Two Day Magazine

Okay, it's a couple of months into the new year.

Did you make a resolution to be more organized?  To finally clean out your bedroom closet?  Finally donate those suits and jeans you don't wear anymore?  

Did you start working on any of those resolutions?  It's never too late for a fresh start!  A feeling of wellness can be achieved by doing something as simple as changing up the way your closet is organized.  

Here's your step-by-step “how to” guide.

Do all of your laundry. 

If you're like me, you let your laundry overwhelm you.  There is probably a basket of sweaters hidden away, out of sight that you never got around to taking to the dry cleaners.  Take all of your ‘dry clean only’ items to the cleaners.  

Next, wash all of those workout clothes, coats, work clothes and jeans before you do anything else.  With all of your clothes clean, you'll have a better idea of how much clothing you actually have which will give you a better understanding of how to best utilize your closet space.

Separate your clothes into three categories:  must keep, must donate, must toss.  

Must keep clothes include: clothes that FIT and FLATTER, not clothes that are too big or too small.  

Must donate clothes include: all of the clothes that don't fit or flatter but are still in good condition.  Also included in this group are items that you can't remember if or when the last time it was that they were worn. Take these to Goodwill, consignment shops or an organization like Dress For Success.  These clothes do nothing but take up space in your closet, and they might be able to find a good home in someone else's closet.  
       
Must toss clothes include: items that are worn out, stained, ripped or otherwise in bad shape.

Analyze your space. 

Odds are you have a traditional place for clothing on hangers and drawer space to put folded clothes.  Figure out how many drawers you have and how much hanger space you have.  Then, compile all clothing of one type.  
       
Sarah Sudar, style blogger at The Style Clutch and former fashion writer for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, recommends: "Start with one clothing type - like dresses - and determine how much space you need for each type of clothing item.  When you know how much of one thing you have, you'll get a better idea of where all of that type of clothing can fit comfortably in one, specific spot.  That way, you'll always know where to look when you need your little black dress."

Folding vs. Hanging. 

By this point, you should have only the clothes you want to keep. You should also be able to tell how much work, dress and workout clothing you have.  Now is the time to decide where to put everything. Items to fold and put in drawers include delicate clothes that would get misshapen by hangers (cashmere sweaters), heavy clothes that would stretch hangers (jeans), and workout clothes (because let's face it, sweatpants don't need hanger space.)  Small or shallow drawers are great for thin items like slips, shapers, lingerie and hosiery for a lady's closet and boxers, pocket squares and hankies for guys. Items to hang include dresses, dress pants, dress shirts and blouses.  Keeping each of these items grouped together will minimize the amount of time spent searching through you closet.

Give yourself time. 

All of the laundry, sorting and trips to donate clothes will take up the majority of a weekend.  Don't get frustrated if it takes you a few more weekends to get your closets completely overhauled and organized.         

Ms. Sudar suggests, "Take your time and go at your own pace.  Keep moving things around until you find out what works for you."

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twoday magazine wants to know: When your home is in order...do you feel more at peace? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page as to how organizing your life can relieve stress.

Sally Turkovich Wright lives in Pittsburgh with her husband, Jason and German Shepherd, Zeus.  By day she works as an eyewear stylist for an independent eye doctor.  By night, she writes a twice-weekly column for twoday magazine.  Catch up with her on twodaymag.com.