Kick the Clutter 2011 - Week 1 - Coming Out of the Closet

It's still Monday, right?  Whew!  Sorry this one's so late in the day.  I spent part of the day today working on kitchen organization.  After that, I got a flat on the interstate (thanks for the rescue, SCDOT!!, ran around trying to find more birds, ate my "last meal" before starting Weight Watchers tomorrow and then came home to take a 2-hour nap.

Anyway, you're probably not here for all of that.  I would guess you're here to see the after photos of my master closet purge.  Before I get to that, I wanted to share another bit from one of the two organization books I have.  This is in reference to storage and storage products.  From SORTED:

"There's a whole industry based around storing your stuff: off-site storage, shops that sell nothing but containers; products that promise to organize your life; magazines that promote pretty-colored boxes.  While these products and services definitely have their place, they generally don't fix the problem.  Being organized does not mean purchasing a dozen 18-gallon plastic tubs and sticking everything in them."

After reading that, I realized what happened last Jan when I "organized" my closet.  While I DID get rid of things, I kept so many things that I just felt I couldn't throw out.  I packed them up in little containers and put them up in the stop of my closet.  These were mostly gifts given to me that I didn't really need or want.  I'm sure all of you can relate.  Someone that you care about, cared enough about you to spend their money on something they thought you might like.  Getting rid of that means you wasted their money, right?  But, if you aren't using said gift, aren't you still wasting their money?  You're not only wasting their money, you're wasting space.  So JUST LET IT GO.  I did!  I couldn't believe the stuff I'd hidden away in those boxes.  Some things, I did need, but didn't remember that I already owned them so I bought more.  What a waste!

Here are some of my BEFORE photos:

 In this closet, we were storing our clothes, shoes, socks and underwear.  It's easier to keep socks and underwear in your dresser when you don't have 30 or so pairs of panties and 20 extra pair of socks that you aren't using, AND if you don't have TWO junk drawers in your dresser.  First, I purged the dresser, then moved our socks and underwear over to it.  Then I got busy on the rest.  So many clothes and shoes that "I'll wear one day".  Pitched 'em and it felt great!

Here's what I removed from the closet:

7 bags of clothes

1 large box of shoes, purses and miscellaneous items

2 bags of trash (not pictured)

Oh yeah, anyone know what this is from?

Who else switches purses in a hurry and just takes what they need for the new purse, leaving everything else in  the old one?  Yep!  The purse pile.  I think this stuff came from three purses, one that had receipts dating back 2 years.  Which means when I "purged" last year, I didn't bother with purses.  ha ha

Anywho, now it's time for my AFTER photos.  WOOHOO!

So much better!  I love going into my closet now!

*I have never been able to wear heels.  I'm not talking spiked heels, just heels in general.   I still buy them sometimes, though.  I think maybe one day, I learn to deal with the pain and learn to walk in them without wobbling.  I pitched the 3 pair of hardly-worn heeled shoes into my Good Will box with just a little hesitation, telling myself that if I haven't worn them in 3 years, I wasn't ever gonna wear them.  While I was Good Will, dropping stuff off, I had a total hoarder moment and "rescued" my heels, telling the lady who was helping me that I'd probably be back with them in a week.    They're still in my closet, not being worn  Oy.

I finally have a button for this mission.  I'm linking it to all of my clutter posts so feel free to link it to yours if you're joining me.

Linking to:

Lets Organize Party @ Domestically Speaking
Organizing Mission Monday @ Organize With Sandy