Tips on How to Clean Out Your Jewelry

how to clean out your jewelry box, how to organzie your jewelry, knoxville beauty blogger, knoxville fashion blogger

how to clean out your jewelry box, how to organzie your jewelry, knoxville beauty blogger, knoxville fashion blogger

how to clean out your jewelry box, how to organzie your jewelry, knoxville beauty blogger, knoxville fashion blogger

how to clean out your jewelry box, how to organzie your jewelry, knoxville beauty blogger, knoxville fashion blogger

When it looks like we’re going to get snowed in my reaction is always the following:

Dance around the house kissing everyone like I’m George Bailey and I’ve just been given a second chance at life; eat; dance some more; play in the snow; eat; clean something out.

Along with a couple closets and a cabinet, I cleaned out my jewelry last week. It’s been on my t0-do list since before Jackson was born and, oh gosh, I am so glad I did it.

Whenever I get rid of things I’ve stopped using, I like to think of it as my house loosing weight. After cleaning out my jewelry I weighed the bag – my closet lost 6 pounds. SIX POUNDS.

Here are some tips that will help you get your jewelry organized…

One: Out of sight, out of mind. When you can’t see what it is you own, then you’re not going to use it. Go through each category separately – bracelets, earrings, necklaces, rings – and put your eyeballs on everything you own. If it’s not something you would wear out the door right that second, get rid of it.

Two: Give anything that might have sentimental value a special place that’s harder to reach. You don’t want to keep the ring your Grandmother gave you in the top compartment if you never wear it out. Reserve the easy-reach spots for what you wear on the daily. (#hipwiththecoolkids)

Three: Learn your weakness and throw out duplicates. My weakness? Black jewelry. I am addicted to it, hard core. Recently, I’ve purchased two more black necklaces, so I got rid of ones that I’ve been holding onto for a while (actually, that’s a lie. I just realized I’m still holding onto one of them and it needs to go so I’ll be right back…)

Four: Categorize everything when you put it all back for easy grabbing. My necklaces are all hanging together according to metal and my bracelets are stacked by metal and occasion (gold everyday / silver everyday / gold fancy…etc.)

The benefits to cleaning out your jewelry? You can get ready faster because you see everything. You know exactly what it is you need more of (examining my pictures, I realized I need to find more silver necklaces), and you quit living around pieces you were never going to wear.

Plus it makes you feel good not to see the clutter anymore!

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Closet Cleanse Part Deux

Adding the French “Deux” really kicks this puppy up a notch doesn’t it? And we need it kicked up, because closet organization may not be everyone’s wheelhouse and/or fun house.

If you’ll remember a couple weeks ago I broke down how to get your closet clean. It doesn’t have to be this gigantic, insurmountable task that keeps getting put on the back burner. It’s definitely something you can easily accomplish and it doesn’t have to all be in one day. You can read that post, here.

Today I wanted to get into the nitty gritty organization aspect of it. Now I’m certain there are so many closet hacks on Pinterest where you can take some kitty litter and somehow turn it into a gorgeous hanging basket (it sounds like an exaggeration, but I’ve seen some craaaazy things on Pinterest).

All I used for my closet are stack-able pop up boxes from Ikea, and a hanging shelf unit from Ikea.

Let’s talk about that hanging shelf first…

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For the longest time I’ve had all of my pants hanging right in the center of my closet. The problem with this is I would often not be able to find what I was looking for and when I did the pants would have that terrible hanger crease right in the middle of the leg. I decided to solve all of those problems by storing my jeans/pants in this handy shelving unit.

Like I said, I got mine at Ikea but unless you have one in town their shipping cost is OUTRAGEOUS (which was also the name of a shampoo I used back in the 90’s that I wrote a great theme song for at the age of 10 – I still remember it too, so it was a pretty effective theme song if I do say so myself).

Home Depot has a similar one. It’s truly saved me time and creases. And now I’m more likely to put my pants away because I don’t have to hunt down a hanger for them. Win. Win. Win.

Now for my t-shirts. The biggest problem I was facing was entropy. Every so often I would re-fold and re-stack them all, but over time they would get out of order and end up being a big mess. I’m not saying that’s never going to happen again, but I did take some steps towards preventing it.

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First, I separated them into categories. I have t-shirts I’ll wear in public, one’s I’ll work out in, and others that are just for around the house (*wink …Actually that just means they make me look like a box). So now I don’t have to dig through the whole pile (making a mess) to find just one shirt. I’ve also incorporated these collapse-able cubes to keep the peace. I wish I would have bought 100 of them, and actually I can because Wal-Mart sells them as well. They do such a great job of separating the mess and keep all the stacks neat and orderly.

So there you have it. Two easy ways to get everything in your closet organized into a neat and orderly fashion and we didn’t have to do anything crazy with kitty litter.

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Closet Cleanse

This may not be everyone’s favorite subject, but it’s a good time to clean out your closet. Maybe I should have surrounded that sentence with pictures of puppies.

Listen, your closet needs to loose some weight. Because you want to go in and grab exactly what it is you want to wear not the sweater you’re hanging onto from high school, or the 50 cent top you’re refusing to let go of but haven’t worn yet.

Listen, you’ve got to make room for all of the smart purchases you’re going to make this year, so let’s get in there and clean it out! I just did this and OH MY does it feel good.

Here’s a before and after picture to motivate you..

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Now here’s how I did it…

Break your closet up into sections and schedule a time to clean it.

I kept putting off cleaning out my closet because I felt as if I needed hours and hours to tackle it. Then I kept thinking I would get to it on a Sunday afternoon, when I have hours and hours. Boy was I wrong about that. If I get the lunch plate off my lap on a Sunday afternoon I consider it an accomplishment.

So what I decided to do was to break my closet into sections: what’s hanging, what’s on top, and what’s on the floor. I blocked out time on a Saturday (when I’m feeling 1,000% more productive) and took one section at a time. This really helped me actually get it done, and it didn’t feel so daunting because I was only going one section at a time. Plus it helped me gain momentum, because once I saw how much I got rid of it made me excited to do everything else.

Take it all out. I mean all of it.

I’ve always heard that you have to take everything out of your closet, and I’ve always rolled my eyes at that. Until this time. It really does make a difference when you take out what it is you’re looking at. This will really help you to see the shirt/blouse/dress and make an informed decision as to whether or not you want to keep. It also really helps you to reorganize when you put it all back in.

I told you I divided the closet up by sections…well I took those sections and made sub-sections (whew this is getting complicated). When I decided to start with what was hanging, instead of pulling out everything that was hanging all at once, I started with my shirts. I went through all of them, pulled out what I didn’t want, then organized what I kept and hung it all back up. Then I’d move to dresses and do the same thing. This helps your bedroom not look like a land mine and again keeps, “OH MY GOSH I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO” feeling at bay. If you have to pause for whatever reason, you’re not left with an explosion of clothes.

Make snap judgments.

For the first time in your life, this is allowed. When you are going through each item it’s best to make quick decisions because that first instinct is what’s right. If you hold onto a shirt for too long staring at it thinking, “I don’t know, I think I’ll wear this again one day.” You won’t. And it will just sit in your closet until the next time I write a blog about cleaning it out.

I now have a clothes mound in my office the size of Justin Bieber’s ego, and it actually makes me very happy. I look at it and think of all the weight my closet has lost, and how much someone else is going to love those clothes! I’ll write follow up blogs about how to determine what to do with those clothes and how to further organize what you put back.

But for now, get in there and clean, clean, clean!!

 

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Need Some Closet Cleaning Motivation?

I’ve got all the motivation you need right here.

Because who needs to clean out their closet? This girl.
Who remembers that amazing feeling of walking into a clean/organized closet? This girl.
Who knows very well that a clean closet means you start your day happy and confident? This girl.
Who wanted to throw in a fourth question but didn’t have anything else to ask? This girl.

So I thought now would be a good time for some closet cleaning inspiration!

Don’t go into spring with a dirty closet, clean it up (that’s meant to be read with a British accent).

Enjoy this short video clip with some tips on how to do that…

One thing to keep in mind…
I have my closet separated out in categories (like I mention in the video) so it ends up that winter clothes are separate from summer ones (naturally). One thing I don’t do, is I don’t completely turn my back on my summer clothes when it’s cold out.

My summer shirts are still viable options because they can be worn under a jacket and paired with a scarf, giving me plenty of combinations to choose from. Keep that in mind when you’re going through things.

Also, now that spring is getting ready to put its tray table in the upright position it’s a good thing to keep those bright summer shirts handy.

The perfect way to transition from winter to spring is to pair those colors with heavier winter jackets/sweaters so that you’ve got the feel of warmth, but the look of cool.
Thanks for reading and watching!

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The Best Thing to do on a Snow Day

Happy Snow Day!!

Chances are you’re getting to see the beautiful white stuff all over your ground…even if you live in the southeast! So yay!!

I’m currently experiencing the most snow I’ve ever seen in my little life so there’s been lots of jumping around and giggling in my house (and not just from my husband ;)

Because the chance of you getting to be inside your house for the rest of the day are high, I though I’d post the four part closet clean out that I wrote last year on the blog. Read through each day (it will only take a minute or two) and put it to good use in your house today.

I can’t think of a better way to spend a snow day!! (Unless of course you want to come outside and play with me ;)

Here are links to days one through three, and below is day 4. Enjoy!

Day One
Day Two
Day Three

Day Four…
Now that you’ve streamlined what’s in your closet, let’s make sure that where it hangs is where it needs to be.

Some people like to organize by color, I like to organize by category. Jackets, long sleeves, short sleeves, skirts, pants-I like them all together so that I know where to go to get what I need. If it’s organized by color, I can’t do that.

And by organizing it this way, it’s a little more easy to keep up with in the coming weeks when entropy is sure to set in.

Also, take a look at what sits in the prime real estate of your closet. Is it something you need to access quickly and everyday? Cami’s are something I’m constantly grabbing for, so they hang at the front of my closet. Think about what you grab on a consistent basis and go from there.

Another thing to think about it starting a “maybe” section. Whenever you get something new, try your very best to rotate something out. This will keep your closet fresh. The easiest way to do that is by starting a maybe-section, where you’ll put all the clothes you just don’t know if you’re going to wear again.

In doing this, you’ll know exactly what to rotate out when you bring in something new.

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