The 2011 Closet

As much as the bed is about comfort and readiness, the closet is about clarity and accessibility.  Here are few thoughts:

1. Organize by function and frequency. Put the basic layers in an easy to reach place.  Mine are in the middle.  When I grog out in the morning, I know I can begin right in front of me.  My middle is tanks and t-shirts, then I move out to long-sleeves, button downs, sweaters, and dresses on one side with dress pants, jeans, and sweatshirts on the other side.  Basically, the middle is the deepest layer of clothing and the sides are the outer layers.  This is important because in Minnesota we wear a lot of layers.  The only exception to this is vests and fly-aways.  These are in the middle for a reason.  See #2.
2. Organize by weight, sleeve length, and fun. The fly-aways are light and have no sleeves, plus they are fun, so they have to be in the middle.  Within each section of clothing, I put the lightest weights first (most toward the middle) and work out to the heavy items so that the heavy items don’t mess with the light weight ones.  Sleeve length goes shortest to longest–purely for aesthetic purposes.  Lastly, I organize fun to dull, so that I don’t forget to have take chances.
3. As for shoes, do the same.  Frequency first, then all the rest. I wear my menswear flats and the two boots to the side of them most often.  They are always ready to go in a wink and they match almost all my outfits, including my dresses for Sundays.
4. Other basics that are durable get put in boxes, bins, or drawers. I have a box for yoga pants and comfortable sleepwear, one for sweaters, one for the basics, one for scarfs (because I wear them ALL winter and most of the spring and fall), and one for work out clothes (which is basically all the activities’ t-shirts I’ve collected over the years and a few pairs of shorts). Tights also get their own bin and so do belts.

The goal here is to be able to get ready with comfort and ease and to try to reduce the time spent laying in bed wondering what to wear.  Go ahead, walk out the house looking as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside.

On a side note, yes, I did learn a bit of this from Buckle.