Day Five Challenge - Organize Your Master Closet

Well my youngest daughter is finally recovered from the croup, and I have no other reason to procrastinate.  (Now you know why I need this blog...accountability.) 

Our assignment for this weekend is organize your master closet.  My husband and I share our closet, so I am going to streamline both of our clothes.

If you are just joining us, we are taking the challenge from 30 Days to a Simpler Life by Cox and Evatt and also gleaning some hints from Organize Now!: A Week-by-Week Guide to Simplify Your Space and Your Life . 

You can check out all the previous days' posts::
Day One Challenge - Fill A Shopping Bag -  Here
Day Two Challenge - Clean Out a Junk Drawer or Closet -  Here
Day Three Challenge - Form a Buying Checklist -  Here
Day Four Challenge - Create a Serene Bedroom -  Here 
The Challenges are not contingent upon one another so just jump in wherever you would like.

Now we are ready for the Day Five challenge and here is your step-by-step guide from 30 Days to a Simpler Life on organizing the clothes in your closet:

1)  Sort your clothes into 3 piles - Recycle Pile, the Ambivalent Pile (read more about this here), and the Love and Wear Pile

2)  Put the Recycle Pile into your car to be taken to the local consignment shop to be resold or to be taken to the local charity of your choice, i.e. Salvation Army

3)  Place the clothes from the Ambivalent Pile onto wire hangers.  Hang them in the back of your closet or in another closet.  Practice living without these clothes.

4)  Buy enough wonderful hangers to hold the garments in the Love and Wear Pile.   Buy them today, if possible and hang up you the clothes you are going to love and keep. 



Jennifer Ford Berry, in Organize Now!  has another method for sorting your clothes and gives some practical tips for making decisions -

Go through the clothes and pull out everything you can see that:

1)  You have not worn in more than one year
2)  You do not feel good in
3)  Is out of style
4)  You just don't like
5)  Doesn't fit
6)  Is worn out, ripped or stained

She continues:

Remove all of your out-of-season clothes and place them in an extra closet or in a plastic container stored under the bed.

Now empty the closet and lay all the clothes on the bed or floor.  Throw away all broken or bent hangers.  Once the closet is empty, evaluate the space.  Do you need to hang any extra rods, add a belt-and-tie rack or put in new shelves?  Make any modifications you need to improve your closet's storage functions.


While organizing your closet, here are some more tips from Cox & Evatt:


1) Expand your closet's holding capacity - instantly!
Hang a space doubling rod. Add a second shelf above the main shelf.


2) Don't scrimp on hangers. Simplicity means having one style of hanger. Not a hodgepodge.
Create a special location for empty hangers at one end of your closet


3) Arrange your clothing inventively.
Arrange clothes by color - warms with warm, cools with cools, neutrals with neutrals.
Arranges clothes by type - pants with pants, shirts with shirts and so on.
Arrange by function.


4) Get your shoes off the floor
Reach up, not down, to get a pair of shoes. If you have a standard closet, place your shoes on a shelf
above the rod, and then build another shelf above them. You can store shoes in their box, which
keeps them from getting dusting. Label the boxes with the description of the shoes.


5) Confront your sock life. Ponder each pair, then edit, edit, edit.


6) Install towel bars on the back of your closet door.
Two towel bars fit nicely on the back of a closet door. Towel bars are great for hanging flat things,
like tights, pants, and scarves. You can also use them for hanging clothes when you are packing for
for a trip or planning an outfit for the next day.


7) Hang a drawstring bag for dry cleaning.
Grab the bag and go to the cleaners without having to search for clothing. To simplify, visit the dry
cleaners the same day each week. Return the wire hangers and ask the clerk to omit the long
plastic bags.


8) Create an Ambivalence Center
Put your ambivalent clothing - clothing you can't get rid of but don't really like - away from clothing
you frequently wear. Put those items in the back of your closet, in another closet, in under-the-bed-
box, or in lidded boxes. After a few months....(make a decision about these items and give them away
or put back in your closet to wear.)


Whether you take Cox and Evans approach or Berry's approach, at this point you should have pared down you clothes and have an empty closet or a streamlined closet.  This is the time to sweep and swiffel (or vacuum).  If you're really industrious you can even put a fresh coat of paint on the walls.

This is our closet.  It's not in terrible shape.  The organizing systems are in place.  I have just let the clothes get a bit out of hand.

  We have a very small master bath, so I store extra toiletries and medicines in our master closet.  One of my tasks, today, while organizing our closet is trying to figure out how to better organize all these items.

I will be posting photos of my finished project at the end of the weekend!

Quote of the Week

"We all consume significant quantities of time in the buying and then maintaining of things.  A life of voluntary simplicity and contentment, on the other hand, is opposed to the unnecessary proliferation of material possessions...At the beginning of every day we are given assignments that have eternal significance - to serve, to love, to obey, to pray.  Instead, we squander much of this time on things that very soon will leave us forever." 

Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives -
by Richard Swenson, pg. 156

Vision Forum Coupon Code

If you are interested in placing an order with Vision Forum now is the time to do it. 

They have a $25 off coupon when you spend $75.  Just type in SAVE25 (expires 2/28) at checkout to get your $25 savings

Vision Forum is one of my favorite family friendly catalogs for homeschool resources, quality books, excellent frugal living reading material and great children's imaginative play items. 

Every birthday and Christmas our girls get at least a few items from the Vision Forum catalog.

Our girls have part of the Beautiful Girlhood collection including several of the high quality dolls.  They are an investment, but one that will last for years:

I have my eyes on a few of their newer books:

Check out their website - Vision Forum.

Gap Deal - Wednesday, March 2nd ONLY

If you are in need of a pair of pants, go to your local Gap store next Wednesday, March 2nd and ask at the cash register for a 40% off coupon. 

Each Wednesday through the month of March, Gap is offering a 40% off coupon for any purchase in the store.  The sales associates have the coupons at the register.

You can pair up that deal with their current sale, buy a pair of pants and get a free shirt.  The free shirt sale is over on March 2nd.

Some of the sales associates will tell you that you can't use both deals together - the coupon and the shirt - but others will say it's "okay."  We went to our local Gap store last night and purchased a pair of jeans for Torie, our college-age daughter, and she found a shirt she loved.  The associates told us both codes would work, and they both went through the register just fine.  The free shirt offer is for a shirt up to the value of a regular priced pair of pants.

This is a pretty sweet deal if you have your eye on something special at Gap.  And the 40% off coupon can be used on sales and clearance items as well.

(The free shirt promotion is only available at adult Gap stores.  Sadly they are not offering the deal at Kid's Gap.)

Simplify Your Wardrobe

Thanks for bearing with my "silence" for the last few days as I spent time with a sick child.  Today I'm reposting a simplifying post from my personal blog. As we prepare to organize our closets, give this idea some thought.

One of my long-standing simplifying ideas is "Simplify My Wardrobe". Now I'm warning you...this one is going to be really, REALLY boring to some of you. But it works and if you ever try it you will be hooked!


Limit your base colors to 2 or 3...Let me explain:

I only buy black or denim pants/capris/skirts (and I splurged a few years ago and bought the white capris pictured above). What this translates to is I only need a few pair of shoes - they only need to match black and denim. When I shop for shirts, I can totally dismiss whole racks of shirts because I only need to match black or denim. My earrings and necklaces need to match - black and denim....you get the picture.

I can't tell you how much time, energy and money this saves me!
For those of you old enough...remember "Color Me Beautiful." Phil (my husband) spent hard-earned money to have "my colors done" not long after we were married.

Every time I went shopping I faithfully carried around my wallet of "allowed colors". It seemed like 100 colors...probably really about 36. I faithfully held them up to each rack of clothes.
Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with picking colors that look best against your skin tone, but I can't tell you how I agonized over this. And I'm ashamed to say how many times I went over our meager budget. At the time we were living in a single-wide mobile home, so I could stay-home full time with our 1st daughter and live on Phil's teaching salary at a private Christian school.

Finally I had an "aha" moment and realized I could put colors near my face that looked good next to my skin and the base color really didn't matter. Voila...black and denim.

Now I don't need to own a plethora of pants and capris. They are black and denim. And who really knows if I am wearing the same pair day in and day out. I own a few classic pairs. I wear them until they wear out and then I replace them. EASY!!

The same goes for Phil. He wears khaki pants to work - denim at home and on the farm. His suits are navy and khaki. The end.

It's simple and sweet.

Okay...maybe a little boring for some but it works for our family and simplifies our closets, our budget, our time and our wardrobe!

Quote of the Week

"If we don't own it,
we don't have to take care of it,
and we have more time to do what we want." 
Tapestry

Harris Teeter Super Double Coupon Week

This week is Harris Teeter's Super Double Coupon week.  The store will double any manufacturer's coupon with a face value up to $1.98.  That means a $1.50 coupon is valued at $3.00.

Two of my favorite websites that list the coupon match-ups are:

The Coupon Teacher here

and

Mrs. Moneysaver here.

If you are new to cutting coupons, you will want to check out Money Saving Mom's (my absolute favorite coupon and money saving website) post on getting started with coupons.  This is the blog that got me started, four years ago, on getting serious about using coupons.

You also need to know a few basic rules about doubling coupons at Harris Teeter:

1)  They will only take 20 coupons per day.

2)  They will take 3 coupons a day per product.

3)  They will only take 2 Internet coupons per day per specific product. 

You can read all the Harris Teeter coupon policies here.

My store was out of several of the really good deals.  I'll head back out in the next day or two after the re-stock.  I used thirteen coupons and purchased all the items below.

Total bill:  $13.80...not too bad!

Remember to check the two coupon sites, I mentioned above, on Sunday.  They will list the new coupon match-ups from the Sunday paper.

Have coupon shopping!

Day Four Challenge Continued - Create A Serene Bedroom (COMPLETE)

Today we are continuing our quest to create a serene master bedroom by clearing out all the extra "stuff" and leaving only what is necessary for sleeping, relaxing and dressing.

See the previous post here for what we have already completed in this room...now let's press on...
to the next items mentioned in 30 Days to a Simpler Lifeand Organize Now!: A Week-by-Week Guide to Simplify Your Space and Your Life.

1)  Berry, in Organize Now!: A Week-by-Week Guide to Simplify Your Space and Your Life
says, "Eliminate excessive throw pillows unless they are really worth the effort of taking off and putting on the bed twice a day."

Another note, throw pillows are a great place for dust mites to congregate.  If you are a sufferer from allergies you may want to reconsider the necessity of extra pillows in your room.  If you can not part with them, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation, "...wash...weekly in hot water. Temperatures of at least 130 degrees F are needed to kill dust mites". 

2)  Clear off the top of your dresser.  Keep your favorite few pictures or decorations.  Make sure you are putting your clean clothes in the dresser and not just sitting them on top.

If you have a small master bedroom consider eliminating your dresser. A few years ago, I decided to re-purpose our dresser.  I took everything out of the dresser and realized we had not worn at least half the items in years.  I find that because items in a dresser are hard to see, they are forgotten.  I moved my dresser items to the master closet.  The socks, underwear and lingerie are now in clear Rubbermaid boxes and one small drawer set in the closet.  The contents are conveniently located with all my other clothes.

I also relocated our sweaters, which were formerly in our dresser, into our master closet.  They are on shelves in our closet.  We happily gave away several of them, mostly wool sweaters which neither of us wore.  Our master bedroom now feels more spacious without the dresser.  Just an idea to consider.

This is our dresser now re-purposed in our dining room as a sideboard.

3)  If you are keeping your dresser, organize in the following manner...

       " Empty each dresser drawer one at a time.
             Sort and toss:
            -Socks without a match
           -Worn-out underwear and bras
           -Clothes that are the wrong size or you no longer wear
           -Bathing suits that you never wear
      Put back just those items that you love and wear.

4)  And finally, according to Cox and Evatt, their "For Serious Simplifers Only!" Challenge.

"Create a tranquil bedroom.  First, remove the television.  Next remove excess furniture and everything under the bed.  Redesign your closet sot it can hold clothing that was stored in your dresser.  Put a large plant where your dresser used to be .  Finally, empty the walls of everything except one serene print or painting.  Without busy art and bulky furniture, your bedroom will have a spacious, airy feeling."

Once you finish the Master Bedroom...hold on to your hats because tomorrow we will tackle our master closets!!

Saving Tip - A Night at the Movies for Less

If you are like us, we very rarely go to the movies because of the exorbitant cost of the tickets. However, Regal Theatres is now offering specials all over the country.

Our local theatre has $5.00 tickets all day and evening on Tuesday. Tuesdays are now my husbands and my new "date night." In addition to the reduced ticket price, if you are a Regal Crown Club member - which is free- you also can get $2.00 Popcorn.  For $12.00 we can see a movie AND get a popcorn. I love Tuesday nights!!

Check to see if your local theatre is participating in Value Days by going to the following Regal Cinema website here.

Financial Tip....

My sister just finished David Bach's newest book, Debt Free For Life: The Finish Rich Plan for Financial Freedomand e-mailed me to let me know about several websites that will help you track down "missing money."

I checked on the websites and actually found out that my husband and I had money sitting in SC from a house-closing fifteen+ years ago.  Needless to say I will be contacting the state office today to request the refund check.

You may want to take a few minutes and take a look at these websites:

www.unclaimed.org

www.missingmoney.com

www.savingsbonds.gov/indiv/tools/tool (for unclaimed savings bonds)

www.irs.gov


Happy hunting!