Organization

Tips on Loving Your Closet

Do you have the perfect vision of what your dream closet is? I know I do. Cue soft playing music and a warm bright spot. My dream closet is ultra feminine, with a full window for natural light, and a vanity for doing makeup. My dream closet is obviously larger than my childhood bedroom. There’s room in there for a soft armchair where I can drink my tea, a freestanding full length mirror for trying on clothing, and perhaps a vintage mannequin. My wedding dress is displayed, and the whole thing is light and airy. Have I even mentioned the perfectly organized rows of clothing and shoes? My collection is expansive, yet impeccably organized just like a magazine. Can you tell I’ve thought about this? Just a little bit.

Raise your hand if you have something pictured in your head similar to what I just described. Yes, I’m talking to you. I know most of us have unrealistic dreams like this and that’s okay!

Cue reality though (we’ll use my closet for an example): my closet is a 2×3  foot box with one awkwardly placed pole (not even tall enough to hang a knee length dress from) and two measly shelves on the top (one of which I can barely reach). Like the rest of our house, it’s the color of a camel’s behind, and a carpet that hasn’t been touched since the 1960’s. Living the rental dream. 

Here’s the deal. It would be so easy for me to be discouraged by the size of my closet, or frustrated that I don’t have things as nice as others. Today I want to share with you some tips I’ve found on how to love the closet you have (that don’t include getting a new closet).

This year, my mission has been to organize everything and purge the excess. The closet was the first place to start! I started off the new year by reading The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I am not kidding when I say thing book will change your life! It’s a pretty short book, but I had read the whole thing in a day. I finished feeling energized and ready to tackle my house! There are specific sections of the book designated specifically for clothing, and so I took some of the tips listed there and reorganized my closet. I can now tell you that when I walk over to my little closet, I feel refreshed and calm! And I don’t even have an armchair where I can drink my tea. Can you imagine?

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Step One: 

Get rid of everything. I’m not joking. I took every. single. piece. of clothing out of my closet and laid them on my bed. From there I looked at each item one by one and asked myself when the last time I had worn the item was. I had to be harsh with my answers about what to keep and what to get rid of. The things I love but wear infrequently because I’m too lazy to iron – those things went to the donate pile. The things I’ve been meaning to mend but secretly know I won’t get around to – donate. The things that are near duplicates of other items – donate. Because of the awkward height of the bar in this closet, my dresses are hung in Ethan’s closet. So all I have here are my tops (both blouses and sweaters). I wanted to keep only the things I have in my closet are the things I will actually wear on any given day.

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Step Two:

Organize by color. One of the things that makes my teeny-tiny-barely-even-there closet bearable now is that the order of things is aesthetically pleasing. I kept my shirts and sweaters separate, each category moving from the darkest on the left to the lightest on the right. There is a whole psychology behind this method that I don’t really understand, but I will say that it does make things look intentionally placed. Each piece has a perfect spot, and the color scheming actually helps me plan my outfits with ease. All my black tops are in the same place, and I know exactly where the hanger is when I’m putting something away.

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Step Three:

It’s all about the hangers. This step is definitely not necessary, but I would recommend it. Until this point, I still had the multi-colored plastic hangers I acquired in bulk in college. They were cheap, and I was broke. I’ve wanted to buy coordinating black velvet hangers for a long time, but could never justify the expense. The only reason I bought these is because I had extra Christmas money. Ethan was not really thrilled with the thought of me spending my Christmas money on hangers, but I assured him it’s what I really wanted. He’s the one who married this organizational freak, so he can’t really complain too much. Anyway, I bought two of these packs, and used Bed Bath and Beyond’s 20% off coupon. I will eventually need to get another pack or two to finish Ethan’s closet and the coat closet, but my wallet says it’ll have to wait.

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Step Four: 

Tidy up all the non-hanging items. On the top shelf, I have a few pairs of shoes, a handbag filled with other handbags, pants stacked standing straight up, and a basket with scarves and important jewelry boxes. I also have a small hanging shelf unit with a few folded skirts hanging from the rod. Notice how I have extra room on these shelves? Before I purged and organized, I could barely cram anything else in this closet, and finding what I needed was never simple. Now everything has a location, everything has a purpose, and it all looks generally appealing.

I feel like I should mention a few disclaimers. The floor if this closet hosts the majority of my shoes, which aren’t perfectly organized yet. Additionally, this is not the entirety of my wardrobe. My dresses are stored in Ethan’s closet, and coats and special occasion outfits are stored in the coat closet. I also have casual wear that is stored in Ethan and my shared dresser.

My overall point is this: this is no way near the dream closet I described at the beginning of this post. However, it makes me feel refreshed and at ease when I open the door. I will likely never have this fantasy closet, but I’m willing to love the closet that I have now. I know that later in life, I’ll move up in closet. Right now though, I’m learning to love the closet I have. Right now, this is my dream closet. Purged, organized, and accessible. Do you have your dream closet or do you have something you have to learn to love like me? How do you organize? I’d love to hear all about it! That’s all for today, friends. Have a fabulous day!

January 12, 2016 by
Personal

Reflecting on 2015

Can you believe 2015 is at its end? I know everyone says that every year, but I do think its important to reflect on the year and thank God for His blessings and grow from the trials. 2015 has been, for me, a year of learning new routines. This year I started this blog, and through that I really believe God has placed new dreams in my heart. We’ve made our house a home this year, and I’ve worked to be intentional about what our home looks like and feels like. We’ve been able to travel to new places together this year, and try new things (like my first time being a vendor at a craft market!). This year has been our first full calendar year of marriage, and in this year we’ve continued to chip away toward our goal of becoming debt free. We aren’t finished, but we’re moving. We’re getting there. Paying off debt is a life of sacrifice, saying no to things, and saying yes to contentment. Did I mention it’s also really hard?  We’re doing it though, and we’re proud of our progress.

Lest you think this year has been perfect, I can assure you it hasn’t been. We’ve faced disappointments, mulled over really tough decisions, emotionally prepared ourselves for a big move only to have it fall through at the last moment. I’ve felt frustrated with the slow rate we’ve been able to pay off debt, I’ve struggled to find contentment in our home, and I’ve felt unfulfilled creatively. I’m so thankful to have had Ethan by my side every step of this year. We’ve walked together, cried together, prayed together, and hoped together. This year has had highs and lows, and I know next year will be no different in having imperfections. However, I’m looking forward to a fresh start and the things that 2016 will bring.

This year, I want to work on all of these things. I want to paint more, make more, and fall in love with the place we call home. I want to blog more, pay off more debt, be more intentional with my time and my goals for the future.

When it comes to our house, I have big plans. I want to get rid of the excess, and purge all the unnecessary items. My husband might not be prepared for it yet, but I’m deeming this year the year of the garbage bag. By that, I mean, I’m bagging up as much as I can and getting it out! I want to spend time organizing, clearing out, and enjoying space. Because (as embarrassed as I am to tell you this), we actually have a room in our house called “the back room.” It’s an unused bedroom off the master that houses my closet, a plethora of guitars, amps, laundry hampers, an ironing board, and senseless piles of workout clothes and gym bags. I think most people probably have some sort of space like this in their home, but I’m telling you, ours is bad. We haven’t touched it since we got married, and this year I want to abolish the mess.

I’ve been meaning to read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and I’ll be doing that soon and getting a move on things. I am looking forward to the calmness and freedom that cutting back will bring. I’m not about to get crazy and move into a tiny house or anything, but I am looking forward to being serious about a change in our lifestyle. Those are my thoughts on the New Year. What are yours? I’d love to hear about what your plans are for 2016! That’s all for today, friends! Have a fabulous day!

December 29, 2015 by
DIY Projects, Holidays

The Importance of Wrapping

When I was a kid, Christmas Eve was a big deal. Our family tradition was that everyone would sleep in the living room on Christmas Eve night, so that on Christmas morning, we would wake up right next to the tree. I remember how much I loved this tradition. I remember the year I pretended to still be sleeping as my parents rolled our new bikes into the living room from the garage. I also remember sitting in my nightgown on my sleeping bag opening my first “grown-up” tape recorder (and by grown up, I mean that it was a normal tape recorder, and not a Fisher-Price one). I spent hours in my room with that tape recorder making my own “radio show,” where I would be the DJ, playing my favorite songs, talking about my favorite things, and interviewing very interesting people (my brother and sister). I wonder if I still have those tapes somewhere.

We all have childhood memories associated with “the best gift we ever received.” Now please don’t hear me say that giving and receiving gifts is the most important thing about the holiday, because we all know it’s not. However, as we do give and receive gifts, we form emotional memories of years past. The feeling you have as a child of tearing open the package is a beautiful feeling. To me, giving gifts is a way of showing you love and appreciate someone.

So why in the world would we not do our best to make our gifts as presentable and beautiful as we can? Again, I am not implying that gifts must be perfect, or that pretty wrapping makes a gift any more meaningful. For me, it is simply another creative outlet. So here are a few of my tips for pretty (and inexpensive) gift wrapping.

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This paper came from Hobby Lobby last year or the year before, and everything else I had on hand.

Gift wrapping has three important factors: the paper, the ribbon, and some type of embellishment.

Let’s talk paper. I never pay full price for wrapping paper. I re-use the same paper from previous years most of the time. I also pick up a roll or two the day after Christmas when everything is marked down 50-70% off normal retail prices. If you’re without holiday paper, have no fear! One of my favorite things to use is plain brown craft paper because it works for all occasions. Baby shower? Check. Christmas? Check. Birthday? Check. Wedding gift? Check. You get the point. You can also use black and white newspaper (I have seen some GORGEOUS wrapping using newspaper), wrap your gift in a scarf (both pretty and reusable!), or in a real pinch, use any themed paper on its opposite side so that it simply shows white.

Next up is ribbon. The options are unlimited! I do occasionally use normal cloth ribbon, but my favorite things to wrap a gift in is regular twine, or colored baker’s twine. My suggestion is to look around your house and see what you can find. Thinly sliced strips of a coordinating wrapping paper can work as ribbon as well. A thin scarf can work here as well. Don’t go out and buy something new every time you have a gift to purchase. Look around your house and I’m sure you can come up with some thing to wrap your gift in. There’s a reason Julie Andrews mentions “brown paper packages tied up with string” as one of her favorite things…the string is an important detail!

Lastly, let’s talk about embellishments. I think a gift looks perfectly topped off with anywhere from one to three finishings. The amount, of course, depends on what it is that you’re using. I like to use a lot of natural things, such as small pinecones, sticks, dried citrus slices (see my tutorial for that here), cinnamon sticks, leaves, pine clippings, wood slices. The possibilities are endless. I also often add a name tag of some kind, just so that I don’t forget who the gift is for after I finish wrapping it. For kids, you can add a tiny toy as embellishment, or a pretty piece of candy. This is the step that brings it all together, so it’s an important thing to add. The good news is that you can add just about anything you want here, so you can certainly find something you have at home or go out into your yard and find something just as easily.

How do you wrap your gifts? What’s your go-to accessory for finishing your wrapping? I’d love to hear about it! Be sure to follow me on Instagram @rumfieldhomestead for the latest updates on what I’m doing! That’s all for today, friends! Have a fabulous day!

December 21, 2015 by