Cleaning out a Campus Press Editor’s closet
Flowers are blooming and spring is just around the corner, which means it is time for spring cleaning.
“Before, my closet was cluttered, things were falling and my shoes were exploding into my room,” said Lauren Friedman, 21, a junior media studies major and Campus Press entertainment section editor. “I can now move from T-shirts, to sweaters, to knitwear fluidly. Now that it is organized, it makes me feel good.”
Cleaning a closet can be a fun and useful task that can even be profitable in the end, and it is a great way to start tackling spring cleaning.
Here are some suggestions for organizing:
First, look in your closet and come up with goals. Make a list of what is in it, what you would like to be in it and what does not need to be in it.
Then, decide what you need to make your closet more functional, such as plastic bins, shoe racks or clothing hangers.
The first rule of cleaning any closet is gutting it and cleaning it out entirely. Vacuum the floor, sweep it out and wipe it down.
Next, look through the pile of clothes, shoes and accessories from the closet. This is the best time to go through everything you have. See what you have, and decide what you want to keep and what you want to give away.
A good way to decide what to keep is to figure out if you have worn the item in the last year or have plans to wear it anytime soon. If you never wear it, it is not worth keeping, and you can make some money from it.
People often forget that you can sell your clothes to a second-hand store.
“We are looking for current trends in good condition, and we buy for all seasons,” said Holly Sihombing, 19, a buyer for the Buffalo Exchange. “What we take, we give you either 50% for trade or 30% for cash.”
Second hand stores, like the Buffalo Exchange, will take any clothing that a person wants to donate.
“Bring in anything, as much as you like,” Sihombing said. “What we do not take, we donate to the Salvation Army.”
Now that you have an empty closet and fewer clothing items, start sorting.
Sort by cut, style and even by what you would wear to different events. For example, organize your shirts by tank tops, short sleeves, long sleeves and sweaters.
Once everything is sorted by item, the next step is to separate by color. You can go by brightness order (white, yellow, orange, pink, red, green, blue, purple, grey and black) or by ROYGBIV order (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet).
“Color coordinating your closet is a real time saver when trying to pick out an outfit,” said Olescia Hanson, a spokesperson for The Container Store.
Now it is time to put stuff back into your closet. It is important to use the same type of clothing hanger for all your clothing. Plastic or wood hangers are the best because they last a long time.
“Matching hangers are a quick fix to give your closet a clean and fresh look,” Hanson said.
Hang all of your items in sleeve length order, shortest to longest, and by color order. It is much easier to find things and it gives your closet a cohesive theme. When hung in order of color and by cut, it is much easier to find items.
“Remember to put what you use the most in the most accessible area, and what you use less often, put higher or out of the way,” Hanson said.
If you do not have much space to work with, hang nicer clothing and fold shirts, sweatshirts and jeans.
“People often forget to take advantage of the back of doors and their vertical space,” Hanson said. “Do not let your closet limit you with the one shelf above the bar.”
If you can, fold your sweaters with the hem of the sweater behind the neck hole, and the sleeves as flat as possible so that they are easier to pick up.
“All of my folded jeans make my closet look like a store,” Friedman said.
If you have really limited space, consider packing away seasonal clothing.
Shoe organization is the next task. A great space saver for shoes is shelves and not racks- shelves allow you to put shoes in a more reasonable order. Placing shoes in a heel-toe (left shoe shows the heel, right shoe shows the toe) formation saves space and displays shoes nicely. Finally, organize your accessories.
Belts can be rolled or hung by color. Also, try to place bags on the top shelf of the closet.
To stay organized, keep up with cleaning. Do not let the time and effort that you invested into cleaning your closet go to waste.
“When you use something, put it back where it goes- don’t just through it over the rail,” Hanson said.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Zach Keller at john.keller@thecampuspress.com.
