Our first link up of 2024 is here and I am super excited to join Shay at Mix and Match Mama as well as Erika at A Little Bit of Everything Blog for their January edition of “Let’s Look”.

If you are new here, each month I link up with Shay and Erika for a little bit of old school blogging (anyone else around for those days?) and share with you their prompt for the month. It is a fun way to connect with others in the blogging world and for me to give you a glimpse into my life in a fun way that maybe I would not have thought to share!

This month’s prompt is “how we clean our closets” which is perfect timing because one, I just cleaned out my closet and two, I know many of you are in the process of starting to clean out yours or you want to.

Today right now as we write this, my closet looks like the pictures below. Literally I just walked in there and snapped this picture…no filter, no edits, no pick ups! Honestly, I just really thrive with a clean closet and while there are those times when it gets messy truthfully, they are few and far between. Now, my car is a different story…can’t remember the last time I cleaned it (but I do get the junk out each week LOL) so before you think I have it all together, I don’t, I just prefer and function better in a clean closet. I also own a boutique so cleaning up and organizing a closet space is my jam!

If you are new here, we are currently in a rental while we decide where in the area we want to build/buy a house. When we sold our house in Jersey and moved to Florida the market was horrible so we jumped into a rental and haven’t been able to find what we are looking for in the area we want to be that isn’t $1 million (literally, no exaggeration ya’ll…its crazy here) so we are taking our time and making due with where we are. The house is much smaller than what we actually need and storage is an issue but we are making the best of it.

All that to say, this isn’t fancy but it is working and living in a smaller space (we went from 4,000 sq ft in Jersey to 1800 sq ft in this rental) has helped me to be intentional with my purchases and to purge/clean out often!

Okay without further rambling, here are my top five tips to cleaning my closet:

1. Set times throughout the year to do a big clean out. For me this means winter break (the few days after Christmas/before New Years) and the first week of summer break for my kids. We clean out every inch of the house actually. We try things on, if they don’t fit they are donated. If they are stained, ruined they go in the garbage. If we haven’t worn them in a long time or don’t like them any more, donate. Things go back in their correct bins if needed. Things get hung up and overall just reorganized and inspected in all of our closets. Because we do it twice a year like clockwork it doesn’t take long. We blast music and just get it done and it is always worth it.

2. Keep a bag in your closet for donations. You know when you are trying something on and it doesn’t fit? Or you don’t like it anymore? Well, instead of putting it back or, throwing it on the floor we keep a bag in your closets (save those nice sturdy bags from department stores) and we put it in there. When the bag is filled it gets donated. This makes tip #1 even easier because you are doing it throughout the year but also, saves you the headache of grabbing that too small shirt again.

3. Organize by categories/style. Now, this works different for everyone because our brains work different. For me, I organize by sleeve length but for some, it’s by color. Whatever your system is use it and use it every time you do laundry or buy things. The name of the game for me is to maintain my systems so when I am looking for they one red shirt, I know it is short sleeve and where exactly to look in my closet for it. It keeps me from rummaging and saves me time.

4. Keep all your hangers in the same direction. It just looks nicer, simple as that! I can’t wait to move and redo our closet with custom organization which will include matching hangers but for now, as long as they all face the same direction I am happy. Not only does it look nicer and cleaner, it is just easier to handle things when they are all uniform.

5. Use bins when you can. Anytime I have small items, I use a bin. My clutches they are all in one bin. My swimsuits, they are in another bin. My hats, another bin. You get the picture. Contain the smaller items by category because see #3, it is easier and saves time. Plus, when things are contained they don’t get lost or broken which saves you money too!

What am I missing? How do you organize, clean out and maintain your closet? I would love all your tips and tricks below!