I can't keep my clothes organized -- help!

[Anonymous]

What's your system for staying on top of laundry and keeping your clothes organized neatly in your closet or drawers?

I need an intervention. I'm 43 years old and haven't been able to figure it out. A big part of the problem is that I work 60 hours a week. I do ridiculous things like washing one outfit at a time because I just can't deal with laundry. Right now I have a pile of dirty laundry on the closet floor, a pile of clean laundry in the laundry room, I can't find anything to wear to work, and my husband just refers to it as "the situation." It's so bad. I need help.

[Anonymous]

Step 1-Shopping: Everything should be wash and wear. Knits, not blouses. Buy things in one color scheme so you can mix and match everything in your wardrobe.

Step 2 -Storage: Make sure you have ample drawers, shelves and hang up space for everything. Every item has a place to go.

Step 3 -Ummm. I guess the top two make this easier? Maybe a rule about who puts clean laundry away (I'm assuming it's getting folded right away, at least)?

Anyone else have ideas about how this woman can have full loads? We go through enough clothes that I always have a full load of cool darks, warm colors, towels, etc. to run.

[Anonymous]

You need a convenient dry cleaner. My work collared shirts (can't/wont do only knits) are laundered at the cleaners. Totally worth it.

You may actually have too many clothes.

Sort laundry as you take it off. You need a dirty clothes bin that segregates whites/darks/dry cleaning/sheets towels. When any one of them is full it gets laundered.

[Anonymous]

You need to pay omeone to help you with "the situation", I can help.

[Anonymous]

You probably have tons of clothes that you do not need. Cull the collection using tips PPs have given you. Once you cull the collection - take it to a dry cleaner and get everything drycleaned and laundered.

How to cull your clothes -

1) You need to only have clothes that flatter you. If you cannot be seen by your ex-boyfriend from college in those clothes - discard them. Yes, have that strict a criteria.

2) Simplify shoes. My sis has pants in the same color in different lengths because she has shoes with different heel heights. If you are like that then pick 1 or 2 heel heights for pants (1 high heel, 1 medium) and discard the rest. Similarly - choose neutral colors (nudes and some dark neutrals like kate middleton) of shoes that go with multiple dresses and pants.

3) Make sure that each top goes with a few pants and skirts and each bottom goes with multiple tops. If you do not know what to wear - make a database of what clothes go together.

4) Try and hang office and party clothes. Everyday lounging clothes and sweaters go in dressers. Divide your closet into two sides. On one side, hang clothes that you have worn to work, as soon as you get home. At the end of the week you can decide if you can re-wear some items or if then need to go to the drycleaners. Don't put clothes on the floor. Keep 2 laundry baskets dirty clothes - 1 for delicates/darks and 1 for whites .

[Anonymous]

For an ADD person I am actually remarkably organized at this. It helps having dogs who will sleep on the piles of clothes if you leave them on the floor. Our closets aren't big but I have those skinny fuzzy hangers that don't take up a lot of space.

Closet: reach-in, double-hung.

On bottom rung, left to right:
skirts, fanciest all the way at the wall, then work/casual more accessible, organized roughly by length and color;
any pants that need to be hung in the middle;
knits on the right.
On top rung, left to right: blouses and shirts, organized by sleeve length and then color;
dresses in the middle, also by sleeve length and color;
suits on the right.

Dresser: tall, five drawers.
Top drawer: underwear and bras
Next drawer: socks and tights
Under that: pajamas, plus a couple yucky things for gardening/painting
Second from bottom: tshirts, organized roughly by sleeve length and color
Bottom: pants that don't need to be hung. One pile of skinny jeans, one pile of non-jeans (cords, khakis) one pile of non-skinny jeans

Cedar chest full of sweaters: this was kind of a mess until I culled and organized a couple weeks ago. Now I have a stack of black and gray, a stack of green and blue, a stack of red and pink, etc.

I only have a single hamper (and the two kids each have one) but if I had more room in my room or a bigger bathroom, I would have a divided one.

The hamper is in a corner, so anything that needs to be dry cleaned can go behind the hamper without looking messy, getting slept on by dogs or ending up in the hamper and getting washed by mistake.

I do big loads of laundry on a constant basis and have four laundry baskets. I will admit by the time everything gets folded and put away, there is usually more than enough for another load to start again. Loads usually end up being whites, mediums (tan, light blue etc.), pinks/reds, and darks. Cleaning lady does sheets and towels.

Put a load in the washer in the morning before work, put same load in the dryer after work. After dinner and kids are in bed, fold in front of bad TV, feel less bad about watching the bad TV.

Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

These are great tips. My husband also says "thank you" to all of you. This will be my project for the weekend!

[Anonymous]

First and foremost, you need to take a whole day to get things squared away.

You need to get the clothes off the closet floor + sort them out, and wash them, dry them then put them away.

While they are in the washing machine, you need to put the clean clothes away.

I suggest you hang up your work clothes in the closet and put your undergarments in your drawers. Ditto for any clothes you wear around the house or active wear and sleepwear.

Look through your closet and toss out or donate anything you haven't worn in a few years.

Also, try setting aside one day a week dedicated to concentrate on your laundry. Make it a priority.

Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry, pp, I can totally relate but haven't found a solution yet. Do you have ADD?

[Anonymous]

I read the book French Women have Tidy Closets. It helped

[Anonymous]

(1) wash everything. Just set aside a day and do it, even if it takes 8 loads. Decide on a set day of the week that you will do laundry and stick to it.

(2) Try EVERYTHING on, preferably for someone honest who loves you and wants you to look your best (do you have a daughter?). Donate everything that gets an "eh" or a "no." Keep only the things that both of you agree look good and fit well. Seriously. Even if it means 3/4 of your wardrobe goes. Do this for shoes and accessories, too. It will make things easier.

(3) Donate anything you haven't worn in the last year, with the exception of ONE formal outfit that you may need for weddings, etc.

(4) Once you have slimmed down your wardrobe, figure out what needs to hang and what can go in drawers, then group things together (shirts, skirts, pants, pajamas, etc.).

(5) Hang like items together, and then organize by color. This will help you stay organized because everything has an exact place where it belongs - easier to put away laundry when you know where everything goes v. being intimidated by the crush.

Another tip - if you have time while you are trying things on, try to put together several outfits that you really like (inlcuding shoes and accessories). Take pictures or write them down so you have easy, go-to selections for days when getting dressed seems overwhleming.

[Anonymous]

I'm not OP, but this sounds like a fantastic weekend project.

[Anonymous]

At 60 hours a week - you need laundry help.

Do you have someone who helps clean the house? Can you ask them to stick around for another hour and help with laundry? At least you will have 2 loads washed / folded through that.

[have load washed and dried the day before ready to be folded and a 2nd load that goes on the morning they come]

[Anonymous]

I use the dry cleaner for a lot of stuff that doesn't "need" to be dry cleaned. Work pants, button-down shirts (mine and DH's), etc. Result: I don't pull out the ironing board more than 1-2 times per year.

Laundry is a weekend project for us - we save up all dirty clothes throughout the week. Friday evening or Saturday morning, they go into three piles: lights, darks, and heavy fabrics (jeans, sweatshirts). Saturday and Sunday, we take turns rotating the loads through the washer and dryer whenever we're in the house between errands, kids events, etc. By Sunday afternoon we have a pile of clean clothes.

Sunday evening, after the kids are in bed, DH and I open a bottle of wine, pull a movie or TV show from Hulu, and sit down with a giant load of clean laundry. We put our clothes away that night, and stack the kids clothes in laundry baskets outside their room - whoever wakes them up Monday morning puts them away while the kids are getting dressed (kids are still young, they'll take that job over when they get a little older).

[Anonymous]

OP, did you get anything done today?