May 24, 2007 5:44 pm US/Eastern
Clearing The Clutter Out Of Your Closet
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
If your closet is a source of stress, it's time to clear out the clutter and make your life a little easier!
Monica and Jim Valentine of Cranberry turned to the Style Sisters for help giving their closet a makeover.
"Their clothes are completely mixed together," Elizabeth Casey noticed after walking into the Valentines' closet.
"It's casual mixed in with dressy," added her sister, Allison Gannon. "It's men's mixed in with women's."
The Style Sisters begin by removing everything and sorting it into piles. Items Monica will keep go on the hanging rack.
Shannon Kosko says she and her sisters rely on bins to help organize the items.
"Everything we're going to donate, we put into the 'give' bin. Everything we're going to throw away, we put into the 'yikes' bin -- that would consist of things with holes, that are just beyond repair that no one would need or want. Yikes!"
Elizabeth says hanging the clothes that Monica wants to keep will let them take a better look at how she could put together different outfits.
The next step is to get those "off-season" items out of the mix. They put Monica's winter sweaters in space bags – using a vacuum cleaner to suck out the air.
"The space bags will give them so much extra space in their closet," assured Style Sister Anne Sweeney. "What I like to do is put them under the bed. You don't see them and it frees up your closet space."
The sisters then transfer the clothes Monica plans to keep onto wooden hangers, which cost about the same as plastic, and are a huge improvement over wire.
"The key to any organized closet is efficiency," Elizabeth added, "that's why we really recommend bins. You can label them and keep your sweaters separate from your purses your purses separate from your belts.
Items Featured In This Closet MakeoverStore: Bed, Bath and Beyond
Small bins: $7.99
Medium-sized bin: $9.99
Hangers: $9.99 for a package of 20
Putting the newly-sorted items back in the closet is just as important as sorting them in the first place.
The Style Sisters recommend grouping clothes by occasion and type. For instance, they say you should keep casual clothes with other casual clothes, dressy with dressy – and separate into categories like skirts, dresses and pants.
Labeling bins can make it easier to find the items you want to wear.
"I think the most important thing we did to Monica's closet was purged it of all the items she didn't wear that were out of date or didn't fit," Elizabeth explained, "and that gave us so much more to work with!"
After her closet makeover, Monica says she learned a big lesson: "You don't need things you've just held onto because it's comfortable."
Need Help With Your Own Closet Makeover? Top 10 Tips To A Successful Closet Makeover
Getting Started On Your Closet MakeoverIf your closet is such a mess that you're not sure where to begin, the Style Sisters have some simple suggestions on getting your closet makeover started
Style Sisters On Keeping An Organized Closet The Style Sisters offer their philosophy on why it's so important to keep an organized closet!
Must-Haves For Your Closet Makeover The Style Sisters give their list of "must haves" that they say are key to any organized closets!
Space Saving Tip For Your Closet Makeover The Style Sisters say they have the perfect solution for making the most of the space in your closet!
Cleaning Out Your Closet For A Good Cause The Style Sisters talk about how you can help others while organizing your own closet!
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