Eight DIY tips to make cleaning easier

MRS. FIX-IT

Spring has sprung, although it feels as though it “sprung” at least a month ago based off of the lack of winter we experienced this year.

I don’t know about anyone else, but whenever a new season begins, I find myself with the sudden urgency to clean up some cluttered spaces around my home. One of those spaces that I find often collects the most clutter is our closets. Closets are easy spaces for me to quickly store things, shut the door then forget about the mess I’m leaving behind … until I reopen the door again.

Here are some quick DIY tips to make a closet functional and looking great:

1. You need to have a game plan.

Have a list of items in mind that you’ll be storing in your closet. Is it jewelry, handbags, your unique collection of scarves? Mentally take inventory of everything that will be stored away and rate those items on a scale of one to 10. A 10 would be those items that you use daily, and a one might be the items that you maybe use seasonally.

2. Like mentioned above, you need to decide which items in your closet get used the most; that way you can make sure to make it easily accessible. You don’t want to store things that you use every day on the top shelf in a corner, making it awkward to quickly get to. One wrong move and everything comes tumbling down, making your once organized closet a disaster! For me, my shoes are constantly in rotation; I need dressy shoes, tennis shoes, flip flops, all types of shoes, for all types of occasions so I have them right up front, easily displayed and easy to access.

3. Do you share a closet with your spouse? Make sure you’ve got a distinct “his” and “her” side, and make every effort to keep those sides separate.

This is sometimes a challenge for my husband and me since we share a very small closet. Most of the time, we’re pretty good about keeping our things on our sides.

4. Rotate items that are out of season.

For instance, since we are heading into spring, it’s probably safe to assume you won’t need that heavy jacket or all those winter clothes. Consider placing some of these items toward the back of your closet or even put them in plastic tubs until next year.

5. Purge. Do you really need five black sweaters that basically look the same, or are there things in your closet that you haven’t worn in over a year? I know in my closet, I have an awful habit of keeping things longer than I probably should. If it doesn’t hold sentimental value (like the old dress shirt that used to be my grandfather’s) and you haven’t worn it in over a year, you probably won’t miss it if you donate it. A rule of mine that I try to abide by is, if I buy a new article of clothing, I need to donate another piece that hasn’t been used.

6. Use items that can be found around your home or purchased for cheap; these can make huge differences in your closets. Use nails to hang necklaces or utensil dividers for jewelry storage. Hangers are great for storing scarves. You can also use a tie hanger to hold all those tank tops you’ve got. You don’t have to spend a fortune on organizational supplies. Get creative and use things that you’ve already have lying around your home.

7. Use a label maker to mark boxes or things that can’t easily been identified. A few years ago, I bought a label maker and I’ve been obsessed ever since. I’ve used our label maker to label where items should go in our pantry and linen closet. I’m not sure if my husband appreciates my over-labeling as much as I do, but at least he can’t say he doesn’t know where something should go.

8. Finally, don’t be afraid to use the space you’ve got. I know it might sound like things will look cluttered, but that doesn’t have to be the case. You’ve got walls in your closet, so use them to hang things like jewelry, scarves, handbags or even luggage.

After implementing a few of these tips into your organization project, I bet you’ll see some dramatic differences. For my closet, I found that I was better able to keep inventory of the things I owned and was able to incorporate more diversity into my wardrobe unlike when I just crammed things on top of each other.

Happy spring and happy spring cleaning!

Sara Thomas is Mrs. Fix-it.

She is originally from Louisiana and is a mother of two, Ryker and Reese. Her husband, Jason, was born and raised in Texas and very proud of that. Email Sara at sara_e_thomas@hotmail.com.