I have a bit of anxiety.

Okay, my husband is going to read this and totally call me out on that statement. So, let me revise, I seriously struggle with anxiety. In all honesty, I wouldn’t wish the vortex of my mind on my worst enemy. Fortunately, I have made some significant changes in my life the past few years and I am able to manage this anxiety with exercise, organization, routines and a glass (or two) of wine every once in a while. πŸ˜‰

One of my much older co-workers stopped by my office on Friday afternoon to compliment me on an issue he thought I handled extremely well, while he was standing there, he tilted his head, looked at me carefully and said, “you really have your shit together for only being 26.” I glowed at that compliment. I really, really love having my shit together.

Unfortunately, that evening when I arrived home and ventured upstairs to find an outfit for the night I was faced with the truth. My closet does not have its shit together. Just being in there made me anxious.

messy closet

No rhyme, no reason, and shit everywhere!!!

It dawned on me that this is the very place in which I begin and end every single day, and its in shambles. I decided that there was really no way around it, this thing has been bringing me down.

And so, I began my project. On Saturday I ventured to Walmart, literally my least favorite place on the planet, and bought a few essentials. Unfortunately, Saturday was also the day I scoured the rest of the house with a hangover, so I decided my closet cleaning project was going to have to wait until Sunday.

On Sunday morning I stood in the middle of the disaster and contemplated waiting another week….but, then I started really looking at the thing.

messy deets

I mean, I literally had to dig for my shoes. Please note::my Junior Year prom dress peaking out of the back.

bras

My bras were hanging from the door knob.

messy details

And I had somehow turned into a shoe box hoarder.

It was time.

So, I gathered my essentials…

DSC_0425

I spent less than $30.00 on this project. The Smart Carousel was $20.00 by itself, but I spotted it in an advertisement somewhere and I was certain it would be the solution to my problems. (Spoiler alert:: I was right.) The flip flop rack and the bag rack were like $4.00 a piece, and while they weren’t quite as life changing they got the job done. Oh, and 5 Hour Energy, obviously.

I knew there was no way I was going to accomplish this without first emptying the closet and donating a significant number of clothes, shoes and bags.

And so I began making piles.

getting started

On the left we have, “gotta keep it.” In the middle we have, “try it on and decide.” And on the right we have, “it doesn’t fit right, the color looks horrible on you or its been 3 years since you’ve worn this….donate it!”

It didn’t take long for me to discover that 3 piles wasn’t going to cut it.

DSC_0430

Before long….there were clothes…everywhere.

clothes everywhere

I was becoming extremely unimpressed with myself. How does one person own this many clothes? I was so relieved that Andrew was stuck at work and unable to see proof that his new wife definitely does not need that new dress she can’t stop talking about.

After almost 1.5 hours I was becoming distraught at my progress.

2 hours in

At this point I had no choice but to keep going, the entire upstairs of our house was now being used to sort different articles of clothing. After another 2 hours of sorting, packing up, dusting off and replacing my garments… I finally had a closet that looked like it might belong to a girl who has her shit together. πŸ˜‰

order!!

Amazing, right? You can get a tiny peek of the hangers left over. Prior to my clothes purge I had not one hanger to spare, as a matter of fact Andrew and I were dueling over hangers. Now, we have hangers for dayyssss. πŸ™‚

amazingness

This thing truly made everything come together. Every pair of shoes I decided to keep (that weren’t boots) had a place in the carousel. My bras, small wallets and purses and other odds and ends fit neatly in the middle of it. The thing turns 360 degrees so its easy peasy to find what I’m looking for.

purses

My smaller bags were placed on the bag rack and are now hidden neatly behind the door. This is convenient because it now gives Andrew the perception that I have less bags than I actually have. πŸ˜‰

boxes

I couldn’t give up all of my boxes…but I majorly purged! Those small boxes are from my monthly Birchbox delivery and I just know they are going to be the perfect solution to something in the future, so I’m keeping them. The rest were just cute, meaningful (ha!) or ideal.

Walking into my closet in the morning isΒ so much better!! It is amazing how much a 2 hour project can improve your quality of life.

before and after

Before and after. Doesn’t even need words. Oh, and I would just like to point out that I have an entire section dedicate to my Hawkeye gear! πŸ˜‰

Hopefully this will encourage some of you to donate, simplify and organize! Or give you the motivation to tackle a project you have been vehemently ignoring! πŸ™‚