Spring Cleaning

Although Spring is officially a few weeks away, I did some cleaning/purging/organizing yesterday in the wardrobe department.  Because I'm in transition and don't have as much closet space as I would like, my crap is strewn all over the place and I need to get a grip.  I'm not used to having my clothes in drawers (due to abundant closet space) so I find myself bringing home new items similar to those I already own.  The problem is: I can't see them, so I forget I have them.  As I mentioned before, I gave up shopping for Lent, so organizing and shopping in my closet will hopefully put off the cravings for another week. Baby steps...

And now for some scary before pics.  The first two are my floor, literally covered with clothes, shoes, bags, you name it.

First, I removed all the items from my closet, drawer, and hanging rack that were either too heavy for the warmer months, or that I haven't worn, or that needed some type of repair.  I divided all of these items into several categories:

DONATE - cheap crap from F21, remnants of my early work years which consisted of Banana Republic and, well, Banana Republic Factory, and 7, yes 7 Juicy tracksuits.  F-in' really?  Dorothy, we are not in college anymore, no one wants to see you running through the grocery store with Juicy written across your ass.

TRASH - yes, I have saved things for years that the Goodwill won't even accept, and yet I can't throw them away.  These Jessica Simpson peep toes are the best shade of silver/taupe/pearly goodness and I cannot for the life of me find a replacement.  They have been to the cobbler a hundred times at least.  I haven't worn them in forever, but have just now been able to turn them lose. Gone.

SELL ON EBAY - two pairs of identical Vince Camuto Booties (different colors),a pair of Coach Platforms, all never worn because I had to have them sooo badly that I bought a half size too small and won't wear them because of the pain, a Coach tote, a Robert Rodriguez cocktail dress, an Alice + Olivia wool shift, and a vintage Jil Sander couture dress that I couldn't fit my left arm into but I bought anyway.

NEEDS ALTERATIONS/REPAIRS -  tons of thrifted items that need to be tailored, including two maxi dresses, a pair of red polkadot high waisted pants (can't wait!), and a Pendleton Cobalt Blazer. My beloved vintage Escada belt which I have completely destroyed is going to the best cobbler on the planet, Messina's in Grapevine.

STORE -  including boots, heavy sweaters and knits, seasonal items (gloves, hats, scarves).

Once I packed all this up in totes I got on sale for $5 at Wally World, I replaced all the boots in my closet with handbags, denim I actually wear (as opposed to denim I just like to look at in my closet), and my most favorite pair of Louby's because I like to look at them. My dresses were organized by color and occasion (work, casual, event) and I placed my silk shirts next to all the skirts.  I bought some bowls from Goodwill to sit on my drawers for easy access to my daily accessories (and hopefully a reduced chance of misplacement).  On my rolling rack I hung all my jackets, blazers, light sweaters, and button downs. Basically what I'm wearing the most of right now.

In the drawers are only my casual, work out, and lounging clothes, that way I don't have to worry about certain things not being visible. I'm feeling pretty good about what I've got, but that's not to say that I don't have a few holes in my wardrobe.  I did take the time to put a few outfits together, so if nothing else, my space is clean and organized, and I may make it to work on time one of these days! Not bad, right?

xoxo,

sarah