In 2016 the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team won four consecutive NCAA titles. One of the many things that set UConn’s star player Breanna Stewart apart as the first athlete to accomplish that feat is that she declared this goal out loud and publicly.
On a much smaller and much less public scale, do you want to declare something out loud and have it come to fruition? With spring cleaning in mind, would you like to manifest a more organized closet? Here are six quick wins to get closer to the closet of your dreams.
- Clear It Out
Ideally, you’ll want to take everything out of your closet and start with a clean slate. It’s also a good opportunity to clean the floor, wipe down the hanging bar and shelves and get a sense of how much space you really have. Maybe you’ll even find that long-lost treasure: “That’s where that spectacular shoe is!”
- Order on the Floor
Keeping the closet floor as orderly as possible automatically uplifts the space. Anything on the floor should be intentionally arranged and/or contained (i.e. shoes bins, laundry basket etc.).
- Remove Wire Hangers
The closet of your dreams (and maybe nightmares, if you are familiar with the 1980s movie Mommy Dearest) has NO WIRE HANGERS. Remove clothes from wire hangers and bag the hangers for recycling. Take them back to the dry cleaner or drop them off at a scrap metal recycling center (many neighborhood recycling centers won’t accept them). Gather all empty hangers and keep them in one spot, either grouped together on the hanging bar or perhaps on a plastic hanger holder.
- Purge What’s Easy
As you touch each piece of clothing that you are removing from the wire hangers, ask yourself these questions:
“Do I WEAR it?”
“Do I LOVE it?”
“Do I FEEL FABULOUS when I’m wearing it?”
If the answer is not a resounding yes to all three questions, consider putting this item in the donation pile. If yes, celebrate and rock your look the next time you choose that piece!
- Find a Home
Did you find items that don’t belong in the closet? Return them to their original storage locations or group them together in a “find a home” category (if unsure of where to put them). Do yourself a favor and plan a time to determine the best place for them so that you keep them moving to final destinations. P.S., if you don’t have one already, designate one place for dirty laundry.
- Use Vertical Space
To optimize your vertical storage space, use the back of closet doors with over the door hooks (no drilling needed) or consider pocket organizers. To access the top shelves of your closet quickly and easily, it helps to store a small folding step stool inside your closet.
I’ll go into more detail on some of the items above in a future post. In the meantime, declare what you want out loud. Whether that’s an organized closet or doing something that’s never been done before in sports history, every win is forward movement toward the bigger dream.
“You get whatever accomplishment you are willing to declare.” ~Georgia O’Keeffe
Such an informative, practical article! Cleverly compared to the approach used by a winner in her field of athletics, too. I especially liked how the author tapped into universal emotions surrounding setting goals and achieving them.
Thank you Melanie for this inspiring blog post! I agree that declaring is everything, it sets me in motion toward my goals without a doubt. I appreciate the reminder and the amazing example with Breanna Stuart.