Our move to Austin was exciting yet extremely stressful. On a Friday I picked up my dad from the airport. Saturday we hosted an early birthday party for my son, said goodbye to loved ones, cleaned up the party, and packed the home we had lived in for four years. Sunday we filled the moving truck and unfortunately got the stomach flu! Monday we drove 165 miles on less then 3 hours of sleep, unpacked the truck, and carried boxes up two flights of stairs! Wow… I’m tired just from recounting the crazy weekend!
Needless to say, my son’s closet became a dumping ground for unpacked boxes and piles of miscellaneous stuff. More than a month after moving this is still what his closet looked like…
I consider myself a very organized person. Slightly OCD. But each day, looking into this closet I was overwhelmed. I waited until my mom came for a visit and then we attacked the clutter! I am very happy to announce that the space that used to give me anxiety now brings a sense of calm!
Here are my five tips for confronting that closet and eliminating anxiety.
1. Have a designated place for everything. Everything!
When we moved I filled the entire closet, I didn’t even know what was in there! To begin this project we took everything out, laid it in the hallway, lined up containers, and designated a place for everything. Goodbye clutter, hello calm. My new favorite container is a box for outgrown clothes. As my son grows I will have a place to put items that no longer belong in the closet. When full, the box will move to the garage.
2. Use bins, boxes, and drawers to keep all items contained!
Before I organized this closet my son’s shoes, hats, outgrown clothes, and extra diapers were in disarray. Now everything is kept in specific containers. No more piles! I even made room for my craft supplies.
3. Label items that are not easily reached.
I love that this closet has so much vertical space and I wanted to maximize the design. With items on the top shelf my labels on the designated containers provide a quick reminder of what is out of reach.
4. Move items that “appear” to be taking up too much space.
Often placement makes a space appear to be full. Simply moving items opens up empty space and releases some of that anxiety! I moved my son’s hanging clothes from front and center to the right side of the closet. Such a simple task with so much reward!
5. Remove what doesn’t belong!
There were so many things in this closest that did not need to be there. As I said before, it was a dumping ground. Now that the project is completed blankets have been folded and stored under my son’s bed, unwanted clothes have been donated, boxes have been broken down, and other items have been recycled.
An unorganized area of your home may be giving you anxiety but I urge you to conquer it! Take on the daunting task and reward yourself afterwards. You deserve it. To celebrate this organized closet I’m having an extra scoop of ice cream tonight!
