Organizing my closet with my unorganized brain.
Since I struggle with ADHD and anxiety, my closet can easily become my biggest trigger. From clothing not fitting the way I thought to piles of clean clothing lying in a laundry bin waiting to be put away. Sometimes I just wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt so I don’t have to deal with choosing an outfit for the day. That’s my anxiety winning. Not saying that wearing a sweatshirt is a bad look, I wear them all the time. But when I never change into any “real” clothes because it feels like so much work to put an outfit together, we are in trouble. Sometimes getting ready for an event is the most stressful experience for me in life. I’m sure some will laugh, I even just giggled, but I really feel like how you present yourself to the world says a lot about who you are as a person and is a reflection of your character. Now that I have lived with myself for 30+ years I can finally say I have a few tricks I use to help keep my anxiety at bay as I enter my closet. Here is a little list of my tricks in the hopes that it helps someone else tackle their closet with excitement instead of dread.
Here are some of my tricks to stay organized with my unorganized brain :
Seasonal Organization : I have always been a seasonal closet person, but that’s when I lived in a place that has four seasons. Now I'm living in a three/two season loaciton, meaning more boxes of clothing. I've found myself moving every few years, so I’m constantly having to sift through my closet anyway. Purging clothing that I don't use through out the year triggers happy feelings. Opening my summer clothing box at the beginning of every summer fills me with so much joy. The best part is my closet becomes all useable. All clothing is wearable because it works for that season. I don't have to swipe through options that don’t fit the weather. Helps to keep me from feeling frustrated and from getting that overwhelming feeling that I don’t have the right clothes. When I open my winter clothing box in October and take out all my hats, scarves, and gloves I start wanting to book trips and make holiday plans. I end up wearing my full wardrobe when I have tangible options to choose from. Also helps to keep my closet crying meltdowns to a minimum.
ACloset App : I have recently started uploading my closet into this closet organization app. It tracks all my options, I can choose what I want to wear each day, and it values each item depending on how often I wear it. The point is to track how much of my closet I’m using versus how much just sits there and never gets worn. Also, It helped me to go through each item I own (you have to photograph each piece, so you have to go through your WHOLE closet) and make sure I had value to that item. https://www.acloset.app/-how-it-works
Clear Boxes/Bins : These saved my mental health when it comes to the organization of my closet. It’s so much better for me to be able to see what is in each bin and not have to write on the outside of the box in Sharpie. Sometimes I shift things around and forget to update the labels. With clear bins, I always know what is in each box so it doesn't matter if items get shifted around. I can see my summer box, winter box, family keepsake box… you get the picture. Also makes moving long distances a snap.
Mirror in Another Space : For the past five year I've kept my full-length mirror outside of my closet. I’m not sure why, but it has seriously helped me to feel better when I'm trying on outfut choices. I honestly don’t know why it makes me feel better in my clohting, but I do know I wear more dresses now that my mirror is outside the closet.
Duplicates : Something I have had to let go of is duplicates. Duplicates make your closet feel like it’s closing in on you. I mean how many hats do you really need? Giving yourself too many options isn’t always helpful.
April & October Closet Reset : Each April I go through my winter clothing options and set aside anything I didn’t use, outgrew, or don’t need. I then put away all the winter clothing that I want to save for next season. I pull out all my summer clothing and reorganize my closet to fit the new season's items. Usually, at the end of this process, I’m left with a bag of clothing to donate to the thrift store and a bag of clothing to list online to resell. I repeat this process in October as well. These two full closet cleans help to keep my closet full of items that fill me with joy and make me feel like my best self.
Thrift Stores & Online Selling : I don’t always have the best luck reselling items online, probably because I don’t have a large following on the reselling apps. But that doesn’t stop me from trying. My process looks something like this; I list online hoping to sell, if it doesn’t then I bring a full bag to consignment stores, whatever they won’t take I donate to GoodWill. Every time I donate to GoodWill I swear the thrift angels bless me with extra treasures the next time I go thrifting. The online reselling apps I turn to most often are Poshmark, Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and ThreadUp. Want to check out my listing? Please follow along to see what's availble. https://www.ebay.com/usr/olivivastol_0 https://poshmark.com/closet/vastolaolivia
Inspiration : I make a vision board each year and hang it on the wall in my closet. A daily reminder of the life I want to be living. This helps me challenge myself to pursue my passions. A way to hold myself accountable.
The Professionals : The Home Edit has a great line of organizational products that will make your life so much easier. Their website is great. They offer tips and helpful affordable starting points for getting your life organized. They sell at Walmart and Amazon, and I have even found some items at the thrift store! I’ve found many plastic drawer organizers at the thrift from other brands as well, all they ever need is a good cleaning. https://thehomeedit.com/
Pinterest Is My Bestie : Creating a Pinterest board helps to organize my thoughts and vision for a project. I made a closet board for this post in the hopes that it helps show some of the examples I talked about above. While making it I fully have decided that I need to reorganize my closet again! https://www.pinterest.com/oliviavastola/dreamy-closets/
Cheers,
Liv
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