A Closet Make-Under (for easier mornings and a happier life)

Directions for one way to give your closet a Make-under.


A Closet Make-Under (for easier mornings and a happier life)



My own path was similar.



My closet was so full I was completely out of hanger and had no room to even see what I had. So I took everything out and sorted them by type, season, and use (i.e. everyday tops, formal tops, winter tops, skirts, etc.)



There they all lay, probably more than 100 everyday tops, waiting for me to decide which ones I wanted to get rid of. Soooo overwhelming!



I decided to begin by putting those I knew I didn't want to get rid of back in the closet so I wouldn't have to visually deal with them.



Then I did a double take.



I had put some 20 tops back in the closet as "I definitely want to keep these. I wear these all the time. These are my 'go-to' tops."



Question: Why in the world would I need more than 20 tops?



I pawed through the remaining ones and picked out one comfortable yucky shirt to wear when painting or doing other messy chores and put it in the closet. Than I packed up ALL the rest and donated them.



And I have never missed a single piece!



I did the same thing to the rest of my clothes and, Man!, what a difference! My clothes weren't squished, I could see what I had, decision were simpler.



A couple of years later I ran into a couple of other problems.

1.  The lighting in my closet is weird so when I picked clothes that "matched" I occasionally realized half way to town they didn't really match. :-(
2. I wear mostly skirts. There are many very pretty flowered skirts. Patterned tops of any type have a hard time coordinating with flowered skirts. Result: my tops were incredibly boring while my skirts, though beautiful, were not the most flattering for my, ummm. well padded seating. 
3. I occasionally ran into the problem with having plenty of clothes in the closet, but the ones that actually matched being all in the laundry.
4. I had skirts with no top to match and tops with no skirt to match.

Solution: I bought a couple of nice, flattering, solid, black skirts and donated all but two non-black skirts (one soft gray and one black with big pink flowers). I also donated all my tops that did not match black (all one of them. Everything but solid brown matches black).



And just to go all the way, when I needed new shoes I specifically looked for and bought solid black ones (never have paid any attention to the "don't wear black shoes after Memorial day" thing). I usually wear either sweats or shorts under my skirts. Those are now black also.



So from the waist down, everything visible is black.



Now, I simply keep my eyes out (whether at the thrift store, Walmart, or anywhere else) for non-brown, flattering, pretty tops. I don't often find one I really like, but when I do I have confidence it will match!



Decisions while dressing in the morning is simply a matter now of deciding which top I want to wear. Nothing else. So easy and simple :-)