Tips for Spring Cleaning

With the nasty rain last weekend I took the opportunity to completely overhaul of our master bedroom closet. This was one part of our new house we definitely compromised on, because for a single family home it’s on the smaller side. And for people that love clothes, we have had to be practical and inventive on space options. I was so embarrassed with the dysfunction and overflowing of clothes, a spring cleaning was definitely needed! So with Willie away at a bachelor party and the rainy weather keeping us in, Hartley watched me take almost every SINGLE piece of or clothing out of the closet in order to orangize into piles and re-order the hanging items for more practicality.

In some ways this was a present for Willie and selfishly for my sanity because almost all the loose items were his. The pants I neatly folded and put into stacks of jeans, “specialty pants”, and shorts. All the hanging stuff was easy to shift around and getting rid of all the extra hangers and plastic dry cleaning wrap helped significantly. I put the long dresses in the far back which opened room for the laundry basket and better shoe grabbing. For scarfs and belts I just looped over a hanger and made them easily accessible towards the front of the closet.

Then for the monumental task of Willie’s shirts…I made a thrift pile, questionable pile (those clothes that I hated, but for some reason thought Willie would kill me if I threw them out), and then a t-shirt pile, gym shirt pile, tank top pile, long sleeve pile, sweater pile, and a red shirt pile. Yes…a red shirt pile?!? This reference guide for spring cleaning from Tommy John was SUPER helpful when deciding on both mine and his items. I know as a frugal person it can be especially hard to throw away clothes and shoes because all your thinking of is the money it cost you and if you had to replace it, more money comes out of your pocket. So setting an intention and using the flowchart was my lifesaver. Sometimes quality over quantity is the answer, and something like a well-made pair of underwear can go a long way to help declutter.

I also knew if I put his shirts back up in neat stacks, he would destroy them in…oh about 1 day. So I went on the hunt for some cute storage options, but why are bins/crates/baskets so darn expensive?!? I settled on these white Target crates that were only $3.49 each, but they were a good size and cohesive, and honestly as long as it does its job, who is going to really judge I didn’t by the adorable $12 wire baskets I really wanted. I made them more fancy by using these adorable chalkboards signs I found and just used a chalk marker pen to write labels for each crate.

I also found a great Target shoe rack for Willie’s shoes. Which I proudly put together all by myself on Saturday night when the baby fell asleep. It’s been a LONG time since I’ve had to read directions! Ohhhh and just one little last piece…this stunning chandelier for a little closet bling.

Good luck with your spring cleaning! I’m happy that we get to take 3 full bags of clothes to the donation center. Always a nice feeling to de-clutter and give back to the community.