Monday, January 14, 2008

When to hang up your hat...



...and when to keep it on.

An SPT Snaphot of now.
A late sleepless night=a 7:30 wake-up instead of a 6:00 a.m. wake =can't exercise until after 9:30 =done at 10:30 exercising and need to get going on my chores =just keep the hat on I wore in the snow storm to drop of the girls at school and during my run this morning.

About 1:00 p.m., I thought of taking it off -but quite frankly, it was too scary a sight! This was my in the moment SPT photo. So this is what I looked like all day! But I was proud to wear the hat as it symbolized the excellent, excellent 45 minute run I had this morning and my neglect of my beauty to organize my closet! It worked for today - but I'm not letting it happen everyday!


At my home you'll find, almost every closed closet an organized haven, and everywhere else an organized mess. I keep wondering how my home got to this point, yet realize that my life has also been a bit chaotic lately. However, isn't life always chaotic in one way or the other. Today, I was busy putting order to my biggest issue I face -my closet and my "getting beautiful" supplies. My second problem was space and the large separation between the built in tiny closet, and the Ikea medium stand-up closet that held most of my clothes; both closets very small: Here's my solution:

1. Separate the space and make one closet my everyday "Perfect Wardrobe" closet; and the second, my seasonal, I'm not sure I want to keep/throw away closet.

Before (yikes)

2. I love clothes, but clothes do not like me. I need full support and self-esteem to deal with my body image. The Ikea stand-up closet became my "perfect wardrobe" closet and I made sure that every label included something positive like these:


3. I made sure that the only things that entered this space were things, I, absolutely without a doubt, have worn or would wear. I only put clothes that fit well and feel good on me - nothing that I have to pull up or are too tight - in other words, nothing that I felt uncomfortable wearing.



3. The 2nd space is for things that I don't wear often enough, or don't fit very well, but things that I want to keep for now. I limited this to one basket and excluded any pants - as I find this is my biggest "fit" issue and there is no need to keep anything I don't feel comfortable in right now. Everything else are items I wear, like light jackets or sweatshirts that take up more room than my drawers can handle and are of a seasonal nature, like a rain parka, furry sweatshirt, jean jacket, I have worn to church etc... Also I included shoes that I could wear in the winter, if the snow melted or if I wanted to wear a light tennis shoe in doors. (lighting wasn't good on this space - will have to post another day)


4. I made sure to use nice baskets and keep the space a special place, so that I would think twice about throwing things on the floor or stuffing them in my closets in a hurry. I really, really dislike basket linings, as they are simply put "one more thing to wash". I took out all the covers and used just the baskets.

5. I labeled everything from hanger space to things cozy for my feet to things I wasn't sure I wanted to keep. I am still working on finishing these as labeling is a very time consuming process.
After (forever after!)

Exercise mileage last week: 9 miles

How do you keep your closet space organized?
Did you do the SPT this week?
Have you ever worn a hat all day?

12 comments:

crystal said...

I am in awe of your organizing prowess. How motivating you are!!! I love how you purged your closet of anything that makes you uncomfortable or not feel good about yourself. Yay, you!

You have given me a bit of a complex, however.

I want to be your running buddy! Did you wear boots today?

Jill said...

Wow, your closet is a sight to behold. Way to go!

My closet is not very big and is jam packed yet I usually feel like I have nothing to wear. I am planning on tackling it soon, but am still trying to psych myself up for it.

Holly said...

What a great idea to have a "perfect closet"--it's makes perfect sense! Congrats on all of your organizing accomplishments--you are doing a fantastic job and I'm sure it feels that way too.
I have had those days too where my morning self becomes my afternoon into the evening self!

Nicole said...

You have so many great ideas. Where do you find the time? It looks great. Again-where do you find the time?

lelly said...

i love that you made labels for all of your clothes. i imagine that could come in handy on a morning where you might need a little *pick me up.*

donna said...

LOve all your labels :)!! Great idea.

Way to go on your running :)

michelle said...

Great job at organizing Michelle! I have been trying to convince myself to clean out my closet. After seeing yours I am now motivated! It looks great!

Marie said...

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!

My idea of chaos is very different from yours. Your chaos is my order. Your order is my dream.

And I really appreciate that you took the time to include a positive label on each section of your closet. So great.

aprylian said...

NO WAY! NO Way no WAYYYY! Yes, I do remember you, Michelle--and it looks like you are getting very organized. Oh man, it's a good thing we don't room together anymore, because I have gotten messier and messier--it would not be a pretty sight! =)(I'll blame it on the 5 kids) Too fun--I'm so glad you found me--and where the heck are you, Canada??? So glad to connect again--and looks like we still have a lot in common...16 (=0!) years later! We'll have to find Wendy, too--I know she was in Texas at some point. Too fun!

Apryl

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Lauralee said...

AMAZING! love the tags.. love the organization..
we have super small closets in our house too, they aren't very well organized..

a hat all day? well, probably.. not recently.. but I wouldn't mind!I like hats!

carlo said...

ok, the labels = genius

and in my world, there are baseball cap days at least once a week lately. something i am not used to but i will say i feel pretty "free" on those days.

maybe i should clarify-- i don't feel pretty but i do feel "free" on those days. :)

Amanda :-) said...

Where to start with all this ingenuity??

Firstly, I'd like to hear Craig's opinion on this - only because, as a man, I'm sure he'd be laughing at the way women stress about the way they fold and hang their clothes. My husband couldn't care LESS about how the wardrobe and drawers 'system' works >:-(

I agree with all your thoughts on making places special and treating your clothes with a bit of TLC. I love that you've tied the labels on with ribbon!

Ikea...ooh, they're annoying the way they photograph wardrobes in their catalogues that look sooooo minimal and perfect. But your wardrobe is looking as good as any Ikea catalogue shot.

Oh, I've been wearing my hat on, off, on, off day after day - and suddenly I got a spot on my forehead and I think it was from the flipping hat!