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4. Make the bed or beds.
5. Put loose shoes back in their appropriate place.
6. For households with kids: Put toys in their toy bins.
7. Clean up counters and other surfaces where mail and extraneous papers seem to collect.
8. Notice what still needs cleaning, and add that to your to-do list for later!
Make a Chore Jar
Making a chore jar is fun for everyone in your household. It gives you a specific task to do, which eliminates the feeling of being overwhelmed by where to start. You pick it, you do it!
Make your own house rules on how many chores must be picked from the jar each day—but a reward system is also always a good idea. For your kids, try a small, set amount of money or some other concrete reward, like getting to do a preferred activity. For yourself, try a sweet treat or a facial. Everyone loves positive reinforcement!
Here’s how to do it:
Make a list of the rooms in your house and tasks associated with each room.
Create slips of paper labeled with one of the rooms in your house on one side and a chore associated with that room on the back.
Fold the paper slips with the chore on the inside and put them into a jar.
Have everyone in your household—including yourself—pick slips of paper from the jar and complete the tasks!
“You Gotta Know When to Fold ’Em”
You can take on the task of closet cleaning all at once if you have the time and are feeling inspired one day, or you can break this process down by working one section at a time, a little every day, until it is completed. You decide. There is no need to feel overwhelmed! Here’s a step-by-step list to guide you through the process:
Take everything out of your closet (or out of a section you can handle).
Wipe everything down, including the hangers, because they get dusty too. Baby wipes work pretty well!
Make five neat piles of clothes you will keep, give away/donate, throw away, dry-clean, alter, or wash.
Put all of the keep items back into your closet (see the following tips on closet organization), and then deal with the remaining piles accordingly.
Here are some questions to ask yourself as you are cleaning out your closet and deciding whether or not to keep pieces of clothing.
Do I have something similar? Which is better? (And which should I get rid of?)
Do I have anywhere to wear this?
Have I worn this in the last two years?
Does this still fit?
Is this still in style?
Does this have holes or tears that aren’t worth repairing?
Is this right for my body type? (More on this in
chapter 9.)
And remember: When in doubt, get it out!
Our Rules for Closet Organization
No wire hangers allowed! We all have them, but they don’t retain the shape of your clothes very well. The thin velvet-covered ones are the best, especially for fragile materials like silk—and for saving space in your closet!
All hangers and clothes should face the same direction for easy access.
Clothes should be grouped by color from dark to light (with the darkest colors at the bottom of a stack).
Tops should be hung in groups by sleeve length, from longest sleeves to shortest sleeves, so it’s quick and easy to take stock of what you have.
Fold sweaters, sweatshirts, sweatpants, jeans, leggings, T-shirts, and cotton tank tops.
Hang dresses, skirts, blouses, jackets, and zip-up hoodies.
Put jeans in stacks by color and style or brand, from darkest to lightest (with darkest on the bottom of the pile)—again, so it’s easy to take stock.
Separate undergarments (bras, underwear, fitted undergarments, panty hose and tights, socks) into drawers, baskets, or bins and group by color and style.
Clever Closet Storage Solutions
Hang flip-flops on skirt and pants hangers for easy access.
Store and display clutches in letter organizers.
Store bikini separates in bins in labeled zip-top bags. (You’ll never have to search for the matching bottoms again!)
Clip dollar-store plastic ring shower hooks on a hanger to store and display tank tops, scarves, or handbags, and use metal shower hooks to hang jeans (they stay wrinkle free, plus you can see what you have more easily!). Or simply put the metal hook right on the closet bar and hang your jeans by the belt loops.
Use old foam pool noodles or seltzer bottles to put into boots on
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