Reader Question – The Difference Between Clean and Organized

March is filled with organizing “holidays” and observances. This week is Clean Out Your Closet Week, which is an ideal time to answer the same question I got from two readers in the past week.

They both said that when someone else cleans for them, the house looks great, but then they can’t find anything. The truth is that nothing is being organized on those occasions, it’s just being moved, and stuff ends up in drawers or closets where it doesn’t belong.

When your belongings don’t have a home, the fastest way to deal with them is to throw them in a bag and stash the bag in a closet. You might have a closet like that – full of stuff, yet you have no idea what’s in there.

Although it may seem overwhelming, you will benefit from taking everything out of there and making room for the things you really do want to keep. Opening up a closet can give you a place for the things you use regularly or it could be used to keep out-of-season items.

Here are the steps to get you started:

• Determine the function of each closet – food, linens, outerwear, toys, sporting goods, etc. A closet might have to serve several purposes, but don’t let it become a dumping ground for junk; keep its contents tightly edited.
• Take a look at what’s in your closets now - let go of anything that doesn’t fit, is broken, is outdated or is a duplicate.
• Place in each closet only the things that fit the function you have assigned – keep like items together and put things back when you use them.

Finally, remember that nobody lives in a magazine-perfect house. The houses that you see in magazines and on the internet only look that great during the photo shoot. When the cameras aren’t there, the house looks like people live in it. Your goal is to be able to find anything, in addition to having your house can look good. You can both, without resorting to hiding things.

What are you hiding in your closets?

Organized by Marcie TM: Save time and money by letting go of what you don't need and finding room for what you value

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