything else. Pay special attention to free, moving space in the living room as that’s the area where people spend most time. 

Install Storage Solutions 

It’s good to add storage shelves to your bedroom so you can store gift times, framed photographs, magazines, books, etc. Most of this stuff takes a ton of space on the nightstand and dresser. 

Clean/Organize the Medicine Cabinet 

If there are expired medicines in your cabinet, it could put your adults and seniors at risk of mental/cognitive disability. Therefore, it’s a good practice to clean out and organize your cabinet regularly. 

It’s good to include caregivers and family members in the process so that only the necessary and safe medicines are kept and everything else (expired and unsafe medicine) is carefully discarded. Make sure to label each container so that it’s clearly visible. 

Eliminate Garbage 

Maximum heavy-lifting in terms of decluttering should happen in areas such as basements, garages, and attics. That’s because these areas are where most of the unused furniture, discarded items, and heavy boxes are stored. 

If your elderly/senior is suffering from some kind of disability, it’s important to work with an abled family member or a caregiver before beginning with the decluttering process. 

Some Additional Organization/Storage Tips for the Elderly 

Other than the above-mentioned tips, there are some other ways also in which you can arrange your house and make it more functional, safe, and comfortable. Below are the ways in which you can do that - 

●      Label storage areas so that it’s easy to recognize them

●      Store all the vital information, documents, and instructions all in one place so that they’re easy to find in times of need

●      Make sure that the hallways, steps, and bathroom tubs are slip-resistant

●      Keep entryways and steps clean for easy access

●      Keep all dark areas well-lit

●   Keep slip-resistant floor on the bathroom tub so that the seniors don’t accidentally fall down

Bottom Line 

It’s important that you make the project of decluttering and organizing the living space as fun as possible for the best results. Be sure to also put a lot of forethought into planning.

Closet Organization Tips for Large Families

Having a large family is wonderful, and being a member of such means that there is never a dull moment at home. You don't know what being alone is as you are constantly surrounded by people who understand you, support you, care for you, people who love you. And while big households are great for our well-being, not all homes are equipped to deal with so many souls in one place. More precisely, not all of them come with enough closet space for everyone. Luckily, this problem can be solved by turning to certain closet organization tips, the biggest of which is replacing individual wardrobes with one big family closet.

What exactly is a family closet, and how can it make organizing easier?

The idea behind it is quite simple, actually. It involves saying goodbye to ordinary, tiny wardrobes and switching them for a room designed for the whole family to store their garments. Depending on the home's layout and size, the room could even function as a laundry room. Of course, in some instances, the latter isn't possible. If so, setting up a walk-in family closet close by it is highly recommended for added convenience.

But what benefits are there to it? Well, for starters:

• They make putting away clothes a piece of cake as everyone's things are in one place

• Individual clothing items are easier to spot since everything is on display

• It's easy to stay on track with the wardrobe you and your children no longer need

• You can lay out the outfits for tomorrow without making clutter

• The old closets can serve as storage space for other things

With so many advantages to having a one-for-all clothing area, it's no wonder why more and more families are beginning to utilize them. There are various ways to make them work for you, some of which are covered in the following closet organization tips.

Purge first, organize later

Before you begin working on the right organizing system for your closet, get rid of the things you and your loved ones no longer need. Maternity dresses, kids' outgrown clothes, and faded jeans all fit the bill. However, instead of throwing them all away, consider that those less fortunate could benefit from what you consider old rags. With that in mind, a smart way to deal with unnecessary clothes is to divide them into two piles. The first being things you will donate, and the second those you'll dispose of.

Decluttering is definitely one of the simple ways to get more precious space in both the individual closets you'll soon no longer need and the brand-new family one. Additionally, by transferring your clothes into the shared closet, you allow the previous ones to be used as storage for, let's say, toys or appliances.

For better closet organization, switch from racks to shelves

Some moms would say that keeping a large family's closet well organized is a nightmare. But it doesn't have to be. One way to sort out a messy wardrobe and provide room for all the garments is to replace the clothing racks with shelves. Combined with neat folding, these allow you to store a lot more items than you would if you were to hang them on a rack.

Think about the kids while arranging clothes

As far as family closet organization tips go, this one is golden. Before you come up with a system that works for you, bear in mind that you must also develop a system that works for your little ones. Shelves alone will make it easier for children to spot their clothes, especially if you commit to arranging them by color and labeling compartments with your kids' names. Also, you must make sure your kids can actually reach their outfits, so keeping them on lower levels is advisable. Higher shelves should be reserved for you, your significant other, or the things your family uses only on rare occasions.

Find a place for all the particular items

Your shared closet can only remain neat if you find a place for absolutely everything. It's not only clothes that require storing, but also things like shoes, bags, hats, and jewelry. To keep your footwear in check, you can introduce a shoe organizer to the area. You can keep bags on shelves, but, as far as hats and jewelry go, wall-mounted hooks are just the place for them! They'll stay on display, as well as be easy to grab on the go.

Keep the laundry basket in the family closet

This is one of those commonly suggested closet organization tips that are all about convenience. By keeping the laundry basket in the same room as your loved ones' clothes, you simplify the process of doing laundry. Just think about how time-consuming it is to go from room to room to check everybody's drawers (or floor) for dirty garments. With one closet for all, this scenario is a thing of the past. Thanks to it, you'll save both precious time and energy. Plus, if your washer and dryer happen to be nearby, removing the clothing items from them and putting them back in their place will turn into a breeze.

Decorate the shared area for a feel-good vibe

It's not all about creating a clever organizing system for your family home wardrobe but also keeping the room pretty. The goal is to transform it into an area that makes you feel good. Or rather, decorate it with a boutique kind of vibe in mind. This can be accomplished by sprucing up the walls with wallpapers, adding ambient lighting, a comfortable couch, and a full-length mirror. Either way, feel free to experiment in any way you like. Just don't forget to involve the kids in the process!

Final words

While initially meant for large families, these closet organization tips aren't only applicable to them. In fact, it's quite the contrary! Every family can make use of a one-for-all wardrobe. Not only will it provide the additional storage space they may need, but it will also allow for the area to remain tidy. Plus, keeping everything in one place will make finding particular clothing items more manageable than ever before. Sounds good, doesn't it?