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!

3 Ways to Craft a Meditation Corner You Love

So many people are meditating at home to find balance nowadays, and it’s never been more important to build a peaceful oasis in the form of some kind of meditation room. 

Thankfully, the process of crafting a space to meditate doesn’t mean breaking the bank. It’s actually not as time-consuming as you might think. Instead of remodeling an entire room, there are many options where you don’t have to uproot what you have already. 

This project doesn’t even require an entire room - a tranquil corner can work just as well. Regardless of what you choose, you will still be prioritizing your mindfulness through making a dedicated space for meditation. Below are our top 5 tips to achieve tranquility in a space.

1) Allow the Light to Shine (Or Dim)

The first step to making a meditation space is figuring out lighting. Many people think that to create a relaxing corner you need dim lighting but this is not necessarily the case. You don’t need to stick to blackout curtains and amber light bulbs. 

You might consider consulting a local electrician or handyman to get a quote for dimmable switch installation in your meditation room. Whether you decide to add a dimmer switch or a brightness-adjustable bulb, the choice is yours.

2) Select a Few Signature Scents & Sounds

Picking a soothing scent can help you gain a sense of familiarity and ritual for your daily practice. Aromatherapy fragrances like essential oils have extremely relaxing effects, especially during meditation. Essential oils like eucalyptus, peppermint, or lavender are among the most popular aromatherapy fragrances used in essential oil diffusers. Note that peppermint is more of an invigorating scent while lavender and eucalyptus have a calming nature. 

Your preference for what your meditation room should sound like may differ: do you prefer an echo chamber where you can follow sounds until they disappear? Or do you prefer complete silence when meditation? Or, would you enjoy calming music during your practice? These are all questions to consider when setting up your meditation room. If complete silence is your thing, consider soundproofing your room.

3) Embrace the Impact of Color

The color of the walls in your meditation room has a powerful subconscious influence on your emotions and probably your meditation practice. Setting a tone for the space using wallpaper or a fresh coat of paint can help you achieve your meditation goals. 

For a soothing practice, opt for muted blues, greys or any other relaxing color that comes to mind. Research the psychology of calming colors before you commit to make sure that you’re picking the right color for your meditation goals. And make sure not pick a loud, bright color that may not work for you down the road. 

To Wrap It Up...

The benefits of meditation are seemingly endless, from stress relief to anxiety reduction. This makes a zen den even more important because you want a meditation room conducive to restful and relaxing meditation practice. To create a serene space at home, you simply need a space and the motivation to transform it, with the help of someone like a HomeAdvisor sourced professional. After all, any room can beyour meditation space.

Check out our awesome visual guide below for more tips:

Caring for Elderly Loved Ones in the Wake of COVID-19

It’s difficult thinking about caring for older loved ones, especially if you have watched them decline from peak vibrancy. It’s especially a challenge with the restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Long-term senior care facilities have been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus, and it’s going to require no small amount of work (and no small amount of money) to rethink how these facilities operate in the short and long term.

But where does that leave you? What are your options for taking care of your senior loved ones? As the pandemic continues, you will need to take even more care to make decisions that impact their health and happiness — and it’s not going to be easy.

House to Home Organizing presents a look at only some of the things you’ll need to think about when taking care of your elderly loved ones in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Types of long-term care

Before you make any decisions, you need to know what your options are. There are two basic umbrellas for care: personal and skilled. Personal care would apply to loved ones who don’t need medical assistance — they just need help doing things such as housekeeping and need companionship. If you are considering moving your senior loved one into your home, that would fall under the “personal” category. Skilled care refers more to those who need assistance with medicines, wound care, or mobility assistance. Under this category, your loved ones would probably be moving into long-term care facilities.

Have the appropriate forms

When moving your loved one into a long-term care facility or even just when making financial decisions on their behalf, you will need to have the proper documents on file. These files include (but aren’t limited to) a power of attorney and living will. These are important documents, and can provide the legal ability for you to make decisions for your loved ones should they become unable. What’s more, if you get these documents now, before you need to use them, your loved ones will be able to decide of their own volition to give you that power.

Moving into a new space

When you’re moving your senior loved ones — whether it’s into your home or into a smaller space for them — it can be a daunting task to sift through all their belongings and organize them into “keep,” “donate,” and “garbage” piles. Hiring a professional organizer like House to Home Organizing can help decrease that stress and bring an objective eye to the selection process. Making sure these professionals have effective COVID-19 prevention measures in place is critical for you and your loved ones at this time.

It’s critical to stay organized and clean — it helps keep the stress levels down, especially in these challenging times. Keeping the bathroom spotless can help alleviate some of the stress when it comes time to sell your loved one’s house, for instance.

Partner with people who care

In addition to keeping the home clean and making sure you’re decluttering the space properly, you should also consider partnering with a real estate agent when selling your loved one’s home. Working with a realtor can take a lot of the stress out of the selling process; having an expert to consult can alleviate confusion and forget about stressing over paperwork because they can walk you through the process.

Experts are great things to have at hand. Are you getting ready to move your loved ones into a smaller space? Whether you’re looking at a long-term care facility or your own home for your loved ones, hiring a professional can help keep the process smooth. The experts at House to Home Organizing can help you keep track of things while you do the hard parts — and yes, we offer virtual services as well! Contact us today by calling 203-571-9412.

Selling Your House: How to Catch a Homebuyer’s Eye

We partnered with a real estate company for this post. The opinions in the post are honest. All reviews and opinions expressed in this post are based on our personal views. We are excited because we know you will love it.

When planning to sell your home, you want to get the best bidder within the shortest time possible. However, you may not be able to achieve your desired results if your home doesn't look appealing to the buyer. Below are tips to help you attract the buyer's attention quickly. 

List Your Home Using Quality Photos

Today, most buyers check for potential homes on the internet before deciding to inspect the house physically. When listing your home, make sure to use high-quality photos to give the potential buyer a visual impression of your property. You can hire a professional photographer to help you take quality photos to showcase your house to attract the attention of potential buyers quickly. 

Market Your Home 

Marketing your home can help you get the best bidders. It enables you to showcase your home to potential buyers. You can make use of various platforms that are available online. However, if you do not have enough time, you can involve a real estate agent to help you market your home effectively. An agent will be able to utilize their knowledge of the ever-changing real estate market in order to sell your house more efficiently. Relying on someone with plenty of experience can help you determine what your home needs in order to attract more buyers.

Even if there are more houses on sale within the area, your property has a high chance of standing out from the crowd when your real estate agent assists you in marketing your home. 

Extensive Network

There is no good realtor worth their salt that works in a bubble; instead, they focus on making professional relationships that will help them sell houses fast. Good realtors know other realtors who may have clients seeking a property like yours – but obtaining access to those individuals is something you wouldn't be able to achieve on your own. By partnering with a realtor and leveraging their connections, you can tap into a wider network, including a comparison of house buyers who may be interested in your property. This helps you to identify more possible buyers for your house.

Set a Reasonable Price

While you may want to sell your home at a high price, it may not be possible, especially when there are other sellers within your locality. No buyer wants to spend more money when there are lower-priced homes within the same location. So, consider lowering your price to attract the attention of buyers quickly. 

Create a Curb Appeal 

When buyers come to your home, the first thing to look at is the home exterior. Make your home exterior appealing by trimming trees, laying fresh mulch, and watering flowerbeds as you rinse off your walkaways and exterior walls. Such improvements may appear minor, but they add so much value to your home. 

De-Clutter your House 

No one wants to invest in a home that looks out of order. De-cluttering your house can quickly draw the attention of your buyers and also make your property appear valuable. Organize your home by placing every item in the right place. 

If you have an excessive amount of furniture, remove older pieces to create more space so that your rooms appear larger. If you have enough cabinets, store some of your stuff in there to make the area appear more aesthetically pleasing.

Selling your home can be a complicated process, especially when you do not have prior experience. You may want to work with a real estate agent who understands the industry's nitty-gritty to help you sell your home faster and at the best possible price. Keeping these tips in mind will help you sell your house quickly and efficiently.