How We Organize Closets & Clothes

Having overstuffed, jumbled closets and drawers causes our clients lots of stress every day.  That's why Peaceful Place gets more calls for closet organization from our clients in the Cape Cod and Southeast MA area than for any other area of the house.    Most of these jobs require two people from Peaceful Place, and the client only needs to be involved in the middle part of the process.Here's how we organize closets and clothes.   We use a slightly modified version of the famous KonMari method.  Step 1:  We take every item, both wearables (clothing and accessories), and non-wearables out of the closet. Step 2:   We repeat Step 1 with all bureaus and dressers which contain clothes. Step 3.    We sort all items into like piles, such as: workout clothes, bras, blouses, scarves, jean, pants, dresses etc., putting aide any stained, ripped, or damaged items. Step 4:   This is where the client gets involved. We have the client sit down and get comfortable.  It is "decision time."  We hold up every item of clothing and the client decides whether to keep it or donate it.   Generally, about  1/4  to 1/3 of items will need to be downsized in order to make the closet and dressers workable.  We can help the client decide what to keep based on their lifestyle.    After this (1 to 1.5 hours), the client's work is done.   Step 5:   We label all the areas of the closet and dressers with where things will go and get client's approval.  Step  6:  We put everything in its place, using thin black velvet hangers, customized rod markers, shelf dividers,  and whichever shoe racks, scarf and belt hangers, drawer organizers, etc. are necessary. Step 7:   Time for the big reveal!  Afterward, we take all trash to the trash area of the house and take all donations with us.  After we drop off the donations to charity, we email the donation receipt to the client for tax purposes.  As with all our jobs, the #1 priority is ease of maintenance for the client.  Everything must be easy to put back, so that the closet and dressers can stay organized.Depending on how many clothes, this process can take from 4 to 8 hours.    To do jewelry is another 1 - 2 hours. Ready to take the plunge and get your closets back?  Click here to schedule a free consult call or just call Julie at 508-246-7866.

How to Overhaul your Kitchen Junk Drawer

Peaceful Place recently tackled one of the most common organizational pitfalls:  the kitchen junk drawer.   Since the kitchen is the most-used room in the house, any stray object finds its way into this spot.   The ideal purpose purpose of this drawer is to hold the following types of things:

1. Office supplies: Pens, pencils, pads of paper, Post-its, tape - if you don't have an office area in your kitchen

2. Household tools - scissors, tape measure, super glue, small screwdrivers

3. Pet medicine & supplies

4. Rubber bands, bag clips, hair elastics

5. Spare change

6. First aid - bandaids & ointment

7. Keys

8. Chargers

9. Sunscreen & lip balm

10. Coupons & gift cards

The trouble comes when people have outdated chargers & keys, and too many of all the above objects.   We used containers from the Dollar Store with rubber bottoms to prevent sliding - also, the drawer has a grip liner, always a good idea.     An idea for what to do with assorted screws and parts which might go to something, but you're not sure what:  Put them in a box with a label to go through it 6 months from now.  If you haven't needed it in that time, it's okay to part with it.