compliment of Mike Gattorna via Pixabay

Last summer I sat looking at pictures of professionally organized closets—marvels with frosted glass cases, translucent lighting, and a dazzling array of perfectly matched hangers. I assumed that only a professional closet organizer could achieve this type of result.

Initially, I wanted to organize my master closet because I had purses strewn across three different drawers in two different rooms. But after looking at them more closely, I realized that many of them were several years old, outdated, out of style, and/or slightly worn at the seams. The best plan was a repurpose where they could attain new life, and be put to good use.

The remainder was what I needed (and used), with some decorative pieces to display as well. And as a result, I had plenty of space. Two sets of blush hangers later and a lot of reshuffling, followed by a clothes sort by type/color produced some dramatic results.

An intermediate step entailed checking each piece – did it need laundering, dry cleaning, mending, alterations, or did it need a new home at a donation center? Several pairs of my shoes received fixing and a much-needed polish.

After the sorting I realized that: (1) I don’t need more clothing; (2) I have all the space that I need, and (3) I loved my newly sorted space. And because I love it, I take better care of everything in it.

The purge and subsequent reorganization were liberating. One of the biggest wastes of money is buying storage for items that we don’t need, and then warehousing things we never use.

Just a few tweaks can make our space feel less neglected and more a valued part of our home.