Peggy has lived in the same house for 30 years. (How many people can say that nowadays?) Considering where we might start, she’d been thinking about the kitchen. No, instead she wanted help with the hallway’s closet clutter. Okay!
I recommended using my tried-and-true professional organizer’s method of working top-to-bottom. We would start in the middle. First, we pulled down pretty hat boxes and set them aside. To their left were three clear plastic bins, with silk flowers and assorted craft supplies. We consolidated some craft items. Other than that, they were okay. To the right, the labeled photo boxes looked good.
Next, on top of the very nice, sturdy dresser that Peggy bought years ago for $25.00 (yay!), some clothes were piled. She would keep some pieces, and kindly donate others to a local women’s chorus’s upcoming annual tag sale. There was a box with several pretty ceramic plates, decorated with inspirational sayings, that perhaps she would give separately as gifts, with cookies. A nice new idea!
Why the book jammed between the horizontal bar and the wooden shelf above it? It was supporting the shelf! She promised to devise something that might be a bit more attractive.
Hanging to the left were a number of garments, including hoodies, jackets, some formal wear. Encouraged, she made fast decisions to keep some and to donate others. To the right, several scarves hung from the horizontal bar. She found a scarf hanger (in a nifty flower design). We put them through its holes. Much better storage!
We placed a couple of hat boxes and a star-shaped box on the shelf for visual interest.
We had a bit of time left. How about sifting through some bottles? She wanted to save some, for making kahlua as gifts. A few others might be useful, too. We set others aside for recycling. A vintage Coke bottle? In the front for visual interest. Also visible – a basket with ceramic pieces her now-adult children made when younger.
About De-clutter Me!
De-clutter Me! offers non-judgmental, competitively-priced, and confidential assistance to help clear clutter in your home and/or business. We’ve been changing chaos to calm since 2013.