STYLE Savvy: Closet Don'ts

Last week, as part of my ongoing closet conundrum posts, I wrote about ways you know an organizational system is working. This week, as I enter week four of looking into my closet without cringing (yeah, me!), I'd like to share a few things that make closet organization unnecessarily difficult.

Inspired by an amusing Buzz Feed post I read while I was trying to figure out how to get started on the aforementioned closet, these three habits are not a part of my closet behavior. But, as a drop and run organizer, they're not far from other habits I have that make organizing more complicated than it needs to be.

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Tossing. Your mother was right -- clothes don't belong on the floor. In the organizing by STYLE philosophy, clothes on the floor of the closet are a sign that something's not working. Maybe you need a system, maybe you need a drop spot (even just a laundry basket on the floor of the closet), or maybe you just need more hangers. Find the "why" behind this shortcut that's really not a shortcut and let it lead you to a solution.

Stuffing. Shoving too many clothes into one drawer or bin or onto one hanger leads to wrinkles and confusion -- perhaps for you as well as your clothes. Decide whether to hang or fold (crush, stuff or otherwise spindle or mutilate should not be an option) and store accordingly. If a rod, drawer or bin becomes too full, it's time to reassess and either let some things go or shake up your storage system.

Allowing a big space to go undivided. Closet shelves are a double-edged sword. That nice long one that runs the width of the closet (in particular) is an invitation to piles and inefficiency if you don't subdivide it. Use bins, boxes or shelf dividers to create sections to store whatever you decide belongs there.

Via Pixabay (2011), CC0 Public Domain

Choosing not to engage in these habits promises to make even the most intimidating closet overhaul a little less overwhelming. If, however, they're part of your default closet behavior, un-doing them gives you a great place to start.

And, once you see how good things look when  you've picked up, un-stuffed and subdivided, you might just decide that there's no room in your newly organized closet for these habits, or their sneaky little cousins.

Copyright 2016 Lisa Hess