Your newly organized closet is truly impressive; at-a-glance you can see EXACTLY what you have and where it is. No more morning frustrations. No more lost minutes digging for the perfect belt. No more wondering if that particular blouse is laundered and ready to wear.



Of course, there is a catch to all this organizing bliss. You have to MAINTAIN your new closet system.

If that thought is lurking in the back of your mind (or worse yet, if you've put off cleaning out your closets because you KNOW you cannot keep them organized anyway), take heart. Here are 3 simple steps to keep the 'organized' in your newly organized closet system.

1. Don't add more to-do.

Most people panic when they think about adding another routine to their already busy days. Then don't! You're already doing SOMETHING with your clothes when you take them off each day, right? Simply exchange a 'disorganized' habit for an 'organized' habit.

For example.

If every evening you drop your clothes on your bedroom floor, STOP and THINK about what you want to happen.

-- Clothes in their appropriate places...in the laundry basket or put away in the closet.

Let's face facts. You're going to have to do this step eventually, right? So do it as the clothes come off your body. The truth is, if you're dropping your clothes on the floor or even draping them on the back of a chair, you're forcing yourself to take care of your clothes twice. Once on the floor and then again to put them away or even to simply drop them in the laundry basket.

Now, why are you doing that to yourself?

2. Oops! There's a problem!

Often maintaining a closet organizing system breaks down when a problem comes up with the item that needs to be put away.

-- A button is loose.

-- A pair of shoes is dirty.

-- A jacket has a stain.

This type of situation requires an extra step in the organizing process and faced with an extra step, most of us simply take the easy way out. Which means the offensive clothing article languishes at the bottom of a pile somewhere until we desperately need it again.

The same idea applies for this situation as in #1. Why do things twice?

-- Clothes need mending? Keep a basket handy where you can toss it until repair time.

-- Dirty shoes? Put on your favorite cushy slippers and go take care of this one right now.

-- Got a stain? Keep a laundry stain remover right in your closet. Put it on that stain the minute it comes off your body. Toss in the laundry basket.

(Warning: make sure you educate yourself a bit about the care of your clothing. Only use a laundry stain remover on fabric that's designed to be washed and test those fabrics first. If you have 'dry clean only' clothing, designate a separate place in your closet to put those clothes until you can take them to the cleaners. If you have a stain on a dry clean fabric, you might consider marking it with a small safety pin so you can remember to point it out to the cleaners.)

Tip: put a recurring item on your calendar once or twice a month (or however often works for you) to take 1 or 2 hours and fix your clothing problems, i.e. sew on buttons, fix hems, iron something, etc. Give yourself a little treat for doing so and you'll actually get the job done.

3. Take note of what works (and what doesn't).

Honestly, no one will continue to use a closet organizing system that doesn't work. Test out your new closet system by using it faithfully for a couple of weeks. If something doesn't flow well for you (for example, if you hate having to move your socks to get to your pantyhose), then step back and take a look at how you can rearrange and make things better.

In general, items that are used daily need to be out front and visible, but items that are used less often can be put in the corners or even behind something else. Keep tweaking your closet organizing system until it serves YOU, not the other way around.

When you truly have your closet system the way you want it, it will be a joy to use. It will genuinely be EASIER to hang up an article of clothing than to drop it on the floor.

That's when you know you are actually organized. Yes, you! Organized!

That feels SO good!