At last, cooler weather is here to stay.  Well, at least for the next week.  And since it is officially November, it is officially time to flip your wardrobe out of summer mode into winter mode.  What does that mean exactly for those of us living in the south where warmer days are still possible even up to Christmas?  It means putting away all linen & other extremely obvious summer clothes & pulling out your wooly sweaters.

Why is it necessary or important to do this bi-annual ritual you ask?  It gives you an opportunity to evaluate, tidy & edit your wardrobe.  Okay, it makes you evaluate, tidy & edit your wardrobe.  Look, you spend a lot of money on your wardrobe & it is the first thing people notice about you, well after your killer smile. Let’s give it the attention & respect it deserves.  You might just rediscover a long lost treasure or create a new one.  If you follow my steps, I promise you will thank me & yourself.

NOTE:  f you have already been climbing, searching & grabbing those winter items from your top shelves, you wardrobe might be a huge mess.  You can still bring it back to boutique glory by following these steps.

1.  Remove    Get rid of everything on your floor.  Move it to a box, bins, your bedroom, etc. If you can’t stand in your closet without climbing a mountain of clothes, shoes & handbags, it’s too dangerous.  This is supposed to be an easy task not a life threatening one.  You can also remove any hanger hung on another hanger, items thrown on a shelf, hanging off a shelf or just randomly placed.  You want to clear the space so you can see what is properly hanging & properly folded.

2.  Sort     Pick a wardrobe group like belts or swimsuits or handbags where you have a small number of items in that group.  Pull them out to your bed.  Edit out items that no longer love you, are worn, are damaged or you just don’t like.  When finished, pick another small wardrobe group & repeat.  Keep doing this until you have worked all the way through all of your wardrobe groups.  Starting small will build confidence as you complete each wardrobe group.

3.  Repair/Clean     As you are sorting wardrobe groups, look for scuffed shoes, loose buttons, spots on clothes, dirty purse interiors or purses with forgotten trash/receipts/favorite lipstick left inside.  Pull these items to have them cleaned either at dry cleaners, shoe/handbag repair or by you.

4.  Organize     This is when you put wardrobe items back into your closet.  Before you do, take a look at the space you have to store your wardrobe.  Have you been using the space efficiently?  Try hanging your pants on your top rod & your tops on the bottom rod.  It will really open up the space because you won’t have shirt sleeves at eye level.  That means you will have more light on the shoulder of your tops & more light on your pants making it easier to see colors and see pants.

5.  Tools   Could there be an organizing tool out there that would make your life easier?  Typically, yes!  If you have a lot of extra hanging space, you could use S hooks to hang large handbags.  If you have a lot of extra shelving, you could use shelf dividers to keep handbags upright even when you pull one out to carry.  If you have tall boots that flop over, you could use boot shapers to keep them upright.

I’m here to help you by disclosing my knowledge of how to organize & be prepared for any situation.  I will show you tips & tricks through posts on the Styled & Organized Living Facebook page, @StyledOrganized on Twitter & the Styled & Organized Living Pinterest page.  Some posts will be simple tools while others will be ideas to consider.   But all will show you how to gain a little more control over your life through organization because Life is Better Organized!