Reading the "C” word may make you recoil in
horror. "How dare she bring up a such a thing in her
first newsletter,” you may gasp. Needless to say,
this newsletter isn’t for those who lack courage or
for the faint of heart. Going boldly doesn’t entail
conquering the junk drawer. In The Rush Hour Cook
Club we go for the gusto, the big time, the whole
enchilada.
So my guess is you have more than one of these
"C-word" areas in your home. The good
news is that you can pretend (for now) that you only
have one. Yours. (We will get to the kids next time!)
So here are the steps I challenge you to take.
1. Grab all of your dirty clothes and clean them.
This includes dry cleaned clothes too!
(Imagine my surprise when I found all my missing
kitchen towels and long-lost summer shorts!)
2. Take anything that is off-season, fold it neatly
and pack it away in labeled storage containers. (I like
those large plastic Rubbermaid containers. They can
be stacked easily in a garage, attic or another
"C-word" area.)
3. Grab a box and remove all the hangers from
your closet that don’t have clothes on them.
4. Now arrange all your hangers so that they are
facing the same direction. This will help avoid tangles
that require advanced yoga-skills in order to
excavate yourself.
5. Decide what is going to be on hangers and
what is going to be stacked. Are you going to hang
sweaters or fold them? T-shirts and light cottons?
Pants? I love to hang just about everything as I find
it gets less wrinkled---and as you probably guessed—
I don’t own an iron.
6. Now that you have decided, go ahead and put
everything in its proper place, hanging like items
together.
7. You knew the "use it or lose it"
talk was coming. I saved this for after the sorting
process so that you could easily see what all you
have (how many black skirts does one person need?)
Take all those clothes you don’t wear and get them
out of your closet. Here are a few options for
removal:
a. If you have a bunch of clothes from when you
were a different size than you are now and you
anticipate needing them in the future, fold them all
neatly and put them in a Rubbermaid container with
the size clearly marked on the outside.
b. If you aren’t sure whether to keep something
or get rid of it, try it on. Go look in a full-length
mirror. How do you feel? If you find yourself smiling,
promote the article to a hanger. If you find yourself
experiencing disassociate disorder, give it away. If
you are impartial, grab a Rubbermaid and toss it
inside. In 6 months, repeat the experiment. (Many
professional organizers suggest that if you haven’t
worn something within a year, let it go. I find that
often I don’t wear something because I have
forgotten I own it or simply can’t find it! That’s why I
suggest the try-it-on experiment.)
c. If you have a hard time letting go of
something because it was expensive, a gift, or you
have some other attachment, the best cure is to
give it a good home. Place in a bag and deliver these
items in-person to a homeless shelter or woman’s
shelter. You’ll never regret your decision. If you need
extra cash there is another alternative. Become an E-
bay junkie. You’ll be amazed at what a silk shirt and
other nice clothes will auction for... The key is to be
descriptive and take a good photograph.
8. Remove anything in your closet that you wear
only once a year. If you have a few fancy outfits or
suits that you rarely wear, get them out of your
working space. Put them in a hall closet. The goal is
to get your closet to the point that anything you
grab will be something you can wear—and feel great
in!
9. Now you have streamlined your clothing and
gotten everything in its proper place. If you have a
separate wardrobe for work, group it together at one
end of your closet. Basically categorize like items
together so you can easily find work or casual
wear.
10. You are almost done! Tackle socks, hosiery
and intimate apparel next. Throw out anything with a
hole or tear. Match up socks. Create a lost sock box
to keep in the laundry room for socks seeking
partners.
11. Tack up nails to hold accessories, purses and
belts. Buy a storage box from your local craft store
to securely hold jewelry. Purchase a shoe rack or an
over-the-door organizer that easily hangs and holds
20 pairs of shoes. Or, be like me and use
Rubbermaid. I have three tubs (1) for dress shoes
(2) for boots (3) for all other stuff.
The Change Your Life Challenge
http:
//www.changeyourlifechallenge.com
Take control of your home, finances, relationships,
clutter, time-managmenet and more with this 70 Day
Program. Sign up for the free Challenge Weekly
Newsletter and the motivational daily Good
Morning.
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