2023 Autumn-Winter Closet and Jewelry Swap-Over, and Birthday Presents

It's time for the great Bi-Annual Closet and Jewelry Swap-Over! Join me as I thoroughly clean out my walk-in closet and fill it full of autumn/winter goodies. I last did my closet here (including a very dizzying video), if you feel like comparing spring/summer. 

I also swap over my accessories and jewelry every six months - so many sparkly things! AND, it was my birthday on Monday and I'm showing off my lovely gifts from L. 

You ready? Here we go! 

The Before closet. I'm in the mirror at the end of the closet, in my Carolina Panthers vintage sweatshirt and grey leggings, ready to get sweaty. Hello! 

While I'm good at hanging my clothes up after wearing and putting things away, my closet still manages to descend into chaos by the time the swap-over rolls around. 

I start on the left side (shelves of sweaters, tops and other foldables, plus my blouses, long skirts and trousers), by removing everything that isn't fall/winter. 

I base that on fabric (thin vs. snuggly), sleeves (blouses that don't layer get packed away), and sometimes colour. I tend to lean towards a slightly darker colour range for the cold seasons, but I do keep out some colour, as I really need the mood boost that vibrant colours give me when it's all dark and grey outside. 

Here's what's left after I've gone through one section. 

I remove more later if I run out of hangers for my packed-away stuff. 

As I take out the spring/summer things, I fold them (not all that well - I have a steamer for all those wrinkles come spring) and put them into stacks. 

The hangers get dumped on the floor. I wipe down all the shelving (you can see my wood cleaner and a paper towel on the floor there) and dust off all the surfaces. Clean closet smell! 

I remove all my shoes from the existing shelves and line them up down the hall to get them out of the way while I work. There are a few...

I have around 100 pairs of shoes total, including all walking shoes and runners. 

But wait, there's more! 

This is a good time to really look at my footwear and assess how I feel  - is it time to let any of these go? I tend to default on the "let's decide later" side of things. 

I continue to go through all the clothes in the closet and remove more for packing away. I also pull out the "nah, I'm done with this" pieces and set them aside for the giveaway pile.

The massive pile of hangers grows. Most of my hangers are wooden (easier on your clothes and give them a bit more space to breathe and air out), with some thin flocked blouse/dress hangers for the ones that like to slide off. My pant-hanger collection is a mix of vintage, wooden and plastic hangers that I got for free when I worked at Fairweather clothing in 1999-2000. I won't buy more - this is how much fits in my closet. 

All clear on the right side. The very high upper shelves are vintage and costume-y things that I don't wear that often. I gave them a quick dust and restored them to their stations. 

Short skirts and blazers/jackets - I kept a bunch of colour (pink and yellow) out here as well - I know how important Colour Therapy can be at this time of year. The double Tower of Power storage on the right side holds around 60 pairs of shoes, with 2-3 pairs per shelf. 

Behind my short skirts is where I shove things I've purchased and haven't yet worn. There are also some "wore them once but they're really fall" things, like my Number One dress and sparkly vest. 

Beside them is the giveaway bag, plus some items I'm archiving (not getting rid of, but can't/don't wear anymore) - that tweed pile is Kim Cattrall's suit, which lived with Yvonne for a few years. It doesn't fit either of us anymore, but I can't bear to part with it. 

Then I pulled out all the bags that were hiding on the floor - if you look two pics up, you can see the giant bin and a couple of bags stored under my blazers/jackets.

This is about 15 bags of clothes, all fall-winter, reading to be unbagged/unbinned and hung up again. 

This is my favourite part - rediscovering my forgotten autumn/winter pieces. All of my sweaters (some of which are ginormous!), blouses, long skirts, trousers and dresses are back. Ahhhh....

Everything gets shaken out, hung up and put into their areas. I often change up my "rainbow" for each type of garment so that my eye doesn't get used to seeing the same range of colours. Moving things around and not always setting it back up the same helps me discover new colour pairings or makes certain pieces stand out more. 

I give the carpeting a good vacuuming to clean all the cat hair and bits of fluff and dirt that get tracked in. As I empty the bin and each bag, I fill it back up from the folded stacks and stash it back in its place - you can see the edge of the bin on the lower right. 

"I see you've cleared this area for me."

It was around this time that Vizzini came out from hiding from the vacuum - what a chicken-cat! - and investigated all that open space. I usually have to move him out of a prime nap spot to stuff another bag under there. 

All my skirts and jackets are back out and ready to go. Anything new is hung up near its eventual home, ready for me to make outfits with them. I spy a kitty tail on the lower right...

Time to fill up the shoe shelves! I had the brilliant idea last year to pack all my shoes into the three flat bins that I store under the bed (forgot to take a pic of them), and I did that again, putting away open-toed sandals and shoes that are more spring-summery. 

I also had to clean off this bookshelf and put away a few purses and shoes for the season. Rar, the black bear head (shot/eaten by my brother-in-law, Virgil) watches over everything. 

The bag on the floor are my tights - I unpacked all of my fleecy and thick tights from last season and put them in Fluevog bags with the tops rolled down (soft, but also structured and I don't have to buy them as I have several). 

I also go through my lingerie chest and pull out any summery things. I store camisoles, tees, vintage slips, and out of season tights in it. 

My steamer is ever at the ready - I use it daily (it's the Rowenta Master Valet, and you need that pull-down screen to resist and help press the clothes). You can also see three shoeboxes with some of my scarf collection on the floor, which also get a change-over (more velvet, less brights). 

I added to this wall - three more clear thumbtacks in the wall and I can hang my two FiveLeft purses (they don't stand up well) and my Craig Morrison Bug Bag (to help keep its shape).

I also moved my three round flocked hat-boxes full of belts over here, and a shoebox with soft belts. I usually keep this stuff in the closet at the base of the mirror, but they take up too much floor-space...which I needed for by winter boot collection, which is getting rather large. 

In addition, I also went through all of my gloves/scarves/hats that are stored in the hall coat-rack and got those ready for cold weather. No pics, not that exciting.

And 5.5 hours later...I'm done! After - right side of the closet. 

Ooh, I'm just itching to make some outfits! I can't wait to start wearing all of this. 

And After - the left side. 

I lined up all of my tall boots and stood them all around the end and sides, in front of the bags (full of packed-away items). I have so much more room to move around in there! 

L and I hung out and played board games on Sunday night, as Monday was the Canadian Thanksgiving stat holiday ("Happy My Birthday!" I said to my colleagues last week). On Monday morning, L greeted me in bed with presents. 

New slippers, some books, some copper jewelry (bought for me in Seattle), a silver ring (bought on a scouting trip to Vanity Fair Antique Mall), and a $200 gift card to Turnabout. I sense a shopping trip in my future! 

Some details on the copper jewelry - I spotted both pieces in a vintage store in Ballard, Washington, while we were on vacation earlier this week. 

The bracelet is tagged "50s Renoir copper bracelet, but it's not Renoir as they always stamp their pieces. There were a few copper companies around back then. 

It was $36.00 US (about $50 Canadian). 

I love the pattern and it fits perfectly. 

I also liked this scrolly design necklace. The style is very unusual, and I think this might be the same brand as another copper necklace I own - I recognize the hook closure. 

Also not stamped, but also from the 1950s. It was $34.00 USD. 

The stone in the silver ring is probably obsidian and it's stamped 925 for Sterling silver. 

I spotted the other mark, which looks like "Karmaraj"? That seems to be a place in India, so this could be Indian silver. 

I like the open front, which helps the ring fit over my bony knuckles.

Lovely! Thank you so much, L! I'd better get crackin' on my jewelry swap-over. 

I spent a good hour or two redoing my accessories station, which is in our bedroom. This is the Before picture.

I'm pretty good at keeping my area neat and tidy (ahem, please pretend you don't see the deodorant, ha ha), although it does get dusty. 

I have one shoebox (also dusty) and one bag of storage jewelry. 

Last year, I wasn't feeling my Christophe Poly (POLY) jewelry, so it was tucked away in a separate bag. Would I pull it out this year? 

I do a similar method with my jewelry as I do with my clothes - I put away anything that seems summery (my plastic pieces, light-feeling pieces, brighter colours), and spread everything out on the bed for a good cleaning of all my storage areas. 

This is my dark wood Bombay Company jewelry box, on the right two pics up. 

The top shelf contains my Valentino earrings (kept in their plastic bags so they don't get scratched), and my three pairs of real gold hoop earrings (one pair is white gold). 

The next drawer down (below, left) is my rings - on the left are the ones that are older or are family rings, and my costume rings are on the right, including my seasonal spider and snake rings.

The drawer below that (right, above) contains my collection of Myka pieces, my noisy pearl bracelet and what I think of as "festival" earrings. 

Next is my earring drawer (below left), which is nicely quartered. I move things around in this so that, again, I don't scan over the "same ol', same ol'" things when I'm looking for my accessories. Clockwise from top left, they're brass/browns, silver, wood and colour, and gold-tone. 

Underneath the earrings (above, right) is a divided drawer where I keep bracelets. I removed the big brass/tortoiseshell/crystal bracelet in the right side after I took this pic. These are chain and elaborate bracelets that get lost or snag on other things. 

And last but not least, the bottom drawer, which is a double-sized depth. 

I keep my leather cuffs and wraps in here, along with my lace bracelet from Nashville. 

On each side of the Bombay jewelry box is a space with three necklace hooks. 

This is the left side, with long gold-tone necklaces, bold vintage ones, and fussier ones. I spy a POLY necklace - yes, I decided to wear it this year. 

And this is the right side, with my shorter, chunky necklaces, long silver-tone chains, and long brassy/coloured strands. 

The doors can close but I leave them open, like wings. I need to see everything! 

Because I'm a visual person, that "see everything" requirement has meant that I've had to find creative ways to store/display some of my favourites - otherwise they get lost in a dark drawer or amongst a mess of other pieces. Storing a lot of these separately also protects them, as they aren't jumbled - that leads to breakage and scratches. 

I collect Indiana Glass Company's amber glass in "King's Crown" as well as other amber glass and mid-century bowls that catch my eye when I'm out thrifting. Above is a cheap amber gelato dish that I use for my Brutalist necklaces plus my gold-plated badass necklace. 

I bought this black velvet two-tiered bracelet holder at Good Times Consignment a year? two? ago, and it's been great for displaying my "good" bracelets and cuffs, and a couple of brooches in fall/winter. 

Alexis Bittar, Brutalist cuffs, my "creeper" brooches, Karen's bracelet, tortoiseshell snake - and there's that brass/tortoiseshell/crystal bracelet's new home - plus my Tom Binns shark jaw cuff. 

This is a real  1970s Indiana Glass Company candy dish - it's amber with an iridescent finish. I like being able to actually USE the pieces I have instead of them sitting in a cupboard.

This holds my nicer bangles and rigid bracelets. 

Did someone say "bracelets"? I really do love them! This is a cheap vintage amber glass dessert stand that my mother-in-law shipped to me many years ago. 

And this is the rest of my cuffs! I have a mix of brass, copper, silver, enameled and that gold/leather claw cuff. 

This is the other side - wee! You can spin the cake-stand around, which makes it easier to view and select. 

Which badass cuffs shall I wear today? Hmmm...

This tin is for storing my random pendants, and a few chains for wearing them.

I got a set of Fossil jewelry from L in the tin a couple of decades ago for a Christmas present. 

Below is the copper/enamel plate I thrifted a month or so ago, where I now display my copper necklaces.

On the left is an amber glass dish (just a cheapy) with my oversized earrings in it. 

I think I paid $2-3 for this real crystal divided shallow earring dish, also years ago. 

My amber and seasonal earrings are in the top right, then my pearls and gold-tone studs, then my black/pewter Brutalist earrings. 

This silk brocade bag was a gift from Lee at my wedding shower in late 1996/early 1997. I use it for my oversized, not-easily-damaged necklaces. 

I like to stick my hand in and root around by feel. Most of these stay out all year. 

Oops, two more small containers! On the left is a real crystal ring holder (I see these all the time in thrift stores, usually for less than $5.00), with my real silver rings. 

My ring collection has been growing, so I decided to use this copper Chilean souvenir shallow dish for displaying my Brutalist rings. 

And finally, my Gram's low wooden jewelry box is where I store most of my vintage earrings (in the removeable tray on the right, below). 

The top section holds a copper bracelet, some brass jewelry, my amber necklaces, and brooches on the right (including seasonal pieces). The lower drawer is more of the same, plus my hematite collection that I decided to pull out again this year, after "resting" it for a couple of years. 

And here's the After, all nice and tidy again! 

I moved things around here too so that my eye travels and sees new things. I love having some of my old favourites back again. 

Well, there you have it, my friends! I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into my collections of clothes, shoes and jewelry (and everything in between), and seeing how I store things. Did you get any ideas for your own stuff? I'd love to hear! 

Again, a very Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends, and a Happy My Birthday to the rest of you! I'm thankful for all of you - my family, my friends near and far, my fellow bloggers and lovely commenters, and readers (I know you're out there)!