Do you hear the faint whisper all around you?  The feeling of longing to be discovered.  Or maybe it’s the deep sighing of exhaustion.  It’s your wardrobe speaking to you.  Summer is ready for a good rest while winter is trying to stretch into the light.

Even if you are still experiencing warmer weather, you need to rotate your wardrobe from summer to winter to get you more in the mood for winter.  And, so you’ll be prepared for the unexpected Arctic blast.  You certainly don’t want to be caught early one morning frantically digging through clothing, throwing tops & bottoms out of the way of warmer wear only to realize…oops, those items don’t fit anymore.

So the sooner you tackle this bi-annual right of passage, the sooner your friends will add you to the chic list of people they long to emulate.

1. REMOVE.  Remove any items whose fabrications or colors are now out of season i.e. linen.  If you are in a hot climate & have fall colored linen, by all means keep them at the ready.

2. CLEAN. Clean what you have just removed if it has been worn even once.  Body oils are on any worn garment unseen until they have had a season to sit & yellow your favorite blouse.

3. STORE.  Store removed items at the back of your closet or in another closet if you should be so lucky to have the extra space.  The key is to remove them from the areas easiest to access.

4. REVIEW.  Review the remaining garments in your wardrobe for wear, stains, fit, style & color.  If a garment looks worn, you might see little balls of fabric know as pilling.  Garments that LOVE you are the ones that draw compliments because they fit well, are still in style & the color lights up your features.  No love, no garment!

5.ORGANIZE.   You knew this was coming…This is how you make the wardrobe you own create a boutique instead of just a closet.

a.If you can, use all matching hangers.  No wire please.  They damage your garments.

b.Sort by type i.e. all shirts together & all pants together.

c.Sort by color i.e. all red together & all orange together.

d.Face the front of each garment toward where you stand while thumbing through garments.

Depending on how extensive your wardrobe is, this process could take from an afternoon to a whole day.  I suggest getting a friend in on the Review.  Nothing like that honest friend to help you edit or keep something you were unsure about.  They will even find new ways to wear that unworn, splurge you love so much.  Let us know what you found in your closet you forgot you had at Styled & Organized Living Facebook page.