Spring Cleaning #2

The closet! That small space where more stuff is jammed inside than any other room in the house. Occasionally, InStyle magazine will feature celebrity closets—a crystal chandelier-ed, fabulously lite, color-coordinated space the size of my garage—but I just turn the page (OK, maybe I take the briefest peek). The ceiling-high rows of Manalos, Louboutins, and Pradas just bring tears to my modest income eyes!

And yet I have learned ONE thing from those glossy pages: The essentials of closet organization. Unfortunately, I don’t have too much room to work with—Hubby’s insists on hanging up his trousers and shirts—which leaves me with one option: A Spring Closet Purge.

Spring Cleaning #1 lists the closet cleaning essentials so I won’t repeat.

The most difficult part of the task? Defining the vision of yourself! I see a gorgeous, refined, elegant Donna Karan draped woman with effortless style holding a glass of wine. My hair is shiny and smooth; make-up, flawless.

That’s the dream, anyway.

The reality is a woman who scrambles out of bed at 5 am to get to work by 7. Returns nine hours later—grocery bags in hand—to write novels while burning dinner.

Reality: More coffee than wine. Harried expression. Worn off makeup. Yoga pants & t-shirt.

The impossible closet task: Clothes to purge:

require intensive coordination time because some pants only look good with certain top and shoes.
show signs of shrinkage because I swear clothes do that when they sit in the closet for any length of time. Right?
don’t match anything. At. All.
have holes–except jeans—you pay extra for denim with holes.
any garment that doesn’t make you feel fabulous. OK, I admit, this is the most challenging part. Pick a day when you’re feeling mildly fabulous.

Several piles lay on the floor.

give away
throw away
one day I’ll fit back into these—hey, it’s happened before!
repair—hems, buttons etc.
need daughters’ opinions. They’re always brutally honest.
a plastic-wire-felt mountain of hangers.

State of the closet? The wooden rod no longer sags with the weight of the unwearable! Was that a breeze I felt? I see the corner! Ah! That’s where the scarf disappeared! Light shines over the clothes! Birds sing! All is right with the world!

I vow to make better/smarter clothing purchases and feel better knowing that anything I grab will be wearable.

And although I still don’t look like the woman of my dreams—because I can’t afford Donna Karan—at least I made my life a little less stressful in the morning.