5S - Clothes Closet

This month (February) I am focusing on the bedroom. The area that collects the most clutter in my bedroom is the closet.

As I was researching some ideas for closet cleanup, I ran across a challenge called Project 333. It is a 3 month challenge to narrow your wardrobe to 33 items. The 33 items include shoes, jewelry and accessories (scarves, etc). It does not include undergarments, workout clothes and lounging clothes (that you do not wear out and about). The intent is to simplify your wardrobe to what you really love. Sounds like the perfect project to clean out your closet.

But first, lets follow the 5S system...

1. Sort
Time to get realistic about what you want to keep in your closet. You can pull out what you definitely do not want, but I like to pull everything out and then decide what to put back in.
- create a donation pile for anything that you do not ever wear or are ready to get rid of.
- separate seasonal items and put them in a bin or suitcase for later in the year.
- for project 333, you should pick out what you want to wear over the next 3 months. Everything else should be packed in a bin and not accessed until the end of the challenge. You can decide at that point if you want to keep it or not. This challenge lends itself to really thinking hard about if you really "need" things.
I do not know if I am ready to include jewelry in my 33 items, so I will try to focus on the clothing items and leave accessories for next time.

2. Scrub
While everything is out of the closet, dust shelves and corners, as well as vacuum.

3. Set
I have heard of several suggestions for how to organize closets.
1. By function (pants, blouses, dresses)
2. By color (red blouses, etc)
3. Working mom shortcut - I usually identify and separate the outfits I will wear to work for the week. This gives me one less thing to worry about in the morning.
Once you have your wardrobe narrowed down to 33 pieces, it should be easier to see it all.

4. Standardize
What kind of tagging can you do to make sure items get back in the right place?
- I have seen some DIY tags for the hanging bar, to designate what goes where.
- I will be labeling my clothes hampers for lights and darks. Lets see if my husband notices.

5. Sustain
I will check back in later this month to let you know how my Project 333 is going.