We know that clothes is the obvious choice here, but lets be serious… nine times out of ten women DO hoard clothes!  Hanging on to clothing that you no longer wear makes it hard to see what you do wear.  Over time your style is naturally going to evolve, so ask yourself, “what is my style?”  Some items in your closet are not going to fit into that category so get them out!  One fantastic idea is to host a clothing swap with your friends.  Break open the bubbly and see if you can find new treasures.  Inevitably there will be many items at the end of the party that are unclaimed and they can be brought to Goodwill.

#2 Women Hoard Cosmetics

Your purple eye shadow is from 1980 and if it is not... well then get rid of it anyways.  Women tend to purchase makeup and then hang onto it FOREVER.  InStyle did a fabulous article regarding this matter that every woman should read.  Even the NEAT team had to say goodbye to a few things after learning about the expiration dates of different cosmetics (See!  We're not perfect!)  Keep in mind as you look through your old cosmetics, most men prefer women with a fresh, natural face.

#3 Women hoard cards 

Women tend to be more sentimental than most men.  We cry during commercials and are easily offended when our significant other does not like something that we own.  With this sentimental feeling comes the endless pile of greeting cards.  Card offenders, you know what we are talking about.  Every holiday season the cards come in and by February, you have them still stacked in a pile, hiding behind something else.  Every birthday you display your cards on a mantle or shelf but then weeks later you quickly put them in a drawer because you do not want to throw them away.  We completely understand the attachment but you must learn how to wrangle your emotional side.  We suggest finding a desk tray that you love and using that as a “catch all” for your cards.  To add a cute touch, tie the cards up with twine to give it an organized look.  Once the tray is full, take some time to look through the cards and decide which ones you can part with.

Alright ladies and gents, it is time to ORGANIZE.  Acknowledging typical problem areas is a great way to freshen up your space AND avoid an unnecessary argument.  Let us know how you do!

Photo 1 found here  Photo 2 found here Photo 3 found here

The glass doors allow for easy viewing of all your shoes, from your everyday sandals to glass slippers (wink)!

Mirror, mirror on the wall!  The use of mirrors gives the illusion of a larger space and lets you make sure you are prim and proper.

Hooks or valet rods allow you to display your outfits for the many wardrobe changes.

This??

Besides the absolute obvious, which is that the clothes from Barney’s New York are going to cost you significantly more than Forever 21, as organizers we see this scene completely different.

Lets be honest, Forever 21 is great to find that trendy piece that you have been dying to try, but as total type A’s, we can barely walk in the store without having a nervous breakdown.  That led us to wonder, why does a store like Barney’s always look so much better than a store like Forever 21?  There are probably many valid reasons that could be concluded, but, as organizers we like to think that we have the best answer.

Barney’s has made the choice to set a precedent in their store: sleek, stylish and ORGANIZED.  When you walk into Barney’s, you pick up a shirt that is folded and then do your very best to fold it EXACTLY the way you found it.  This happens without fail whether you are typically an organized person or not.  This is because you do not want to ruin how beautiful the store looks.

But what about Forever 21?  Have you honestly ever seen someone pick something up there and fold it nicely??  No.  You haven’t.  People pick things up, carry it with them, decide they don’t want it, and discard it at the nearest table, rack, or (our worst nightmare) the floor!

As organizers, we see every type of closet there is: walk-ins, reach-ins, shared, etc.  Before we begin, many of our clients have closets that look like….how shall we put this… like Forever 21.  One of the biggest concerns that we hear time and time again is, “So now you are going to make it look nice but let’s be serious, I will never be able to keep it this way.”  Well, here is your answer:

Being organized will turn you from Forever 21 to Barney’s! You will love to shop your own closet so much that when you take something out you will actually want to fold it and put it back where it belongs and not on the floor.  Why?  Because you wouldn’t dare throw a Barney’s garment on the floor would you?? Take a look at your closet right now – are you more Forever 21 or Barney’s?  If you are NEAT you will have a shopable closet that makes you want to stay organized.  If you are more of a Forever 21, save yourself the money of buying new clothes because you can’t find the ones you own and get NEAT!