Imagine you have guests coming for dinner, and you have this idea for a meal. You figure you have all the ingredients in your pantry and refrigerator, so you skip going to the grocery store.
As you begin to chop and sauté garlic and onions, and your kitchen starts to smell divine, you walk over to the pantry to grab a large can of tomatoes. But, you can’t find it! All you see are 20 cans of beans (because you always think you’re out of them), various jars of artichokes, pickles, and salsa, stacks of sardines and oysters way past their expiration dates, a couple bottles of ketchup, and several half-used cooking oils. Your dinner is in trouble and your dinner plans are going to have to change because you’re missing one of the key ingredients.
If you had only planned ahead and checked your pantry for the necessary ingredients a day ahead, your dinner would have gone smoothly. Plus, your pantry is so unorganized you can’t find what you need.
Does this scenario sound similar to how you get dressed every morning? Can you easily put outfits together or do you find yourself searching through an unorganized jumble of clothes?
How is a closet like a kitchen pantry?
A kitchen pantry works best when it’s organized by function, the stock is rotated (oldest items in front), it gets cleaned out regularly, and it contains only food items that you LOVE cooking with and will use before they expire.
For example, just like a closet, in a kitchen pantry you want to:
- Add Lazy Susans, shelves, and baskets to easily locate and access your food items
- Use clear containers for things like pasta and dried beans so you can see what you have
- Take advantage of vertical height for seldom-used items
- Put like items together, such as all spice packets in a basket
- Store your non-food items elsewhere
All these same tips apply to your closet!
Think of your closet as a focused space for a specific function and season, that helps you dress confidently and quickly every day. Anything that is not considered clothing and accessories doesn’t belong in your bedroom closet.
Professional Closet Organizers do these things:
- When cleaning a closet, they remove everything first – you have to see the empty space before you can determine what goes back in
- Determine lifestyle activity needs and signature style before deciding what goes and what stays
- Use organization tools to make it easy and effortless to get dressed each morning, such as baskets, shelves, and shoe racks
- Ensure that every piece of clothing works with at least three other pieces for maximum functionality and dollar savings
Are you ready to tackle your closet (and possibly your kitchen pantry?) and clean it out for the summer season?
Need help?
I can help you clean out your closet virtually! Just bring your computer into the bedroom and I’ll guide you every step of the way. It’s fun and easy, and oh, so satisfying!
Louise, you always have such great ideas, and a group virtual closet cleaning session sounds fantastically fun and adventurous! Hugs, Linda
Thanks so much, Karin! So glad I was able to tickle your “fun” bone this morning. Hugs, Linda
As always, your new blog is too fun to miss. I learned something new …again. Thanks for being so creative and informative!
Karin
You must have had so much fun writing this article! And it’s brilliant…so absolutely right on.
I don’t cook this way, so why manage (or not manage, in my case) my closets and getting dressed routines this way?!
I’d love to get a few friends together — we’ll hire you for a half day of Virtual Closet organizing. We all live in different states so I love the Virtual idea…