Spring Project #1 : : Closet Makeover

What is it about the spring that inspires fixing up and cleaning out? We deconstructed part of our master closet this weekend and painted it in preparation for new flooring to go in sometime next week. We decided it was time to cover the concrete in our master bedroom and thought we would also take care of the closet at the same time.

I forgot to take some before pictures, so the one in this post will have to do. Previously, it had white carpet and a narrowish built-in shelving unit in the middle which you can see the bottom of in the top left corner of that picture. We decided to remove the built-in shelves so that the flooring wouldn't have to be cut around it and hope, when we are all done, to replace it with a stand alone shelving unit. Removing the shelves, which had already started to crack and split from age, involved bracing the top shelf that was resting on the built-in unit which my Husband did beautifully! He was in charge of the demolition part on Saturday while I painted everything on Sunday. The original paint from 1989 had started to yellow, so a fresh coat of white gave it a clean and crisp feel.

I also took a good look at my clothes and ended up getting rid of a giant black garbage bag full. I hadn't done a clothes clean out in a while mostly because I let the perfect become the enemy of the good. This is a dragon I have to battle a lot and I'm willing to bet that most of you do too. Auntie Leila writes about it so beautifully and practically in this post. Go read it and be inspired!

Doing a closet clean out is always a hard process to start, but so rewarding when accomplished. What usually stops me in my tracks before I even start is the idea that I have to know what the end should look like before I can begin. Nonsense! Instead of wasting time trying to figure out how many skirts I really needed, what the perfect ratio of long sleeve to short sleeve tops is or how many purses is a practical number to own, I simply gave myself the goal of getting rid of some.

For example, I had four button down blouses that were of a similar style that I wear on occasion, not regularly. Instead of letting myself get trapped in that clutter vortex of figuring how many should I keep, or if I should keep any at all, I made the decision to just get rid of some. In this case, I chopped the number in half and kept two although getting rid of one would have still accomplished my goal. Should I decide later that I really only need one, I can toss the other at a later date.

I may not have the perfect wardrobe equation figured out, but who says I have to? I had too much. I needed less. I decreased the number. Simple. Most answers usually are, you know. Simple. We make them harder thereby making the process harder on ourselves.

We weren't going to move everything back in until after the floor goes in but we just found out that might be 5 weeks away. Thankfully they will be able to do the bedroom floor before then so now, our attentions turn there. Project #2!