 How To Organize Your ClosetDid you know that one of the top triggers for stress in a house is unorganized closets? Having an organized closet can help you start your day off on the right foot, make mornings (and laundry days) easier, and assist in creating an overall zen feeling in a home. Sounds pretty great, right? As professional organizers, we know it's easier said than done, but we are here to help. We've outlined a few simple tricks and tips if you want to take a go at getting organized this year! *This post may contain affiliate links, meaning we get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you. We only recommend products we would use ourselves. Please read our disclosure for more info. Start by taking everything out of your closet.It's important to start by taking everything out of your closet and making sure it's completely empty. You want to start with a blank slate. It may seem like a waste of time at first, but if you don't take everything out and organize it all at once, you're likely to get stuck halfway through and may never complete it. Starting with a blank slate also allows you to stop and rethink where items make the most sense to hang. For example, if you’ve always kept your blazers in the front, but now you work from home, they can likely go towards the back of your closet! Sort your items into categories.As you pull items out of your closet, sort them into broad categories, such as pants, skirts, dresses, t-shirts, etc.. Your bed is a great place to sort clothes into these piles (and see which piles start getting really high. You might realize you tend to buy sweaters when you shop and have more than you’ll ever wear!). Seeing everything piled on your bed can put into perspective how much was really housed in your closet. You will probably discover clothing or items you forgot you even owned! Once you're done sorting, you'll be able to go through each category one by one and hold up the item. Decide then and there, do I love it? Am I hoping I fit into it later? Is it damaged? Asking some simple questions helps you determine whether an item is a keep, donate, or toss. But most importantly, you need to be honest with yourself, because getting rid of items you no longer use, need or love will create space not only in your home but also in your life. Less clutter = more mental freedom! According to the Pareto Principle, we only wear about 20% of our clothes 80% of the time. You may own 10 pairs of jeans, but which 1-2 are you most likely going to grab time and time again when you go to get dressed? When you're not sure whether to keep or donate an item...If you're not sure whether to keep or donate something, ask yourself if you've worn it in the last year. If the answer is no, then there's a good chance that you won't be wearing the item again. If it's a “someday I hope this fits” piece of clothing, or an outfit you bought for one special occasion but never wore again - it may be time to part ways and let it find a new owner who can use it! Just think, if you end up losing a bunch of weight or have a special occasion coming up, you’ll likely want some new fresh clothes anyways! Also think: ‘does this item fit my current style and what I want my style to be going forward?’ Would you buy this item in a store today? If not, let it go. If you’re upset that you spent money on it, remember that it’s a sunk cost. The money is gone and instead you can think about how you can learn from this experience moving forward in your purchasing decisions. It can also feel really great to know your items are going to people in need. You can donate to your local thrift store, church, charity group, etc. You'll be helping their efforts while freeing up space in your closet! If something is really sentimental that you don't want to part with - such as a wedding dress, make sure you honor it with the effort to keep it preserved. Take the time to properly store it in the right container, or even have it pressed. Taking a photo of something sentimental and saving it in a “memories” album on your phone before donating it works great too! You can remember all those concert hoodies via photo instead of them taking up valuable closet space. Put clothes back into a clean closet.Once you've removed all of the clothes from your closet, sweep and dust the closet. You wouldn't put clean dishes into a dirty cupboard, so don't put your newly organized clothes into a dusty closet! If you have the ability, consider moving shelving up or down to fit your clothes better. You may not need as much dress hanging space anymore, for instance, so adjusting your closet to fit your new needs is a great way to ensure you'll keep the organized system going. You can also add baskets or other organization products to make things easier on yourself in the future, like shelf dividers, shoe racks, and a laundry hamper. Details make a difference. Hanging items together by type makes your closet look neat and organized and makes it effortless to find things. For instance, putting all t-shirts together, long sleeves, jeans, dresses, etc. Put similar types near each other too: Sleeveless shirts, then t-shirts, long sleeves, sweaters, cardigans, etc.. Then within each type you can even take it one step further and group items by color: all white tshirts together, all blue jeans together, etc.. Use thin hangers (we love these velvet ones) to maximize space and create an elegant look that won't take up too much room in your closet! Put everything facing the same direction, such as the fronts of all shirts face to the left when you’re standing in front of the item-it'll save time once it's time for laundry put away, too! A wardrobe edit is the first step to organized closet success.A wardrobe edit is the first step to organized closet success. It's essential to help you get rid of things you don't need and keep only the pieces that fit your lifestyle, current style, and body type. It's smart to do this once a year. We love doing a closet edit near the change of seasons, so now would be a perfect time as Spring begins!  Hire a professional organizer!If you feel like your closet is too overwhelming to tackle, it's time to bring in the pros. We can help take the guesswork out of getting organized by creating a system that works for you and your lifestyle. Our team will help make sure that you have an easy-to-maintain system that keeps your clothes looking great and you feeling good on a daily basis.
If you want a new closet system, we are also partnered with The Container Store. As a Container Store partner, we can measure your closets, suggest products and layouts, and after it’s installed we can implement an organized system for you to easily maintain. Ready to get your closet organized? Reach out to us today for your free phone consultation!
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 Photo Credit: Ray on Assignment Are you ready to declutter, organize, and simplify your life? Investing in yourself and your life is a significant first step, and knowing that a Professional Home Organizer can help can provide much relief. So if you’re ready but want to understand the process better, we are breaking it down for you here. We aim to have every Hello Simplified client be confident and excited about their home organization journey, and we know that understanding how it works is part of the process.
The first step is to reach out to us on our website or by phone! One of our friendly Professional Organizers will contact you for your free phone consultation shortly after. You'll tell us a little about your home, the spaces you're dreaming of organizing, and a few other details that will help us understand the scope of work. This is a no-pressure, no-obligation phone call. If you're ready to proceed, we will schedule an in-home consultation at your earliest convenience. Seeing your home in person before the organizing can begin is essential in the planning process and overall success of the job. As you walk us around your home and through the spaces you want to declutter and organize, we can better craft the most efficient and tailored action plan for your end goal. We understand it can be nerve-wracking to have a stranger come into your home; however, at Hello Simplified, we have a few mottos, one being no judgment and 100% confidentially. We know it takes trust to allow us to come into your home and create a simplified and organized environment, which is why our consultations are so important. And we really mean it when we say that the consultations are painless! You'll give us a tour of your space, and we'll take notes, measurements (if that's necessary), and photos for reference. The more detail you provide us, the better. Once we gather all the info we need to create a plan, we'll leave and send you a detailed organizing proposal (with 1-3 organizing options to choose from) within a day or two. At the consultation, you'll also have a chance to ask any questions, chat about products, and let us know your scheduling preferences for the future. We always let clients know a few things before a consultation - one being you do not need to clean up. In fact, we want to see your space exactly as you use it, so there is no need to tidy up or put things away into closets. That's what you're hiring us for - to create a beautifully organized space! [As we said before, we've seen it all and never judge.] We hope this breakdown helps ease your mind and excites you for your consultation! Are you ready to step towards a simplified life and organized home? We can't wait to chat - contact us today!  With Valentine's Day right around the corner, you may be thinking about love! Or maybe you're thinking about all the things in your house that you don't necessarily love but that someone you love got for you. As Professional Home Organizers, we aren't in the business of just getting rid of everything. We know everyone has sentimental items, that certain material possessions carry memories, and so on. However, we also know the weight physical objects can carry, especially when they take up space in our homes. It's easy to accumulate stuff, and it may be easy to get rid of particular things - like old mail, clothes that no longer fit, or toys your kids outgrow. Those are relatively easy decisions because there is no longer a need for those practical items. But what about family heirlooms or items that hold a special memory? Many people get stuck in their decluttering journey when they encounter things they love or did love. When we come across sentimental items, whether a dress you wore to prom or your Grandmother's China collection, things begin to feel confusing. We can easily tie up emotions with logical thinking and avoid decluttering those items altogether. That's why so many family heirlooms and sentimental items end up in boxes in garages and attics. However, where else do these items end up? The truth is they end up at estate sales, yard sales, or just being passed on to sit in someone else's storage space. If you love something, it's best to honor it. And if you love the person who gave you something, honor them by honoring the item. That doesn't mean you need to hold onto it. In fact, it may be the most freeing thing to let it go. If you find yourself rationalizing why you're holding onto it, and all of the reasons are because someone gave it to you, because you might use it someday, or because you feel your kids may want it eventually, you may want to pause and reevaluate. Are you keeping it out of guilt? Do you want your children to be burdened with things out of guilt? Can you break the cycle now? These are all critical questions that can bring clarity. There are a few ways to honor your loved ones or memories without keeping all of your stuff. Here are some of the ways that we practice and have worked wonders for our clients:
Just think about how good it will feel to give your items that chance to be loved by someone else! If you have stuff just sitting around, collecting dust, and preventing you from living a stress-free life, it's time to let them go. What good is something doing if it's just sitting in a box or pushed into the corner of your closet? Perhaps you're holding onto pre-baby clothing or from another era of your life. Ask yourself, is it who you are and want to be now/going forward, or are you holding onto something that's really a past version of you that you no longer want to be ? When we have surrounded ourselves with items that remind us of our past, it's easy to get stuck there. In order to move forward and progress, we have to purge our home of stuff that no longer serves us; which includes letting go of the guilt that surrounds it. We know this can be a daunting process, but you don't have to do it all at once or even alone. We are here to help guide you throughout the process, take your donations away, and be that unbiased voice of reason when it's hard to make a decision. Starting slow, with a solid plan, and having an end goal in mind is the best way to go about the process of letting go of sentimental items. Are you ready to feel the love this season and honor yourself and your loved ones? We would love to help you! So contact us today to schedule your free phone consultation. We can't wait to chat!  How often have you told yourself, I just need to get organized, but ended up getting overwhelmed, ran out of time, or found that the same clutter just keeps showing back up? That’s where a professional organizer can save the day! At Hello Simplified, we not only love organizing homes but also seeing the positive effect it has on our clients' lives. An organized home is just the stepping stone to a less stressful and simplified daily life, which we think is a pretty good reason to hire a pro! Let’s take a look at the top five reasons that our clients hire us at Hello Simplified: 1. They feel stuck and stressed out in their space. Do you feel like it’s finally time to declutter and get organized, but the overwhelming thought of where to begin prevents you from diving in? You’re not alone there. That’s one of the top reasons people don’t start - or finish - home organizing projects. Sifting through all the items in your house can lead to decision fatigue and frustration, but that’s where we step in to help; as professional home organizers, we help you get unstuck and simplify the process. By decluttering and organizing your home, you’re making your daily life easier and creating a sense of calm and relaxation in your space. 2. They don’t know what to keep and what to let go of. Chances are, you’ve decided it’s time to declutter - but you’re unsure what should be kept and what should go. We promise that it’s actually quite simple! Our professional home organizers will coach you through the process of letting items go without guilt and show you how to keep sentimental items without cluttering up your home. Sometimes all it takes is a neutral third party to help you see what is important and what is just taking up space! Once we show you how to make these decisions, decluttering will get easier and easier. You might even find yourself excited to keep the ball rolling and want to tackle all areas of your home! PS - We'll even take all those donations you've decluttered away for you and provide you with a donation slip. 3. They have a very full schedule. Imagine how much time you’d save if you knew where everything belonged in your home. [No more searching for those earrings before work or your passport before a big trip]. It’s no secret either that time equals money. When you can’t find something you need in your home, it’s more likely you’ll just buy another one instead of wasting hours searching. We’ve seen that this holds especially true for food and bath items. However, a well-organized system lets you clearly see everything you own and know exactly where it is - so no more searching for everyday items - or that specific thing you swear you bought but can’t locate. The time and money you can save after implementing an organization system are invaluable and will have you wishing you got organized years ago! 4. They’re moving and want to start on the right foot. There is nothing like a fresh start in a new home! We know packing, moving, and unpacking can be incredibly stressful and daunting, which is why we offer moving services. Before packing your home, we can help you declutter so that you’re only packing the items you actually want to move with. We also offer packing services! We’ll pack your belongings for a move in an organized way - meaning everything is clearly labeled for the movers, so your items are properly placed in your new home. No more finding a random shoe or kids' toys in your boxes labeled "kitchen." Needless to say, this makes the unpacking process smooth and straightforward! Then, once you’re in your new space, we can bring in a team to unpack and organize your whole home in just a few days with new systems, so you're ready to go - imagine your new journey starting off stress-free and organized! 5. They’re ready for a transformation & new habits. As professional organizers, we get you on the right path for an organized home and life and help you develop habits and routines with maintainable systems, so you can keep the peace going long after we’re finished. Organizing your home is fun and transformative, but learning the skills and moving forward with an eye for organizing is always our goal! We want to set you up for success.  If you’re ready to talk with one of our organizers to learn more about how we can help you, we’d love to chat. Book your free phone consultation today!
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About UsAt Hello Simplified, we specialize in home organizing and moving services (packing/unpacking). Read through for tips on how we help our clients feel less overwhelmed and more in control of their busy lives and homes. Archives
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©2022 Hello Simplified, LLC- All Rights Reserved.