My closet swap-over was on Thursday, my regular day off, so I could do it all without interruption. The cleaners came in the morning and once the house was nice and tidy, I tootled off to get groceries, then procrastinated a bit, mentally psyching myself up for the job ahead. Cleaning out my closet is a physically taxing task - it takes about 5-6 hours to do it all, and that's not including my jewelry, which I did on Friday while/after doing L's closet. I put music on, and take a couple of ibuprofen, as I'm always stiff and sore the next day.
Let's get 'er started, shall we?
Sheila's Closet: Before
I'm not an especially tidy person, but I do prefer things The Way I Like Them, so I'm not averse to order. There is a place for everything in my closet, and I make an effort to return things to their homes when I'm done wearing them/have washed them. But I don't try too hard to fold perfectly or hang just so. Sometimes the best you can do is just shove it in there!
Here's a look at what you would see, peeking into my closet. It is a walk-in, but it's not giant; it's the size of a small bathroom, about a 7-foot-per-side space. I had it custom built around 15 years ago when I first lost weight (I dropped from a size 16-18 to a size 6) as I had to replace my entire wardrobe (except socks), and I hated how it used to look. It only had a rail on either side with a single long shelf above those, and a shallow set of shelves at the end. Totally insufficient for my needs, and it was always a disaster, since I could barely reach the shelving.
It's a bit chaotic but it's been worse. Things of note: My mini-chandelier doesn't like being photographed; the hanging thing with the chain is a long feather necklace that I have to keep up out of "someone's" reach; the hose on the side is my steamer.
Angled look at the right side - my Tower of Power shoe storage! It goes right to the ceiling. It contains 16 cubbies, which can hold 2-3 pairs of shoes each, plus I line up flats on the floor.
I need variety in my footwear! It's a known fact (heh), that the more shoes you have, the longer they last.
Starting on the left side at the ceiling.
Four shelves - so much good storage. The top shelf are party things, then a jumble of odd items (vests, bustiers, shorts) and my sweaters. I have a good variety of cardigans, thick woolies, patterned, and layering sweaters. I also have some folded trousers here because now that I'm into pants, I don't have enough hanging space or hangers for them all.
Below those shelves are my blouses, long skirts and trousers.
Say goodbye for the next six months to most of these.
The other half of the left side, which is my "long-hang" bar, for dresses, jumpsuits and kimonos/dusters.
I use the space underneath all the hanging garments as storage for my off-season clothes and shoes.
Above the long-hang are my archive boxes and fancy party gear.
I tackled this last September, and didn't feel like doing it again, so it just got a dusting, nothing else. You can see a bit of my chandelier there - the feathers are my clip-in fascinators.
Opposite side now, on the right as you look in. That orange square has a poppy tile on it. Of course I have art in my closet! My short skirts live here and I shove all "one and done" clothes (i.e. wear it once seasonal/Christmas stuff) and off-season purchases behind them. I use every square inch of my closet now!
It was originally planned for my jackets and blazers, but my builder and I forgot to factor in that those come in lots of lengths. That small top shelf is more costume-y things and party shoes. I did a light dusting of it and swapped out the shoes - "after" pic in a bit.
Below the skirts are my jackets and blazers.
On the floor here below my lovely golden mirror are three velvet round storage containers that hold my belts (wide, narrow, and chain/stretchy), plus a shoe-box with my obis. I store more off-season items under the blazers.
I don't have a ton of room to move in there! Me, plus one other person if we're having a "party visit" or I want to show them something. Ah, I miss the visits to my closet during parties - I didn't have to
Folex any drops of wine out of the carpet this season!
I also keep some fancy boots on the floor on the left side. Since I took over a bookshelf for my walking/shopping shoes, it's much easier to navigate without tripping over shoes on the floor.
Folex any drops of wine out of the carpet this season!
Speaking of my off-season purchases, these are all the new/new-to-me things that I pulled down from behind the short skirts.
Some of these are "regret-me-nots" (that I've taken back from the giveaway pile), and a few have already gotten a sneaky winterized wear. Exciting! I've often forgotten most of the things I've jammed in there.
You may be wondering about now - Where is Vizzini?
"I'm having nothing to do with these shenanigans!"
He went into hiding until I put the vacuum cleaner away.
Swap-Over: In Progress
So, how do I clear out my closet? I work left to right, top to bottom, and pull out every item that I deem to be now off-season. Here, the sweater shelves have been done, as have the blouses/long skirts/trousers. That's what I intend to keep out: in reality, I usually have to ransack each section and put more stuff away as I've run out of room/hangers for the seasonal things that need to come back out.
How do I determine what's seasonal? Other than the obvious reasons (eg. sandals for summer, boots for winter), I go mostly intuitively, but I do have some loosey-goosey "rules" (the best kind!) that help me be ruthless.
- Colour: I sort of stick to the traditional season palettes; I have a lot of autumn colours and more blacks and dark colours in the cold months, plus spooky/theme-ish things for Hallowe'en and sparkly/party clothes for Christmas (and Valentine's and St. Patrick's). For the warm months, I have a lot more bright colours.
- Material/fabric/weight: For fall/winter, I have thicker materials - lots of wool, leather and cashmere in bulkier knits, vintage double-knit polyester (very warm) or fleecy items, plus velvet. In spring/summer, I have more cotton, linen and lighter-weight knits. I have silk in both seasons as it's a natural insulator.
- Tights-compatibility: My very short skirts and dresses (I do love my minis!) usually only work for me when I can wear tights, so they are kept out for the cooler months. Some of my skirts/dresses cling to nylons and tights, so can only be worn in bare-legs weather. This can also apply to shoes that only work with/without socks or tights.
- Layer-ability: Some of my clothes only work on their own, like tops that don't layer under a blazer (for colder months), so they come out for spring/summer when I don't need a topping piece. Some pieces (like my leather/suede/wool slip dresses) only work with layering pieces, so they appear in the fall/winter.
- Seasonal twins: I have a lot "twins" in my closet: the same thing in a heavier fabric version for fall/winter and a lighter version for warm weather. Examples of seasonal twins: teal slip dress, cream blazer, black skirts, yellow skirt, purple skirt, grey trousers, grey jacket, etc. etc.
I clean my closet as I go, using Murphy's Oil Soap on the natural wood shelving, and glass cleaner on the mirror. I vacuum once all the stuff to be packed up has been pulled out.
I've moved my party shoes/boots around a bit on the top shelf, and found my yellow waxed canvas Fluevogs in a box on the top shelf.
What happens to all the stuff I pulled out? I start folding and making stacks for things getting stored for the season. The hangers get tossed to the side in a pile (I like the noise and the clatter of them - it's like demolition/construction).
Things that I know I'm done with or that I'm not feeling anymore gets put into the giveaway pile - I probably put about 10% in this year. Some years, when I feel my style shifting, I do more.
What about the spring/summer stuff? Oh, we are getting to that!
I pulled all of those Fluevog shoe bags and reusable grocery bags out from under the clothes in the closet! The spring/summer clothes are naturally less bulky than fall/winter, so there are only 13 bags there. "Only" - hah!
I also pulled this big tub out from under the jackets. At this point, I have already hung up all my new-to-me items and put them in the appropriate sections, at the front so that I make outfits out of them first.
Unpacking the "new" season is my favourite part. Rediscovering things I love, remembering when I last wore them, and also re-evaluating items now that I've had the chance to emotionally "rest" from them. I usually pull out about 10% to go to the giveaway pile as I unpack.
Three flatter tubs live under the bed - they get hauled out and dusted off. I check for evidence of little paws digging in the sides (none) and for moths (none).
Ooh, I already see things I'd forgotten about! I did all the bagged items first, unpacking and hanging up each item, putting each pair of shoes on a shelf, then the big tub, then these three tubs. I ran out of hangers on the last tub, so did another cull of Things I Can Live Without for the next six months.
Cat Interlude
I take several small bathroom/tea/internet breaks as I go, and often check in on Vizzini. I discovered him snuggled under my robe on the bed.
How else are we supposed to see you, buddy?
"Not the flash, Woman!"
Sheila's Closet: After
Shoes first, starting up at the top on the right side.
Two pairs of high/party sandals, and two pairs of higher heels on top; then a mix of bare-foot heels and warmer weather shoes (for the "shoulder" seasons, like now/early spring when it's still chilly out).
Two more shelves full of old friends.
Two more shelves. As I did last season, one shelf is empty and has my new-to-me soft tops and accessories.
Ooh, all those nice summery colours! These are some of my favourite shoes.
L zeroed in on the chunky orange shoes in the top right. "What are these ugly things? Why don't you wear them in the fall?"
Because they are neon orange and I can wear them barefoot, that's why.
And the shoes on the floor, which are walking/shopping-friendly.
I've started doing some outfit-planning on the left side there. I pull one shoe out and put it under the clothing components.
On the opposite/left side, I have two pairs of boots that I kept out.
I store blogging/clothing mementos in those boxes. This is five pairs of vintage/archive shoes, plus my fancy fascinators/small hats and my tiara.
Walking booties and brown boots because I felt like it.
Still on the left, here are the party/sweater shelves all nice and tidied.
Below that, my sweater shelves.
I rejigged this to put my big cardis and thicker sweaters on the top shelf, with my vests/other accessories (yay, my leather peplum top is back!). On the middle one, we have sleeveless/thin sweaters, and two piles of trousers. On the bottom shelf are my short-sleeved sweaters, folded short-sleeved blouses and my lighter cardigans.
Below the shelving, here are my long-sleeved blouses, long skirts and trousers.
Lots of creases from being packed away - I steam things as I wear them. A lot of the wrinkles fall out over time, though.
To the left of those, my long-hand with my dresses.
As with last season, I didn't bother unpacking a lot of my party dresses. I'm hopeful for fall/winter 2021, though!
Now onto the right side - here's that top shelf with my ginormous black hat, a couple of fascinators, and my two pairs of party boots.
Look at that rainbow of colours in the short skirts!
That just makes me smile. I'm so happy to have these back.
I have a lot of jackets and blazers for spring/summer, far more than for fall/winter.
That's because I wear a lot of these as light coats or sun coverage. You can see some of my outfit planning going on over on the right.
Are you still doing the Hanger Trick? Yes, I am! When I hang up my clothes, I put all the hangers backwards (hook facing towards me). As I wear items, I put them back on their hanger with it going the "right" way (hook facing away from me). This helps me see what hasn't been worn yet, and has been a game-changer in my goal to wear all of my clothes at least once. As a Maximalist, I don't just want to be a collector of cool clothes: I want to love and wear everything that I own.
Accessories Swap-Over
In addition to my clothes, I also swap over my accessories. It helps me ensure I wear everything, and keeps these sections from getting over-crowded. I need to see them!
Scarves: Before.
I have two shoe-boxes right beside the closet/behind the steamer. I love to rummage in there for the right scarf for my outfit.
Scarves: After.
Everything's so nicely folded - ha ha, that will last about 2 days. I also store my little nylon socklets, anklets and footy-things for my shoes here.
Even my belt tubs and obi box get a swap-over.
I put away the heavy belts and darker colours, and bring out the brights! I have narrow belts in a rainbow of colours.
I rearrange my tights, pulling all the bulky/thick/fleece ones into a rolled-up shopping back to live in the bottom shelf of my lingerie chest.
The other two shopping bags hold my nylons and patterned tights, and my coloured solids. Also note: my parasol is out and ready to shade me from the cruel, burny sun!
I dusted off the top shelf of my lingerie chest and rearranged my things. Painting by Hazel, miniature ramshackle version of the lingerie chest by L (he gave this to me instead of bringing the full-sized shelf to Powell River for Christmas).
My few pairs of sunglasses, hair accessories, my small perfume collection and two very old lipsticks (one is a 17 by Boots from 1984-5; the other is an Avon c. 1970s).
I also cleared off, dusted and rearranged my bag/shoe shelf. All my party purses and my two beaded Birks belts live here, where I can peruse them at leisure.
Below those, my shoe/clothes maintenance shoe-box, with some of my small zip-pouches, a few vintage purses, and my collection of "practical" bags, i.e. ones I might use when going shopping.
I use my leather backpack instead of a purse for work, so my purses are for Anything But Work.
And here's the two bottom shelves, full of my shopping shoes.
These are also shoes that can be worn in the rain, or shoes for travel. Most of these will make their way into an outfit - my goal with my closet is always to wear everything at least once per season.
I packed away my seasonal masks.
I pulled out some bright from last season. Will we still be doing masks come September? Probably.
And lastly, I redid the hall coat tree/bench thing.
My share of the storage. I cleared out some of the older scarves/gloves, and as I did with L's, I packed away the really heavy stuff in a tightly-tied shopping bag underneath these. Storing things underneath helps these bags be easier to see and access.
I still need gloves well into late spring (thank you, Reynaud's Syndrome), and I like having my bright furry scarves available if needed.
I discovered my race-walk medals when I tidied up.
The smaller ones are from the local annual 10K race, which I did from 2008 to 2013. I have actual medals from the Competitive Walk category for my age group: a Bronze, three Silvers and two Gold medals. Not bad, eh? I used to be able to race-walk faster than other folks can run! My best time was 1hr, 7min for a 10K (about 6 miles).
Gone for another six months!
Here's the After.
The silk brocade bag is done up, my two-tier tray is used for storing my cuffs and bangles. Gram's jewelry box can be pulled forward for easy access.
It was around this point that Vizzini appeared, to scope out the uncluttered closet. He is always trying to get behind the clothes or up on the bags.
We have "lost" him more than once when he's gotten in there (sneaky bugger) and fallen asleep behind my dresses. I keep the door shut at all times because of him in general, but it's always a surprise to see the black paw snaking out from under the door if he wakes up before we find him.
"This is MY closet!"
The Giveaway Pile
I always seem to find things that can go.
I either just wasn't feeling these, felt that my style had changed to the point I didn't want them anymore, or they didn't fit (a reality now that menopause has decided to randomly rearrange my body).
As we still can't get pick-ups for donations, and I can't have a clothing giveaway at home or at work, I just sorted them into their bags in the library.
"Would you please remove this junk from my cuddle benches, Woman?"
I can always change my mind down the road, and pull out regret-me-nots!
Found Things Interlude
I also did the Royal Victoria Marathon, and got a Completer's medal, which my mom gave to me when I crossed the finish line in the pouring rain.
It's hard to see, but I race-walked the 26 mile/42K race in 5hr52min15sec. I'm proud of that! I rolled up my medals, put them in a velvet bag, and tucked them into the shoe-box behind my purses.
I also had an instance of "Where the Heck is that Darned Cat?" I looked in all of his known hidey-holes, no sign of him.
"Oh, hello, it's you."
Looks like he accomplished his goal of sleeping on my clothes! Due to fall/winter clothes being bulkier than spring/summer, I have to store the overflow in cloth shoe-bags under the bed.
You little monster!
He is at least within reach here - we try to keep the underbed area set up so that he can't wedge himself in a corner.
A bit of a jumble. On the left are his football/hockey jerseys, a colourful array of work shirts for wearing under his suits (he's a daily suit-and-tie guy), then in the middle are his vests, dressy pants, and silk dressing gowns. On the right are his weekend/going out shirts. He's a colourful guy!
"This is a lovely bed you've made me."
L's Closet Swap-Over: Before
I collapsed on the couch when L got home from a brutally long 13-hour workday on Thursday, but we both had Friday off for the stat holiday. After a leisurely sleep in, L tackled his closet and I did my jewelry swap-over.
L is messier than me (no judgment, although sometimes it drives me nuts).
Like me, he pulled out all things he deemed weren't right for the spring/summer. I stay out of his way for this, as I'm a details person and he's a big-picture person - it's like oil and water. We find it hard to collaborate. I'm available for questions and advise...if asked.
Look at him buttoning and folding all his shirts so nicely! I do far less than this with my own clothes. His two tubs live under the bed with my other tubs/bags of stuff.
L's Closet: After
Look at that, all nice and tidy and hung up!
He even made a slight stab at folding his jeans and tees.
There are the tubs, tucked away and out of sight.
No kitty getting in there!
I dusted his dresser and rearranged his belt buckle collection.
And the dish of other assorted goodies. He also had a wooden jewelry box, but it's barely been touched in the last year.
Jewelry Swap-Over
As with my clothes and other accessories, I need to be able to see all of my jewelry. I also like it neatly organized with everything having a home, so I've evolved a few solutions over the years, including swapping my jewelry out seasonally.
This is the Before - I didn't even put my deodorant away or dust. #KeepingItReal.
All of my stored jewelry is in this bag and box.
These support my scarves (the box) and live under the tights in my lingerie chest.
What's in it, Precious?
This season, I pulled out the green necklace (Mom's from the 50s? "liberated" by me in the 80s), and the pin with the blue stone (c. 1986).
The disarray begins. I started by emptying out all my containers. The big jewelry box belonged to my Gram S - I keep mostly vintage in it.
The cloth bag contains my hard chokers and chunky necklaces that take up room, plus my bag o' pearls.
Loading in everything I've unpacked and things I wanted to keep out.
For small storage, I also have this three-section crystal candy dish (thrifted for $2) and a glass sorbet dish for my Big Earrings. The tin on the right contains all of my random pendants and bare chains for wearing them.
Here are all the drawers from the jewelry box. The big one on the left contains bracelets.
On the top row, I have brooches, bracelets and a jet bead necklace, then my ring drawer. On the bottom row, we have the earring quad, and some more Big Earrings and bracelets that shouldn't be jumbled.
Ooh, shiny things! Let's look.
This is a revamped Altoids tin that I store some of my vintage but seldom-worn things in.
Loading in everything I've unpacked and things I wanted to keep out.
Ready to accessorize!
I also have this giant Bombay Company jewelry box, with all the drawers pulled out. My spring/summer necklaces have been hung up on the sides. The outer doors don't close because I have Big Necklaces.
The box is ready to go away, and the bag is packed tight.
And everything is dusted and tidy, ready for another year.
The jewelry only takes about an hour to swap over, and is a bit of a reward for all the hard work of the previous day. My hamstrings were so stiff from all the bending, when I woke up!
Well, my friends, there you go - another Closet Swap-Over in the bag. I hope you enjoyed seeing all my stuff and hearing how I actually do it.
"Woman, this was all about me. Rub my tum!"
I hope you all have a relaxing and chill weekend, and if you're able to see family/friends, please do it safely!
Thank you so much for stopping by! I'll be back on Sunday/Monday with tales of adventure.
