Here’s how you’re going to start – in your closet.

Pick a Saturday morning and have a good breakfast so you have lots of energy. Pick out some music you really like. Make your bed, because that’s going to be your organizational landing pad. Open your closet door and stand there for a moment. What’s most out of control? For some, it’s the shoes. For others, it’s the lingerie. For others, it’s the purses and bags. Whichever it is for you, start there. There’s great strength to be gained in starting with what’s obviously your weakness.

Take that particular pile of shoes or purses or lingerie, regardless of what it is, and put it on the bed. Organize it into groupings that make sense to you. For instance, maybe you have dress shoes, business shoes, workout shoes, casual shoes, summer shoes and winter shoes. Now comes the decision time. Make less of all of your shoes! You’re going to have to find a new home for some of them, because you need the space they’ve been taking up for some other stuff that isn’t fitting in your new smaller closets.

How? Can you combine categories? That helps cut down on duplicate colors and styles. Can you identify shoes that really don’t fit or don’t feel good? They just have to go, period.  And do you really need your "Everything's Bigger in Texas" t-shirt handy now that you're living among Yankees? Figure out what your secondary storage area is (like under the bed in a stylish storage container) and face the fact that these items take up too much room and are unnecessary. You can do this! You’ll also learn some things about yourself, like what really matters.


When you’re done paring back the pile to something more manageable, take them back in the closet and put them away. Can’t do that successfully? During lunch, sit down at the computer and take a look at The Container Store website. They have ideas that can make organized closets easy. If you don’t have the money to do something like that, get a smaller packing box or a bunch of shoe boxes and put them away in that.


Then move on to the next pile. Are you getting the hang of this? You know that you’ll be better for being smaller – we’re all going to have to get small. And you’ll save the things that really matter, that look good on you or that serve a specific important need. The rest of it’s gotta go! And think about how happy someone else will be when they find your Texas t-shirt at the Goodwill store – where they’re shopping for their move to Dallas. You know that’s the way it works.

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