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The older I get, the more I enjoy shopping at Lowe’s. Maybe it has something to do with moving into our new house, but lately I’ve been at Lowe’s more than other popular retailers. And that’s hard to beat. We are knee deep in getting our house organized, and this is the perfect time to share how I store away my off-season clothes! I recently had to pick up my favorite Ziploc® Space Bags® during a trip to Lowe’s, and today I’ll be sharing how I use them in my closet.
Over the years, I’ve discovered a decluttering/storage system that works so well for me. With life as hectic as it is, keeping my closet streamlined and uncluttered is paramount for getting ready in the morning. I absolutely love streamlining my routine. It’s a topic that comes up quite frequently here on my blog, but that’s only because I see the value of staying organized and culling out the things that aren’t important.
Step 1: Try On
This is the most important part of the entire decluttering process. Try on, try on, try on! If I know that I just absolutely hate a clothing item, there’s no need to try it on. But, if I’m on the fence (as I am about a lot of things when I’m decluttering), it’s important to try on all the items. Trying it on will either reconfirm that the item is no longer for me, or I will magically discover that it looks amazing on me and consequently wonder why I haven’t been wearing it.
You get the point. Your true feelings will come through once you try on the item, and you’ll know whether to keep it or toss it.
Step 2: Declutter
As I try on items and make decisions about whether to keep them, I make a pile of the clothes that I no longer want. All items that are staying in my closet get put back on the coat hangers and stacked in a pile. I don’t put them away just yet!
Step 3: Sort
After I’ve tried on all the items that need to be tried on, I like to sort through the stack of clothes I’m no longer keeping. I’ll have a toss pile, a donation pile, and a sell pile. I like to sell as much as I can, but sometimes items just miss the mark for selling. Since I sell to thredUP, I generally know which items they will keep and which items they won’t. Any items that I think they won’t buy from me get put in the donation pile. Any items that are just too worn out for the donation pile get tossed out.
Step 4: Organize
This next step is where I organize my keep pile. I take a look at all the items left on hangers and make a decision on whether they’re current season or off season. Since Eastern NC’s weather is so wishy-washy in the spring, I really can’t do this step until summer is officially here. Well, it’s been hot as blazes lately, so it is definitely time to pack away my cold weather items! I don’t base my decision solely on sleeve length, but also off color on fabric. For example, I have a gorgeous short-sleeved, burgundy top that I love. It’s definitely cool enough to wear during the warmer months, but I just won’t wear that color during the summer. It gets packed away with the rest of my cold-weather items.
Step 5: Store
This is possibly my favorite part of it all — packing everything away in my Ziploc® Space Bag®! I’ve been using the Ziploc® Space Bag® for years to store off-season items, and I absolutely love them. They have a wide range of products. You’ve probably heard of their Ziploc® Space Bag® that you can vacuum seal yourself. I also used their Flexible Tote in the Jumbo Size. You can find them at Lowe’s on the storage aisle.
In my flexible tote, I keep items that I might want to get out first thing when the weather starts getting cooler. So, that’s tops, light sweaters, and booties. I can easily store this at the top of my closet for easy access.
In my Ziploc® Space Bag®, I keep heavier items like vests, jackets, and coats. In fact, the Ziploc® Space Bag® has a new film technology that offers the toughest protection. My clothes will be safe from bugs, moths, dirt, mildew, and other odors that you usually find in storage areas. And the process is so easy and fun! Even my kids love to watch the items shrink in the bag.
Just be careful to select the right bag for what you’re storing. Since I had a lot of puffy vests and thick items, I opted for the Ziploc® Space Bag® 2 Cube Variety pack. Also, be aware of the fill line! Overfilling is one of the top reasons for product failure. I hate to admit, but I’ve been guilty of overfilling a Ziploc® Space Bag®. You do not want to do that! It can be so easy to stuff more and more items in there, since they hold 3X the storage.*
Gotta pack away that ugly Christmas sweater!
Now that I’ve shared my decluttering process, I’d love to know how you keep yourself organized!
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*compared to uncompressed storage volume.
Rebecca has been writing about style, beauty, and lifestyle topics since 2011. Thank you so much for reading this post! Feel free to leave any questions or comments below. I love hearing from you!
